Topline
Hundreds of inmates in California have reportedly been deployed to help fight the
wildfires raging through Los Angeles and surrounding areas, drawing attention to California’s longstanding and controversial inmate firefighter program.
Key Facts
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in conjunction with the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Los Angeles County Fire Department,
operates 35 “conservation camps” or “fire camps” at which incarcerated people who volunteer to join the program learn how to respond to a variety of disasters and can be deployed to respond if needed. CDCR
told The Guardian and
The Washington Post that 395 inmates had been deployed to assist in responding to the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire and others that began burning earlier this week and remain uncontained. Inmates earn wages through the program—
making between $5.80 and $10.24 a day depending on skill level—and they can make an additional $1 per hour when responding to an active emergency. An inmate at the lowest experience level in the program would earn $26.90 per day during a 24-hour emergency shift, according to CDCR. Under a 2020 law, non-violent inmate firefighters
can ask a court to have their records expunged after they’re released, making it easier to get jobs as firefighters. The program stretches back over a century: A variation of it began in 1915, later helped to boost the firefighting workforce during WWII and eventually partnered with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in the 1980s—and inmates have assisted in major fires
including the Mountain Fire and Thompson Fire as recently as last year. Forbes has reached out to the CDCR for comment.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here . Why Is California’s Inmate Firefighting Program Controversial?
California’s incarcerated firefighter program has some critics who largely oppose it as a form of prison labor, though some take specific issues with the risks involved in fighting wildfires and the taxing nature of the job, which
pays more than other prison jobs but well below what non-incarcerated firefighters make. In emergencies, incarcerated firefighters may work 24-hour shifts and then have a 24-hour rest period, and they do not fight fires with hoses or water, rather they use hand tools like axes and chainsaws. There is not complete data available on total deaths, but at least three incarcerated firefighters
died from 2017 to 2020. Some critics
also say even if it’s voluntary, it’s exploitative by making inmates choose between taking a risky job and missing out on having their criminal records expunged.
What Do Inmate Firefighters Say About The Program?
Some people who have gone through the program have said it provides inmates the opportunity to do important work. One former inmate
told NPR that while it is dangerous, working as a firefighter in prison helped him find his calling and with time he “fell in love with it.” Another who worked in California said in an
opinion piece for The Washington Post the work was dangerous, “but it was better than being in prison” because of the poor conditions in the state’s conventional prisons, especially when compared with the “secluded natural settings” of many lower-security fire camps.
What Other States Use Incarcerated Fire Fighters?
A
report from the American Civil Liberties Union in 2022 found at least 14 states used incarcerated firefighters to help fight wildfires, and at least 30 states include incarcerated workers as a resource in emergency plans for disasters. The 14 states that used them were: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington and Wyoming.
Are Inmates Required To Work As Firefighters In California?
No. Inmates must voluntarily enroll in the conservation camps and meet all eligibility criteria, according to the CDCR, which says inmates can’t be forced to go to a fire camp or be punished for refusing to go.
Who’s Eligible For The Inmate Firefighter Program?
Participants must have the lowest-security classification based on good behavior and eight years or less on their sentence remaining. The CDCR says some convictions—such as rape, arson and escape history—make someone ineligible for the role, as do medical issues or high-notoriety cases.
Big Number
30%. That’s how much of California’s wildfire force inmate fire crews have accounted for in the past, the
Los Angeles Times reported last July. The number of inmates in the program is declining, though, at least in part because the eligible inmate pool has gotten smaller—as have the camps—due to prison reform initiatives, according to the Times. In 2005, there were 4,250 inmate firefighters, compared to the 1,760 there were in July.
News Peg
The Palisades Fire began Tuesday morning in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, and it resulted in about 30,000 people receiving evacuation orders. Because of strong winds and low humidity, the fire quickly spread and
at least three other fires began in the Los Angeles area, including one that burned through the densely-populated Hollywood Hills before it was finally contained Thursday. The Palisades and Eaton fires remained at 0% containment as of early Thursday, and officials said at least five people had died in the Eaton Fire alone—though they added they don’t yet know the real death toll from the fires and were not satisfied with preliminary reports. A number of Los Angeles
landmarks have been consumed by the flames, including several structures at the Will Rogers State Historic Park and the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, and the homes of celebrities including actors Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal have been destroyed. JP Morgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar estimated in a note Thursday there could be $50 billion in total damages, including $20 billion in insured losses, making the fires the costliest in U.S. history.
Further Reading
