By Cayla Mihalovich
About 800 incarcerated firefighters are battling the unprecedented fires raging across Southern California, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. They join thousands of firefighting and emergency personnel who have been dispatched to respond to multiple fires throughout the Los Angeles area.
California’s incarcerated firefighters have long provided critical support to state, local and federal government agencies in responding to various emergencies, including wildfires and floods.
Over 1,800 incarcerated firefighters live year-round in minimum-security conservation camps, also known as “fire camps,” located across 25 counties in California, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Those numbers have dwindled in recent years due to a declining prison population.
“Wildfires are a constant and formidable challenge for California, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations’ conservation fire camps remain dedicated to supporting the state’s response,” said Jeff Macomber, secretary of California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in a statement to CalMatters on Wednesday. “The work of our incarcerated firefighters and staff is an essential part of this effort, and their commitment to protecting lives and property during these emergencies cannot be overstated.”
The corrections department compensates incarcerated firefighters anywhere between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, depending upon experience. During active emergencies, Cal Fire pays incarcerated firefighters an additional $1 per hour, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Over the course of three fire seasons, Princess Griffen fought more than 30 fires. The 32-year-old, formerly incarcerated firefighter was based at the Rainbow Conservation Camp, which has since closed, when the Woolsey Fire in Malibu broke out in November 2018.
“At camp, when it got windy, we would sleep with our boots on,” she said. She and her crew of 14 were deployed for two weeks. “It felt like you were doing something that mattered instead of rotting away in a cell,” she said.
Griffen paroled in July 2019. Today she lives in Inglewood, where she owns a tattoo shop. She pursued a career as an entrepreneur because she knew firefighting would require more time away from home. But for incarcerated firefighters who want to continue the work upon their release, Griffen says it’s difficult to get hired.
“They look at our education like it doesn’t count,” she said. “For people who have found some kind of purpose or solace within firefighting, there needs to be a pipeline that goes straight from the prisons to firefighting. I’d urge the government to give inmates a second chance, considering that they are fighting these fires for pennies – risking their lives for pennies.”
