The military of firefighters battling the large Southern California wildfires contains employees who may in any other case stay safely behind bars.

As of Thursday, 783 jail inmates have been deployed by the California Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to assist include the blazes, the division confirmed to CBS Information. The crews of incarcerated firefighters are embedded with the California Division of Forestry and Fireplace Safety (Cal Fireplace) to help its almost 4,700 firefighters. 

The imprisoned firefighters volunteer to take part in CDCR’s Conservation (Fireplace) Camps Program and are paid for his or her work. Individuals helps state, native and federal authorities businesses once they reply to pure disasters. 

CDCR operates 35 so-called fireplace camps throughout 25 totally different California counties. Two of the camps are for incarcerated girls. They’re minimum-security amenities staffed with correctional personnel who supervise camp contributors 24 hours per day. 

The division says inmates work reducing fireplace traces and eradicating gasoline from behind buildings to assist gradual fires’ unfold. They’ll additionally serve in assist roles on the camps, together with cooking, laundry and water remedy plant operation.

Participation within the camps is voluntary, and people who take part have to be deemed bodily and mentally match. Moreover, they should have not more than eight years remaining on their sentences. Convictions for rape and different intercourse offenses, in addition to for homicide, arson and another severe crimes, disqualifies an inmate from collaborating. 

How a lot do incarcerated firefighters make?

Imprisoned firefighters’ pay will depend on their talent stage. They earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, based on CDCR, which pays their wages. Wage ranges doubled in 2023, up from between $2.90 and $5.12 per day.

Inmates in this system additionally earn supplemental pay whereas responding to emergencies. Cal Fireplace pays a further $1 an hour, no matter firefighters’ talent stage. And when crews work a 24-hour shift, adopted by a 24-hour interval of relaxation, the lowest-skilled firefighter would earn $26.90 in a day. 

Moreover, camp contributors earn time credit towards their sentences. Particularly, most earn two further days off their sentences for day by day served on a fireplace crew. 

Camp contributors are eligible for employment with Cal Fireplace as soon as they’ve served their sentences, a path many select to take, based on CDCR. The division says a few of these people have efficiently transitioned to roles with Cal Fireplace, the U.S. Forest Service, and interagency hotshot crews.

As of Thursday afternoon, the fires had scorched greater than 45 sq. miles throughout the Los Angeles space. At the very least 5 persons are lifeless, and greater than 179,000 Los Angelenos had been beneath evacuation orders, based on officers. 

contributed to this report.