California, firefighting

Prison Labor in the Spotlight as Incarcerated California Firefighters Risk Lives for $5-10/Day
Around Los Angeles, firefighting crews continue to battle the Palisades and Eaton fires and other smaller blazes. Nearly a thousand of the firefighters deployed to help contain the devastating fires are incarcerated.
Incarcerated Firefighters Battle California Blazes for Low Pay, Redemption
Roughly 30 percent of firefighters battling the California wildfires are incarcerated, earning time off their sentences and up to $26.90 per day.
Why Incarcerated Firefighters Are Battling the L.A. Wildfires
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 statement. This includes 110 members of a support staff helping the firefighters.
Incarcerated firefighters join California wildfire battle efforts
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has deployed 931 incarcerated firefighters and 114 support staff through its Fire Camp Program.
Kim Kardashian calls for pay raise for incarcerated firefighters: 'I see them as heroes'
Kim Kardashian is calling for a pay raise for incarcerated firefighters, saying the "heroes" get "paid almost nothing" for risking their lives.
California's Reliance on Incarcerated Firefighters Sparks Debate Over Low Pay and Dangerous Work
Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are risking their lives battling Los Angeles wildfires, raising questions about California’s low wages, tough conditions and post-release hardships.
Kim Kardashian Advocates for Incarcerated Firefighters Amid the California Wildfires
Aside from previously announced donations to those affected by the wildfires, Kardashian is calling on California Governor Gavin Newsom to raise incarcerated firefighters' wages "to a rate [that] honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes."
California prisoner firefighter program draws harsh criticism amid L.A. wildfires
Months after Californians voted against an amendment to end inmate servitude, incarcerated firefighters are on the front lines.
California’s Prisoner Firefighter Program Sparks Criticism Over Low Pay and Risky Conditions
California's prisoner firefighter program is under renewed criticism as over 700 incarcerated individuals fight deadly wildfires in Los Angeles. Critics highlight the program's low pay and the lack of post-release job opportunities.
Des Moines Register1d
Inmates are fighting California wildfires: When did it start, how much do they get paid?
I see them as heroes':Kim Kardashian calls for pay raise for incarcerated firefighters Have inmate firefighters been ...
Kim Kardashian Pushes For Incarcerated Firefighters To Be Paid More Amid LA Blazes
Kardashian called incarcerated firefighters "heroes" as she asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift wages for those "risking their ...
The Marshall Project3d
Incarcerated Firefighters Do Risky, Low-Pay Work. Many Say It’s The Best Job Behind Bars.
More than 900 prison firefighters were responding to the crisis in Los Angeles — but their pay is low and the ethics of their ...
‘We Need Everyone’: How Two Formerly Incarcerated Firefighters Are Building a Movement
This story originally published in 2022, but has been updated to reflect the recent fires ravaging neighborhoods across Los ...
WHYY4d
Incarcerated people are fighting California wildfires in long-running and controversial practice
California has turned to incarcerated firefighters since 1915. To those opposed to the use of prisoners as firefighters, the ...