California Wildfire Recovery Efforts Involve Prison Inmates

Nearly 1,000 prison inmates have been engaged in battling the massive wildfires raging in Los Angeles, California, according to Newsweek. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reports that a total of 939 inmates are participating in the fire recovery efforts. All inmates have undergone training in specialized fire camps and have begun work.

Inmates are primarily involved in constructing fire lines intended to impede the spread of flames. According to CDCR, approximately 30% of the firefighters in California are inmates. The department emphasized that this pertains only to individuals convicted of non-violent crimes.

Earlier, the Regnum agency reported that witnesses to the firefighting efforts have spotted these inmates in the Los Angeles area. At least 16 people have died as a result of the wildfires in California. Authorities have warned that the precise number of casualties will be known only after investigators can reach the affected areas.

The fires erupted on the evening of January 7. Winds fueling the fire reached speeds of 48 km/h, with gusts in the mountains hitting 112 km/h and in populated areas up to 105 km/h. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from the disaster-stricken zone. The fire has almost entirely decimated the coastal city of Malibu, destroying many celebrity homes. A state of emergency has been in effect since January 8. U.S. authorities have labeled the current fires in Los Angeles as the most devastating in California's history.