Hundreds of California prison firefighters join battle against Los Angeles wildfires [View all]

Source: calmatters.org



Avatar photo by Cayla Mihalovich January 10, 2025


In summary

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About 800 incarcerated firefighters are battling the unprecedented fires raging across Southern California, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. They join thousands of firefighting and emergency personnel who have been dispatched to respond to multiple fires throughout the Los Angeles area.
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Over 1,800 incarcerated firefighters live year-round in minimum-security conservation camps, also known as “fire camps,” located across 25 counties in California, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Those numbers have dwindled in recent years due to a declining prison population.

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Over the course of three fire seasons, Princess Griffen fought more than 30 fires. The 32-year-old, formerly incarcerated firefighter was based at the Rainbow Conservation Camp, which has since closed, when the Woolsey Fire in Malibu broke out in November 2018.

“At camp, when it got windy, we would sleep with our boots on,” she said. She and her crew of 14 were deployed for two weeks. “It felt like you were doing something that mattered instead of rotting away in a cell,” she said................................

Read more: https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/01/prison-firefighters-la-fires/