Inmates in California are trained and paid to fight wildfires, with over 1,500 prisoners working as firefighters in 2019. The program saves the state about $100 million annually and also provides reduced sentences for participants. Inmates also assist with park maintenance and rescue operations. The deadliest wildfire in California history, the Camp Fire, killed at least 85 people and destroyed thousands of structures.
The Camp Fire, which ravaged parts of Northern California in November 2018, became the deadliest wildfire in the state, killing at least 85 residents, destroying more than 18,000 structures and burning more than 153,000 acres. It took the firefighters 17 days to completely contain the blaze. Among the first responders were nonviolent inmates who had volunteered to be trained in firefighting on the front lines. Detained firefighters are paid approximately $2 USD per day, plus $1 per hour when actively fighting fires. Many are rewarded with reduced sentences. More than 1,500 of the 9,000 firefighters who have dealt with the surge in California wildfires this year were prisoners, working under the Conservation Camp Program, which has been in operation since the 1940s.
Service time on the firing line:
Prisoners are provided “the same basic training” that the state imparts to its seasonal firefighters each year. Using inmates to fight fires saves California about $100 million dollars a year.
When inmate firefighters aren’t in the line of fire, they help maintain parks by clearing downed brush and trees, according to the state’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.
Inmate volunteers also serve as rescuers during floods, earthquakes, and in search and rescue operations.
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