Over 900 prison inmates are among the more than 7,500 emergency personnel fighting the raging wildfires that are devastating portions of Los Angeles, California, state corrections officials said.
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Over 900 prison inmates are among the more than 7,500 emergency personnel fighting the raging wildfires that are devastating portions of Los Angeles, California, state corrections officials said.
“As of today, 939 Fire Camp firefighters have been working around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread, including 110 support staff.,” California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) told NPR on Friday.
Though California has been utilizing incarcerated firefighters — and other laborers — for over 100 years, the practice is controversial and has been banned in Colorado, Vermont, Nebraska, Utah, Alabama, Oregon and Tennessee in recent years, according to Jurist News.
Inmates in states that allow it, including California, are often paid little to no money for hours of strenuous work, though the U.S. Constitution’s Thirteenth Amendment makes it clear that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude” is legal, “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.”
According to the CDRC, inmates are part of the fire brigade program voluntarily, and are paid just $5.80 to $10.24 per day, with additional pay being supplied during emergencies.
Californians had the option to do away with prison labor when voting on Proposition 6 in November, “which would have amended the state constitution to bar state prisons from forcing inmates to work,” Jurist stated, noting that prisoners who refuse to work may legally face disciplinary consequences.
The ballot measure was rejected by a margin of 53.8 to 46.2 percent, the outlet reported.
CDRC said that its inmates do not face disciplinary action for refusing to participate in a fire camp, and that those who do join receive safety and first-aid training.
Bianca Tylek, the executive director of criminal justice reform organization Worth Rises, told NPR that while some inmates do want to take part in the firefighting program, “it comes at a pretty steep cost.”
Incarcerated firefighters are at a higher risk for serious injuries, four times more likely to sustain cuts and broken bones, and over eight times more likely to suffer from injuries related to smoke inhalation, than professional firefighters working on the same blazes, a 2018 Time investigation found.
According to Tylek, getting voters to change their minds on prison labor “is an ongoing effort.”
The multiple wildfires are also still ongoing since the first one started in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Tuesday, and have since claimed the lives of at least 11 civilians.
