Youthful camps program comes to Growlersburg

Growlersburg Conservation Camp in Georgetown has some new arrivals, but these aren’t your typical firefighters. CDCR has implemented a new Youthful Offender Program (YOP) specifically for conservation camps.

“I want them to know that they have worth, that they have value and that we’re going to do everything that we can to put them in a position to be successful,” said Growlersburg Camp Commander Lt. Mike Hill.

To provide increased access to rehabilitative programming during a critical development stage, YOP participants under 26 years old, up to and including Security Level III, are now eligible to volunteer for the camps program.

The first group of 17 YOP camp trainees was selected in August 2023 from Valley State Prison (VSP) in Chowchilla.

“I have been here at VSP for about three years,” said Carlos Valdivia. “It’s a great programming facility for youth; a lot of potential, a lot of opportunity to learn.”

Valdivia, 25, has been involved in YOP’s Seeking Safety Program and the Companion Dog Training program, attended self-awareness and improvement groups, and has completed his GED and multiple college programs. “I think it’s a beautiful opportunity to give back to the community and learn a new skill.”

YOP Mentors

Valdivia will learn plenty of new skills in the weeks ahead, not just for fighting wildfires in California. YOP firefighters will also train alongside their peer mentors.

“A mentor is not going to be somebody who will just give you what he wants you to do or tell you what you should do. He just tries to pull the best out of you at that moment in your time,” said Valdivia.

Mentors can choose to serve as firefighters or supportive camp staff in the kitchen, laundry, or wastewater treatment plant.

Raymond Campos, 43, has been involved with youth diversion groups since 2018. “Trying to navigate this world and changing your life is difficult,” said Campos. “When you have a mentor, you get to understand that you’re not the only one going through that.”

Mentors receive 500 hours of training to learn how to use lived experiences to teach younger people how to get along with others and control their feelings. At Growlersburg, Campos will work alongside the YOP participants. They will learn from each other through advice and valuable life experience.

“A lot of us, growing up the way we did, we don’t understand how to express our emotions,” said Campos. “We try to associate everything with anger. ‘He makes me mad.’ Or ‘I’m angry.’ Are you sure you’re not stressed or embarrassed? Because, it usually is. Anger is usually the second emotion that you feel.”

Training

Fire camp crews support state and local agencies as they respond to wildfires and other disasters across California. Prospective campers must pass an institutional review and physical fitness test. They then transfer to the Sierra Conservation Center in Jamestown to begin a month of training. Wildland firefighter training, taught by CALFIRE staff, consists of two weeks of classroom learning followed by two weeks of practical application in the field.

“I just learned how to chop the tree,” said Valdivia. “Also learned how to deploy a shelter, what to do when there is an air-attack for fire retardant, different things like cutting line, using the new tools.”

In the classroom, trainees learn concepts like:

• Wildland fire behavior
• Hand tool identification and use
• Fireline first aid
• Recognizing and treating heat related illnesses.

In the field, they put all those skills to the test. “I have to constantly keep the communication with my crew members, my supervisor, and that’s something I’m doing outside of the program, so back in the room I’m using that communication to talk to my peers,” said Valdivia.

“It’s a completely different kind of workout. I’m getting sore in places I’ve never gotten sore before. I’ve never climbed up half a dam,” Campos said.

The path to Growlersburg

To graduate and move to Growlersburg, participants need to maintain motivation during a four-mile hike in full personal protective equipment. In the days leading up to their final exam and graduation, the first group of YOP firefighters have plenty to look forward to.

“None of us have ever traveled without shackles, leg irons or any kind of restraints – being able to move around freely,” said Campos.

“I think the most exciting part of it is finally being part of that crew, that CAL FIRE crew. I’m no longer labeled an inmate, I’m a firefighter. Even now,” Valdivia added.

Move-in Day

A little more than a month after leaving VSP, the new YOP firefighters are ready to move to Growlersburg.

“Today we are getting our first bus of our YOPs that came from SCC that came from Valley State Prison,” said Lt. Hill. “It’s been about nine months or a year since this process has started, and this is the culmination of all that. They’re going to get dressed out by their captains, get assigned to a crew. Tomorrow they’re going to be on a project here at camp.”

CAL FIRE Chief Erich Schwab was also standing by to welcome the new firefighters.

“The true training will start on day 2 when we’ll actually get them into all their fire equipment, take them out for a hike, see where they’re at physically, and then start two weeks of a combination of physical training and classroom training to reinforce what they got at SCC,” Schwab said.

Camp life is very different from an institution. Most notably, conservation camps are minimum security facilities. They do not have fences, barbed wires, or towers. Camps mimic life in the community and are a fundamental step toward normalization.

“Just the environment of camps – is an incredible place for anyone who’s incarcerated to do time. get outside the walls, learn skills, be treated as firefighters,” said Camps Liaison Capt. Fred Money.

Lt. Hill added, “Here we ask them to raise the bar and reach for the stars. It sounds kind of corny, but we really mean that.”

Educational and rehabilitative programs

Camp volunteers have access to educational and rehabilitative programming. They also have opportunities to learn other skills, such as woodworking, gardening, raising chickens, and wastewater treatment.

“If they come here and apply themselves and are receptive and want to learn, they can walk out of here into a career of firefighting,” said Chief Schwab.

Those who successfully complete the program as a firefighter are eligible to petition for expedited record expungement and advanced firefighter training at the Ventura Training Center.

“I knew you could do it,” Valdivia beamed. “I knew you could do it and if you can do that, you can do more.”

“All of these individuals are going to go home,” said Capt. Money. “And they can get those jobs with CAL FIRE.”

Come winter, they’ll join existing camp participants and CAL FIRE staff on conservation projects and clearing snowfall from homes and businesses, playing a vital role in California. Over the next two years, more YOP firefighters will be trained and added to the crews at Growlersburg.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg for these individuals,” said Capt. Money. “If they play their cards right, hopefully the overall goal is never to ever return to an incarcerated life.”

More information on the California Conservation Camp Program can be found on the website: https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/

Story by Tessa Outhyse, Information Officer
Video by Clarissa Resultan, TV Specialist
Office of Public and Employee Communications

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