August / September 2008

CDCR Staff, Inmate Firefighters Assist in State’s
Toughest Fire Season on Record

By George Kostyrko, Chief, Office of Communications

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) staff, wards and inmate firefighters were joined by the National Guard in fighting hundreds of fires across California during July and early August, in a fire season noted by experts as the largest since the state began keeping records.

Meteorologists and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire) representatives anticipate this fire season will run though November, and stretch firefighting resources – such as those that CDCR contributes – to their limits this year. According to the state Office of Emergency Services, the wildfires that began June 21 are “the largest single fire event in the history of California.”

At times, more than 2,500 inmate firefighters making up some 160 inmate crews, and nearly 250 custody and firefighting staff were dispatched into some of the largest infernos in areas as diverse as Butte, Tehama, Monterey and Kern counties.

“I am pleased that CDCR resources, through our trained staff and inmate firefighting crews, can be put to such an important public service need,” said CDCR Secretary Matthew Cate. “Inmate and ward firefighting crews and the custody staff who supervise them are a critical component of the state’s coordinated effort to battle wildfires and respond to other emergencies.”

Captain Ray Harrington, the CDCR liaison with CAL Fire, noted that this fire season has been particularly resource intensive. Already, all three CDCR Strike Teams have been sent out simultaneously to the same fire in Tehama and Butte counties, which has rarely happened in the history of CDCR.

Beginning in late June, lightning strikes statewide sparked some 1,781 separate blazes. Because of the large number of ongoing fires, state firefighting resources had to be triaged into areas with populations and buildings at risk. As of mid-July nearly 300 blazes continued to smolder throughout the state – many in remote locations. So far this fire season, more than 1,300 square miles of the state have been torched by fires, with more than 100 homes destroyed.

According to the Office of Emergency Services, the previous record was set in 2003, when wildfires blackened 1,155 square miles. State record keeping for fires began in 1936. California’s estimated population in 2007 was 36.5 million residents. In 1936, the state’s population was just under 6 million.

“This speaks to how large and intense this fire season is,” Harrington said. “If it is threatening structures then we are needed to assist setting backfires and fire breaks to assist the effort so that our men in the field have a chance with this fire.

“We are fully staffed with inmate fire crews that are staged at the Chowchilla and Madera staging areas. We are fully prepared to tackle the fire when needed. We are fully ready for deployment. CAL Fire has been very appreciative of our assistance in these wildfire prevention and suppression efforts. It is a partnership that has been going on for more than 50 years.”

There are 42 adult and two Division of Juvenile Justice Conservation Camps in California.  CDCR jointly manages 37 adult and juvenile camps with CAL Fire and five adult camps with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  More than 4,400 offenders participate in the Conservation Camp Program, which has approximately 200 fire crews.

In an average year, the CDCR Conservation Camp Program provides three million person hours in firefighting and other emergencies, and seven million person hours in community service project work, saving California taxpayers more than $80 million annually on average.

“Typically neighbors aren’t happy when they see a group of felons surround their house,” said Richard Subia, CDCR Associate Director for Operations, who oversees the camp program. “But when our inmate firefighters show up, there is a sigh of relief because everyone knows they are trained to help.”

Not only has CDCR played an important role in the state’s fire suppression efforts but it also works to provide cooperative state agencies with an able-bodied, trained work force for other emergencies such as floods and earthquakes.

“The juvenile wards taking part in these programs find that it is a meaningful way to give back to society while learning a worthwhile skill.  We have had several individuals go on to be firefighters after incarceration thanks to these programs,” said Bernard Warner, Chief Deputy Secretary for the CDCR’s Division of Juvenile Justice.  

Since 1946, the Conservation Camp Program has provided California with a well-trained, well-equipped workforce for fire suppression.  The crews respond to nearly every type of emergency, including wildfires, floods, search and rescue operations, and earthquakes.  They also log millions of hours annually on fire reduction and conservation projects and provide forest, range and watershed enhancement on public lands.

Only minimum-custody inmates may participate in the Conservation Camp Program. They must be physically fit and have no history of a violent crime, including kidnapping, sex offenses, arson or escape. Juvenile offenders earn their way into camp placement and must be free of major rule infractions.  Wards convicted of sex offenses or arson are excluded.

 

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