Using inmate labor to fight fires has been a practice in California since the 1940s. Where did it start and what do participants actually do and get paid?

An inmate serving a 16-year sentence for firearms charges was apprehended Thursday morning after he walked away from the ...

He said some prisoners often dream of joining a fire program. “The conditions in California prisons are so terrible that ...

The Conservation (Fire) Camp Program has been deploying incarcerated ... “The conditions in California prisons are so terrible that fighting wildfires is a rational choice.

“As of today, 939 Fire Camp firefighters have ... This is not a new practice. California has relied on incarcerated firefighters since 1915. And prison labor has been used to respond to ...

Inmate firefighters from Oak Glen Conservation Camp near Yucaipa, California fight the Easy Fire on October 30 ... have banned forced labor in state prisons. Only a handful of states have ...

California's program is not without controversy, as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work. Many participants, however, say they appreciated the opportunity.

If the prison had paid proper wages for firefighting ... Laquisha Johnson, who served in a California fire camp roughly a decade ago, said that when she was released in 2016, she showed up ...

Nearly 800 prison inmates have been ... part of a minimum-security Conservation Camp Program consisting of 35 “fire camps” spread throughout California. The camps are staffed by more than ...

Roughly 30 percent of firefighters battling the California wildfires are incarcerated, earning time off their sentences and up to $26.90 per day.

About 900 of them are prison inmates ... also known as CalFire. Through the California Conservation (Fire) Camp Program, incarcerated people are among those risking their lives to fight the ...