The Los Angeles fires had a devastating effect on communities that resulted in over 50,000 acres burning.
However, the damage could have been much worse if it weren’t for the help provided by incarcerated people.
About 1,100 incarcerated men and women helped battle these recent Los Angeles wildfires.
For a lot of people this was their first time hearing about incarcerated firefighters (including myself), and it has brought to light the harsh conditions that prisoners experience.
Incarcerated firefighters are usually the first ones to a fire scene, according to Danny Fregoso, who is a formerly incarcerated firefighter. He’s my dad’s friend who served in prison for ten years, and fought fires with Oak Glen Conservation Camp in Riverside County, and McCain Conservation Camp in San Diego.
Prisoners have the opportunity to volunteer to be a part of the Conservation Fire Camp program. They need to have good behavior and eight years or less remaining on their sentence in order to be considered.
“First you have to do a bootcamp where they take you into the mountains,” Danny said. “You have to take tests and do physical training. Not just anybody can go.”
According to Time Magazine, these prisoners represent 30% of California’s firefighting force. When Danny was a firefighter, he made $1 an hour. But today, they make about $5-10 a day.
However, in an active emergency they earn a whopping $1 an hour as a bonus.
Although these prisoners do have the opportunity to make money, sometimes they aren’t able to keep all of it.
“If your case is restitution, some of that money goes back to your court case or what you owe for your case,” Danny said.
The work is voluntary, but these low wages are pitiful—especially with the incredibly dangerous work they do.
“They have you out there on the mountain where you sleep and it’s freezing,” Danny said. “And you’re working for 24 hours straight. It’s just non-stop.”
There were times when the fires would dance around the mountain and the inmates would have to run from the fires.
However, in comparison to the other incarcerated workers who earn a mere 16 to 74 cents per hour, the inmate firefighters are living the dream.
Although they get paid what some panhandlers probably make in a few hours, they do it for a reduced sentence and the chance to go home and be with their family again.
Like many false promises given by the government, some prison firefighters have been promised reduced sentences (and early parole) only to be turned over to ICE at the end of their sentence.
And then they get deported.
This brings attention to the wider problem of prisoner exploitation in the U.S. “They call it modern day slavery,” Fregoso said.
In the 13th Amendment, slavery is still effectively legal so long as it’s a punishment for a crime. More recently in the 2024 statewide election, California voters rejected Proposition 6 which would’ve banned forced labor in prisons.
The biggest argument that always comes up with anything related to prisoners is that they were sentenced because they committed crimes, so they deserve the treatment they receive.
That’s understandable, but the Conservation Fire Program supports and believes in the correction and rehabilitation of these people who are attempting to grow and learn.
Danny’s experiences had highs and lows—he said one day he’d be in a prison cell and the next day he’d be in a helicopter and left in the middle of nowhere.
Becoming a firefighter while incarcerated provides the feeling of opportunity and freedom. According to Danny, “You’re out there doing something beneficial.”
And after fighting a fire, Danny said communities would celebrate and thank him by offering gifts and kind words. For a moment, these inmates are heroes.
We can’t expect these people to change and become better people if we treat them like they will never be our equals.
They too are firefighters—not just inmates.