CDCR

Conservation (Fire) Camps

Facts and figures

Total Staff (CDCR) 2009: 10
Total Staffing (CAL-FIRE/LAC) 2009: 13
Total # Inmates (as of 12/31/2009): 160

Camp Products

Information not available.

Community service projects

The CDCR inmates supervised by Cal Fire staff provide extensive conservation and project work in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, Palomar County Park, Cal-Trans, City of San Diego, La Jolla Indian Reservation, Naval Training base SERE, San Diego State University, United States Forest Service, Warner Spring School District, and San Diego Wild Animal Park. These are just a few of the on going projects that Puerta La Cruz CC#14 is involved with as well as fire defense year round and sand bagging at local fire stations in the San Diego County during the wet season to help prevent flood damage.

Welcome to Puerta La Cruz Conservation Camp #14

32363 Highway 79, Warner Springs, California 92086
PH: Not available

Camp Staff

Lt. M.Q. Hernandez, Camp Commander
M. Bratton, Division Chief

Camp History

Under the administrative supervision of the California Institution of Women (CIW), PLC is one of the two female camps jointly operative by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). There is one additional CDCR female Camp jointly operated with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The camp was built in 1957, as a male camp. The camp was reverted to an all female inmate camp in May 1986. The primary mission of the camp is to provide CDCR inmate fire crews for fire suppression principally in the San Diego, Imperial, Riverside county areas, although the inmate fire crews maybe dispatched anywhere in the State. In addition to fire suppression, inmate hand crews provide a work force for conservation projects and community service. A Mobile Fire Kitchen (MKU), with inmate cooks and support workers is supervised by both Cal Fire and CDCR staff. This MKU provides meals to the fire fighters at incident base camps in remote locations.

Inmate Programs

Puerta La Cruz Conservation Camp provides to all inmates a GED program that is approved by the State of California with an accredited teacher on site, College Courses through Coastline Community College, and numerous independent study programs.

Puerta La Cruz has numerous outside volunteers who generously provide their time and services to the inmates here. These groups include Alcoholics Anonymous, God’s Grace-Protestant/Religious, Jehovah Witness-Other/Religious, Mission Santa Isabel-Catholic/Religious, Narcotics Anonymous, Prison Fellowship-Other/Religious, Southwest Prison Fellowship-Other/Religious, New Life Ministries-Other/Religious, and Second Chance-Other/Religious.