The California Wildfires, Incarcerated Firefighters, and the $1 an Hour Paycheck

California’s been calling up a special team to fight their flames made up of incarcerated people. Yup, heroes, risking it all, for wages that might not even cover your morning latte.

Now, on paper, it sounds kinda cool—second chances, valuable skills—but is it justice? Or just cheap labor in disguise? We’re gonna dig into the fiery debate: are we reforming lives here, or exploiting them for survival?

Stick around as we break it all down: the laws, the ethics, and how something as simple as a paycheck might say a lot about what justice really means in America.

Transcript

I’m your host, Lea, and Today's topic? Wildfires, incarcerated firefighters, and the $1 an hour paycheck. California’s been calling up a special team to fight their flames made up of incarcerated people. Yup, heroes, risking it all, for wages that might not even cover your morning latte.

Now, on paper, it sounds kinda cool—second chances, valuable skills—but is it justice? Or just cheap labor in disguise? We’re gonna dig into the fiery debate: are we reforming lives here, or exploiting them for survival?

Stick around as we break it all down: the laws, the ethics, and how something as simple as a paycheck might say a lot about what justice really means in America.

OPENING STATEMENT 

Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are helping battle the destructive blazes that are rapidly spreading across southern California as a powerful windstorm devastates the region. Living in San Diego, California, witnessing these wildfires has been nothing short of devastating. It’s surreal watching the places you’ve visited growing up quite literally burning down. I can only imagine how this is impacting those who have lost their homes and businesses. 

CDCR operates more than 30 “fire camps” across the state where people serving state prison sentences are trained in firefighting and support authorities as they respond to fires, floods and other disasters. 

The sites, also called conservation camps, are considered minimum-security facilities. California, which is grappling with longer and more destructive fire seasons amid the climate crisis, has long relied on incarcerated people for its response. The CDCR crews have at times accounted for as much as 30% of the wildfire force in the state.

The fire camp wages are meager, but are considered high-paying jobs behind bars, with CDCR firefighters earning between $5.80 and $10.24 a day and an additional $1 per hour when responding to active emergencies. When responding to disasters, they may earn $26.90 over a 24-hour shift, according to CDCR.

However, if you consider inflation behind bars, you begin to realize that $26.90 still isn’t a lot behind bars when the price of personal care products including shampoo, soap, and toothpaste are ridiculously high, ranging to an upwards of $16 dollars. 

This is best explained by Mota in an article by The Guardain: “Mota, now the executive director of the Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition, a group that supports formerly and currently incarcerated people, said the firefighting wages were helpful, but that people still struggled to get by: “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.”

Graduates of the program have reported difficulties accessing firefighting jobs once released despite their experience and training. How utterly ironic is that. 

Saving peoples lives, making little wages, all to not even have your certifications help you get a job post-incarceration. This demonstrates the extent of stigma surrounding incarceration alone. As a society, we rather have a shortage of fire fighters than formerly incarcerated fire fighters. The logic is not adding up. 

EXHIBIT A: the proof

So, how did we get here? This program dates back to World War II, when the state began relying on incarcerated people to supplement its firefighting workforce. Fast forward, and today it’s become a cornerstone of California’s emergency response strategy. The state saves an estimated $100 million a year using incarcerated labor.

Legally, the program operates under a thin layer of justification. Incarcerated individuals are classified as ‘state property,’ meaning they can be assigned to labor under the 13th Amendment. Yup, the same one that abolished slavery… except for people in prison. This creates a loophole that’s been debated for decades. Is it rehabilitation, or modern-day exploitation?

While the 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States, a loophole allows people convicted of crimes to be forced to work for public or private enterprises. In this case, those tasked with firefighting volunteer for those positions and must meet certain criteria. They are not assigned without their consent, according to an article by Forbes.

Their pay scale was doubled in 2023, and depending on the skill level and the task assigned, they either receive $0.16 to $0.74 an hour or a maximum day rate of $5.80 to $10.24.

Most of their lunches consist of a simple sandwich—two pieces of white bread with a few slices of bologna—plus an apple. Their daily food budget of approximately $4 per day is hardly enough to sustain them for their high volume of manual labor.

Incarcerated firefighters have some of the highest injury rates among all prison workers and are four times more likely to sustain injuries compared to other firefighters. Also, they work some of the longest hours and have some of the hardest tasks to execute. They don’t shoot water hoses; they use powered chainsaws and manual hand tools, such as axes, with the goal of starving the fire of fuel to continue to burn.

The practice of forced prison labor is still very big business today. It is estimated that $11 billion in prison labor is used annually, from making hand sanitizer and digging mass graves during COVID-19 to cleaning up hazardous materials. The Associated Press recently uncovered a hidden workforce, apparently linking Popeyes, Coca-Cola, Chipotle, Burger King and Kellogg’s to forced prison labor. And in instead of pay—which for some is pennies per hour—the prisoners’ wages are often garnished to pay for things like their own room and board and court fees to appeal their cases.

During the most recent U.S. election, California voters rejected Proposition 6, a ballot measure that would have banned forced labor in state prisons. Only a handful of states have abolished forced prison labor: Colorado, Vermont, Nebraska, Utah, Alabama, Oregon and Tennessee.

It’s time we fight for the people who are fighting fires for us.

CLOSING STATEMENT

So, what can be done? Advocates are pushing for better pay, safer working conditions, and pathways to professional firefighting jobs post-incarceration. In 2020, California passed a law allowing some formerly incarcerated firefighters to expunge their records, making them eligible for firefighting jobs. It’s a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go.

Here’s what you can do: Call your representatives. Demand fair wages and better protections for incarcerated workers. Support organizations fighting for criminal justice reform. And next time you see a headline about incarcerated firefighters, don’t just scroll past. Think about what it really means for justice, for labor rights, and for the people risking their lives to save ours.