The situation in LA has become so desperate that the county is pulling inmates from behind bars to help with the wildfires. Or, I should say they're volunteering to help out with the blazes.
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As the fires continue to burn across LA, the death toll grows, and the damage to homes and structures continues to mount. Resources, such as water and emergency services, are pulled thin, and new measures need to be put in place.
Not for the first time, the US is falling back on its 1.9 million incarcerated people for borderline slave labor. For between $5.80 to $10.24 a day, the inmates are expected to fight back the wildfires, working in smokey and dangerous conditions, risking their lives for LA.
"You're getting pennies compared to the other folks that's alongside of you. You're just cheap labor," Royal Ramey, a former incarcerated firefighter and co-founder of the non-profit Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP), told the BBC. "And if you do pass away while fighting fires, you don't get any benefits from that."
Prisoners in the US can enter into many different training programs while incarcerated. One of them is the opportunity to become a member of the emergency services. There are many who have been trained as firefighters. This program first began back in 1946 in an effort to help criminals reintegrate after release.
Now, the inmates are being given a chance to put their lessons into practice.
Inmates Backing Up Firefighters In Battle Against LA Wildfires
It's all hands on deck in LA. The inmates make for very cheap and well-trained labor in the battle against wildfires. Along with the pennies they are being paid for their hard work, Jeff Macomber, secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, gives them some due praise.
"The work of our incarcerated firefighters and staff is an essential part of this effort. Their commitment to protecting lives and property during these emergencies cannot be overstated." However, although it can't be overstated, it can be underpaid.
The inmates are clearing potential fuel and undergrowth from the path of the wildfires. By creating firebreaks like the the flames will be left with less to travel with.
Because someone is a criminal, does that mean that their labor should be expected to come practically for pennies on the dollar? Does someone become a less valuable human being for making a few mistakes? The valuable work these trained inmates are doing is protecting the citizens of LA. Furthermore, it is keeping back the wildfires from further property damage.
Even actors and advocates like Kim Kardashian have taken note. She wrote that they "get paid almost nothing, risk their lives, some have died, to prove to the community that they have changed are now first responders."
She continued, "The incarcerated firefighters have been paid $1/hour to risk their lives, and this pay has been the same since 1984. It has never been raised with inflation. It's never been raised when fires got worse and many died. This year there was an agreement to raise the incarcerated firefighters pay to $5/hour, but it got shot down last minute."
I hope their efforts at least assist with their next parole hearings.
