As California prepares for what could be another intense fire season later this year, Governor Gavin Newsom asked for more than $100 million to hire extra firefighters, in order to replace inmate fire crews that have declined majorly due to COVID-19.
For decades, thousands of California prison inmates fought the growing number of wildfires, contributing their hard work to protect communities. Last year, Gov. Newsom signed a bill that allows inmates who volunteer as firefighters to more easily get jobs as first responders after completing their sentences.
“Once they’re out of the system, [they can] potentially join a workforce in which they’ve been trained and have actively participated in heroic ways,” Newsom said.
But the numbers of those inmate heroes fell dramatically in the past year, partly due to COVID-19 infections in the state prison system.
“Currently we’re funded for 168 crews, and we have 51 available,” said Cal Fire Deputy Chief Nick Schuler. “And that’s due to the decline of the available inmate population.”
Schuler said the agency supports Governor Newsom's $143 million budget request for more than 600 additional firefighters to go out on the front lines this fire season.