The wildfires sweeping across the Los Angeles region are decimating land property and taking lives. They are also reigniting the debate about whether forcing prisoners to work for a pittance is right.

As of Friday morning, 939 incarcerated firefighters have been working “around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel behind structures to slow fire spread,” CDCR told TIME in an emailed ...

the state forestry department and the Los Angeles County fire department operate 35 “fire camps” where inmates can become certified wildland firefighters. When deployed, those firefighters earn from ...

The prisoners, who voluntarily sign up to be a part of the Conservation (Fire) Camps Program, are embedded with the California Department ... agency. Inmates help firefighters to extinguish ...

As the disastrous infernos destroy neighborhoods in Southern California, over 1,000 prisoners are working as “volunteer firefighters” to help extinguish the blazes.

a former inmate firefighter at the California Correctional Center (CCC) Fire Department. “When I was released, I was homeless for six months, sleeping in my car. I was very fortunate [because] I ...

and Los Angeles County Fire Department. The camps are minimum-security facilities at which incarcerated people can volunteer. At the 35 camps operated across 25 California counties, inmates learn ...

and Los Angeles County Fire Department. The camps are minimum-security facilities at which incarcerated people can volunteer. At the 35 camps operated across 25 California counties, inmates learn ...

California's program is not without controversy, as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work. Many participants, however, say they appreciated the opportunity.

Inmate firefighters with Delta Conservation ... and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. For perspective, in 2023 to 2024, the Los Angeles Fire Department has 3,902 employees (3,246 uniformed ...

later helped to boost the firefighting workforce during WWII and eventually partnered with the Los Angeles County Fire Department in the 1980s—and inmates have assisted in major fires including ...

the state forestry department and the Los Angeles County fire department operate 35 “fire camps” where inmates can become certified wildland firefighters. A California Department of ...