LOS ANGELES: The army of firefighters battling the massive Southern California wildfires includes workers who could otherwise remain safely behind bars.
As of Thursday, 783 prison inmates have been deployed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to help contain the blazes, the department confirmed to CBS News. The crews of incarcerated firefighters are embedded with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to assist its nearly 4,700 firefighters.
The imprisoned firefighters volunteer to participate in CDCR’s Conservation (Fire) Camps Program and are paid for their work. Participants supports state, local and federal government agencies when they respond to natural disasters.
CDCR operates 35 so-called fire camps across 25 different California counties. Two of the camps are for incarcerated women. They are minimum-security facilities staffed with correctional personnel who supervise camp participants 24 hours per day.
The department says inmates work cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to help slow fires’ spread. They can also serve in support roles at the camps, including cooking, laundry and water treatment plant operation.
Participation in the camps is voluntary, and those who join in must be deemed physically and mentally fit. Additionally, they must have no more than eight years remaining on their sentences. Convictions for rape and other sex offenses, as well as for murder, arson and some other serious crimes, disqualifies an inmate from participating.
