While the wildfires continue to spread throughout Southern California, many are also concerned about a program in which inmates are helping fight the fires.
The Conservation Fire Camp Program, under the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, is an agency alongside the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. At the moment, there are 35 fire camps in 25 counties in California, where the inmates in the program who volunteer will receive classroom and field training, according to reports.
A rep for CDCR said that 783 Fire Camp firefighters are working around the clock to help contain the fires. “CDCR Fire Camp Program firefighters are proud to be embedded with CAL FIRE personnel to protect lives, property, and natural resources in Southern California,” the rep said. “As of Thursday, 783 Fire Camp firefighters have been working around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread, including 88 support staff.”
For inmates to qualify for the program, they have to be mentally and physically fit and have no more than eight years left on their sentence with certain kinds of convictions. If an inmate is convicted of rape, they will be disqualified from the program. The program has been under heavy criticism and it is linked to the 13th Amendment, which was ratified in 1865. “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction,” the amendment reads.
The California Wildfires have claimed the lives of 10 people so far and many were forced to evacuate their homes.