Fighting Fires for Pennies: How Incarcerated Firefighters Are Saving LA
There has been much talk of firefighters battling the two large Los Angeles wildfires. We have seen reports of Mexico, Canada, and Ukraine sending people to help the Los Angeles Fire Department manage the natural disaster that is devastating the city.
Another group of people fighting the fires are inmates who are part of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) through the Conservation (Fire) Camps Program.
Here’s what you should know about the people voluntarily signing up for the program.
Incarcerated firefighters are paid, but not very well, to be part of the Conservation (Fire) Camps Program
Currently, inmates fighting fires through the Conservation (Fire) Camps Program receive compensation. However, the money they make is woefully under what they should receive. As many people have pointed out, the program relies on one of the last forms of slavery: prison labor.
Incarcerated people participating in the program receive $5.80 and $10.24 per day. Plus $1 an hour when responding to active emergencies. The wages they receive are very low. And the loophole in the 13th Amendment ending slavery allows for this kind of payment for prison labor.
According to ABC News, those fighting the current Los Angeles wildfires and working 24-hour shifts receive $26.90 a day.
“CDCR Fire Camp Program firefighters are proud to be embedded with CAL FIRE personnel to protect lives, property, and natural resources in Southern California,” reads a statement from the agency according to ABC News.
Californians voted against a measure that would have ended inmate servitude
In November 2024, Californians voted on Proposition 6, which would have ended the current inmate servitude in the state. Proposition 6 would have amended “the California Constitution to remove current provision that allows jails and prisons to impose involuntary servitude to punish crime.” While joining the Conservation (Fire) Camps Program is voluntary, there needs to be a larger discussion on why the measure failed and why these firefighters’ compensation is so low.
Californians voted 53.34 percent to reject Proposition 6. More than 700 inmates are working alongside LAFD to put out the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles.
In 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that expedited process to get their records expunged upon release. Additionally, those in the program receive training to pursue careers once released. However, advocates claim there are still too many barriers for these people to get employment at fire departments.
The nonprofit Anti Recidivism Coalition (ARC) worked with law enforcement to set up the training program through the Ventura Training Center in Ventura County. After a renewed interest in helping those incarcerated who are battling the fires, the ARC has set up fundraising so people can donate to those in the Conservation (Fire) Camps Program. You can donate here.
According to Watch Duty, a nonprofit tracking wildfires, the Palisades Fire on the west is 22 percent contained. The Eaton Fire that devastated Altadena is currently 55 percent contained.
