Source: SFGate
“More than 1,100 incarcerated firefighters were sent to Southern California in January to fight four different wildfires. As the Palisades Fire ran up a hillside, one strike team saved the life of a resident who was still at his home. ‘These firefighters, man, I cannot say enough about what they did for me,’ the resident later told a video crew. In the aftermath of the flames, incarcerated firefighters went door-to-door looking for residents who needed help, food or water. … Many of these firefighters were convicted of crimes committed in Los Angeles …. The state was paying them $1 an hour to fight active wildfires, plus a daily rate that ranges from $5.80 and $10.24. … On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law that gives incarcerated firefighters a major wage increase. The new law will pay fire crews from county jails and state prisons $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum wage, while they’re fighting active wildfires.” (10/14/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/incarcerated-firefighters-wage-increase-21099221.php