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California Utilizing Hundreds of Inmates to Fight Ongoing L.A. Fires
Breitbart ^ | January 11, 2025 | Olivia Rondeau

Posted on 01/11/2025 10:42:17 PM PST by Morgana

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.

(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: california
from Imgflip Meme Generator

1 posted on 01/11/2025 10:42:17 PM PST by Morgana
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To: Morgana
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

Trump publicly urged Newsom in 2019 to get these very things done. It was already a known public safety issue!

Newsom, you have sown selfish and stupid, now you reap a grim whirlwind.

2 posted on 01/11/2025 11:02:40 PM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance (Public Employees: Honor Your Oaths! Defend the Constitution from Enemies--Foreign and Domestic!)
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To: The Spirit Of Allegiance

I remember Trump saying that too. I can’t believe it was never done.


3 posted on 01/11/2025 11:17:04 PM PST by Morgana ( “Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.” — Alice Paul )
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To: Morgana

Seems that genuine public servants would grab a shovel and join the chain gang. Especially since they were responsible for getting this done before it was a crisis.

I’d bet Newsom has never raised a blister in his life doing honest manual labor.


4 posted on 01/11/2025 11:31:59 PM PST by The Spirit Of Allegiance (Public Employees: Honor Your Oaths! Defend the Constitution from Enemies--Foreign and Domestic!)
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To: Morgana
Though California has been utilizing incarcerated firefighters — and other laborers — for over 100 years,

Very true. This is not new.

5 posted on 01/12/2025 12:24:49 AM PST by Mark17 (Retired USAF air traffic controller. Father of USAF pilot. Both bitten by the aviation bug)
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To: Morgana

Inmate crews have been fighting wildfires as long as I remember. They were on all the lines when I worked for CDF back in the day. For every day on the line they got one day off their time. Nearly all were on their best behavior. They got all the food they could eat and got to sleep outside. Any inmate that got in trouble took the entire crew off the line and back to prison. I would think that guy was dealt with harshly. Women crews worked the kitchen and camp facility cleaning.


6 posted on 01/12/2025 12:47:09 AM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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To: Morgana

California prefers dykes and criminals for firefighters while firing and refusing to hire white men.


7 posted on 01/12/2025 1:18:58 AM PST by wildcard_redneck
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To: Morgana

Personally I don’t they get paid enough.
Y’all know they could just sit on their arses
and get three hots and a cot for doing nothing,
after all they are convicts.
That is hazardous and hard work.
Be a little more fair, it may be worth
the money.


8 posted on 01/12/2025 1:51:54 AM PST by rellic (no such thing as a moderate Moslem or Democrat )
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To: Morgana

they were clearing brush up around Mulholland yesterday in LAFD effort to keep Palisades fire from entering the San ernando Valley. i thank them for doing this back-breaking work to help firefighters. i live in the SFV - ahd pray it does the trick as winds kick up now for next few days.


9 posted on 01/12/2025 2:13:35 AM PST by avital2
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To: avital2

*Fernando


10 posted on 01/12/2025 2:14:01 AM PST by avital2
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To: Morgana

If California really wanted a large headcount to fight the fires, they need to impress all illegal aliens and cross-dressers in the state.


11 posted on 01/12/2025 2:54:52 AM PST by Bernard (Issue an annual budget. And Issue a federal government balance sheet. Let's see what we got.)
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To: Organic Panic

I visited Delta Camp a time or two. I passed by Parlin Fork, but never visited. The female inmates I saw, at a fire, north of Vacaville, were actually fighting the fire, not cooking.


12 posted on 01/12/2025 3:22:32 AM PST by Mark17 (Retired USAF air traffic controller. Father of USAF pilot. Both bitten by the aviation bug)
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To: wildcard_redneck

What could go wrong?


13 posted on 01/12/2025 4:51:32 AM PST by SMARTY (In politics, stupidity is not a handicap. Napoleon Bonaparte I)
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To: Morgana

Better than having them sit on their butts. I doubt that they’re picking the real crazies out of the prison population, but it’s California so you never know.


14 posted on 01/12/2025 5:09:35 AM PST by popdonnelly (All the enormous crimes in history have been committed by governments.)
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To: Morgana

Better than having them sit on their butts. I doubt that they’re picking the real crazies out of the prison population, but it’s California so you never know.


15 posted on 01/12/2025 5:09:53 AM PST by popdonnelly (All the enormous crimes in history have been committed by governments.)
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To: Morgana

They can guard against looters...

LOL.. 😁


16 posted on 01/12/2025 5:51:53 AM PST by tired&retired (Blessings )
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To: tired&retired

Let’s all mail a urine specimen to Newsom so he has more water to fight fires, maybe Labcor could donate a few hundred gallons.


17 posted on 01/12/2025 6:24:03 AM PST by Colt1851Navy (What was wrong with Nixon?)
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To: Morgana

When I was a California forestry department fire fighter, summer into fall after high school, on the largest fires we worked on there were supervised crews of prison innmates also working on those fires.

When my dad was still in the Air Force, there were fires in the San Bernardino Mountains where the guys at Norton and March Air bases were pulled in to supplement the regular fire crews. My dad, even though an officer, was one of them.


18 posted on 01/12/2025 8:56:43 AM PST by Wuli
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To: Organic Panic

Making the whole crew responsible for one inmate that screwed up sounds like an idea that may have had some merit.


19 posted on 01/12/2025 7:14:49 PM PST by oldtech
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To: oldtech

“Making the whole crew responsible for one inmate that screwed up sounds like an idea that may have had some merit.”

Oh it did. They were well policed by their own. Would you want to be locked back up in GP with a 50 man crew you just got pulled off a fire line AND lost the credit for your day on the line = a day off your sentence ? Now that I think about it. I don’t even think the guards carried guns. I don’t recall seeing any around the camp, but maybe the guards stayed elsewhere.


20 posted on 01/12/2025 7:30:35 PM PST by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes)
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