Inmates join firefighters on front lines of wildfires

Emily Pritchard | KXTV-TV, Sacramento, Calif.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Wildfires continue to burn across the state of California and inmates from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are on the front lines working alongside firefighters to battle the blaze.

“Everyone goes out, grabs their tool, and hook line order, and they go up the mountain," Shane Thompson, an inmate and firefighter told KXTV-TV.

Thompson lives at Konocti Camp, a facility in Lower Lake, Calif., that houses about 110 male, low-level offenders. The camp, which started in 1963, is operated by a partnership between the state's corrections and forestry departments.

Roughly 85% of the residents fight fires, while the other 15% do jobs around the camp such as cooking, welding, automotive work and waste water treatment, California Department of Corrections Lt. Jeff Auzenne told USA TODAY Network.

The inmates that fight fires work 24-hour shifts in the field and then get 24 hours of rest, he said. When it’s not fire season, they work on service projects for non-profit organizations such as maintenance and cleaning school grounds.

In addition to sleeping areas and restrooms, the camp also has a gym, recreational areas and laundry facilities. Some residents said the camp helps them transition to life outside of confinement.

“Out here, you’re more able to be yourself," inmate Damone Cuington told KXTV-TV, adding that he's "able to communicate with people on a human to human basis.”

Inmates are paid for their work. The initial pay is $1.45 a day to a maximum payment of $3.90 a day. If they are fighting fires, they get an additional dollar per hour, according to Auzenne.