Using inmate labor to fight fires has been a practice in California since the 1940s. Where did it start and what do participants actually do and get paid?

California's fire camps have a long history of responding ... These camps not only provide emergency response support but also offer training in critical skills like fire suppression and disaster ...

Cavalry FC has been put on evacuation alert in relation to a wildfire that has erupted near their pre-season training ...

Brian Conroy, a captain at the state firefighting agency Cal Fire, recently led a crew of formerly incarcerated firefighters ...

As of Friday morning, 939 incarcerated firefighters have been working “around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel behind structures to slow fire spread,” CDCR told TIME in an emailed ...

California's program is not without controversy, as the inmates are paid little for dangerous and difficult work. Many participants, however, say they appreciated the opportunity.

and the modern protocol of training the inmates at camps began in 1946. Today, there are 44 conservation camps, also known as fire camps, operated by the CDCR in partnership with the California ...

The fire camps, which are all minimum-security facilities, are supervised by CDCR employees. Participation in the fire camp program is voluntary. After passing a physical fitness test and Cal Fire’s ...

data from Cal Fire shows they've quickly become some of the most destructive in California. The 2018 Camp Fire is currently the most destructive wildfire in state history based on the number of ...