‘Essential’: nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters deployed as LA battles wildfires

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Posted on 01/10/2025 12:07:51 AM PST by CondoleezzaProtege

Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are helping battle the destructive blazes that are rapidly spreading across southern California as a powerful windstorm devastates the region.

The California department of corrections and rehabilitation (CDCR) said on Thursday that it had deployed 783 imprisoned firefighters while the county fights multiple out-of-control blazes fueled by extreme winds and dry conditions. The incarcerated crews are embedded with the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) and its nearly 2,000 firefighters, who have been stretched thin from several simultaneous emergencies.

CDCR operates more than 30 “fire camps” across the state where people serving state prison sentences are trained in firefighting and support authorities as they respond to fires, floods and other disasters. The sites, also called conservation camps, are considered minimum-security facilities and house more than 1,800 incarcerated firefighters, officials said this week.

On Wednesday, CDCR said it had deployed 395 imprisoned firefighters to the frontlines. A day later, that number had doubled, and the department said the crews also have 88 staff members supporting them. Their work has involved “cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread”, CDCR said.

California, which is grappling with longer and more destructive fire seasons amid the climate crisis, has long relied on incarcerated people for its response. The CDCR crews have at times accounted for as much as 30% of the wildfire force in the state.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...

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