June 2021: Incarcerated firefighters help protect redwood coastal communities May 2022: Future Fire Academy fosters firefighting careersĪpril 2022: Two formerly incarcerated firefighters receive leadership award and grant
June 2022: Every 15 Minutes: Incarcerated firefighters discuss DUI dangers October 2022: Residents thank fire crews for saving communityĪpril 2022: Camp Cuesta firefighter honors others through art Just as in every CDCR prison, every fire camp offers rehabilitative and educational services. They perform a vital service and give back to the community while they serve their sentences with CDCR. The Conservation Camp Program can be an important part of an incarcerated person’s rehabilitation.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LAC), in contract with the CDCR, opened five camps in Los Angeles County in the 1980’s. Rainbow made history again when it converted to a female camp in 1983. In 1946, the Rainbow Conservation Camp was opened as the first permanent male conservation camp. There were 41 “interim camps” during WWII, which were the foundation for the network of camps in operation today. During World War II much of the work force that was used by the Division of Forestry (now known as CAL FIRE), was depleted.ĬDCR provided the needed work force by having incarcerated people occupy “temporary camps” to augment the regular firefighting forces. The CDCR road camps were established in 1915.
The Conservation Camp Program was initiated by CDCR to provide able-bodied incarcerated people the opportunity to work on meaningful projects throughout the state. Female incarcerated hand crew members are trained at the California Institution for Women in Corona and youthful offenders are trained at the Pine Grove Conservation Camp in Amador County. Sierra Conservation Center (SCC) in Jamestown serves as the primary training hub for male crew members. Crew members receive Forestry Firefighter Training (FFT) taught by CAL FIRE staff which consists of 29 hours of classroom training. When not fighting fires, incarcerated firefighters perform conservation and community service projects performing a wide range of duties, such as clearing brush and fallen trees to reduce the chance of fire, maintaining parks, sand bagging, flood protection and reforestation.Īll incarcerated firefighters receive a week of classroom instruction and a second week of field exercises.Īll incarcerated firefighters receive a week of classroom instruction and a second week of field exercises.Those convictions include: sexual offenses, arson and any history of escape with force or violence. Some conviction offenses automatically make someone ineligible for conservation camp assignment, even if they have minimum custody status.Volunteers must have “minimum custody” status, or the lowest classification for incarcerated people based on their sustained good behavior in prison, their conforming to rules within the prison and participation in rehabilitative programming. Camp participants must volunteer for the program no one is involuntarily assigned to work in a fire camp.In addition to wildland fire crew members, volunteers can work as support staff for the camps and include positions such as cooks, laundry workers, landscapers, and water treatment plant workers. As of March 2023, there are more than 1,600 incarcerated people housed in conservation camps.
In addition to fires, crews may be assigned to rescue efforts in local parks, and also respond to flood suppression efforts. Camp participants are directly supervised 24 hours per day while on work projects and while assigned to emergencies. CDCR staff often accompany incarcerated fire crews on out-of-county assignments, or on local assignments located near residential areas. CAL FIRE maintains the camp, supervises the work of the fire crews, and is responsible for crew member custody while on daily grade projects. CDCR is responsible for the selection, supervision, care and discipline of the camp participants.
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