California has sent hundreds of prisoners to battle the wildfires raging across the greater Los Angeles area, and is paying them below minimum wage, according to a report.
As raging winds and dry conditions continue to aid the spread of wildfires, 783 inmate firefighters have been deployed to help combat the flames, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told The Guardian. Of those prisoners, 395 are on the front lines.
Inmate firefighters make far below the state's minimum wage of $16 an hour, earning about $26.90 for working a 24-hour shift, according to the CDCR. When not responding to major disasters, incarcerated responders earn between $5.80 and $10.24 a day, plus an additional $1 an hour for emergencies.
The pay actually had a recent raise. Before 2023, inmates could earn either $0.16 to $0.74 an hour, or between $5.80 to $10.24 a day, as reported by Forbes.
"We're doing this heroic, crucial work, but many people inside cannot support their family, can barely afford to just get hygiene [supplies] for themselves. Nobody is saving money with wages for when you go home. Nobody is able to send money to cover the expenses their children are incurring," Amika Mota, who previously served as an incarcerated firefighter, told The Guardian.
While Mota, who now works as the executive director of the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition supporting both former and currently incarcerated people, added that working for the program can give inmates a sense of purpose, others have reported challenges finding work as a firefighter following their release.
California is home to more than 30 "fire camps," or conservation camps, where incarcerated individuals can be trained on responding to disasters. Inmates cannot be forced to register to become firefighters.
As of last year, inmate firefighters made up about 30% of the state's wildfire crews, according to a July 2024 article by the Los Angeles Times.
Six fires are currently burning across the state. At least 10 people have died, and 180,000 have been forced to evacuate.
About 9,000 structures have been destroyed by two of the fires alone, the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, as reported by NBC News. Estimated economic losses are in the billions of dollars.
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