Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are helping battle the wildfires that are rapidly spreading across southern California as a powerful windstorm devastates the region. Via The Guardian:
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.
Of course, some people might say this was “coddling criminals.” I call it a good first step toward rehabilitation. An even better step would be making them all eligible for employment with municipal fire departments after they serve their sentences. Some departments do, but it should include all of them.
