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Drought could lead to severe fire season and more inmate firefighters

(Last Updated On: May 14, 2015)

Cal Fire is busy training and preparing for what they believe could be a severe fire season due to the prolonged drought that this state has endured over the last four years. Instead of being reactive, Cal Fire is being proactive in their efforts to train more firefighters and that includes inmates. According to a report by Sacramento’s CBS Local, Cal Fire has almost 200 inmate crews consisting of at least 12 members per crew.

For those of you that don’t like math, that’s roughly 2,400 inmates that are an integral part to the Cal Fire wild-land control. Their value can be equated to saving Cal Fire nearly $100 million per year. Just because they are inmates, doesn’t mean they aren’t important to the success of controlling wildfires.

Not only, do they go through proper training, but they also go out into the fields to cut fire lines and lay down fire shelters when needed. Last year, they played a vital role in the massive King Fire. The more reliable bodies, the better. And, if we see an increase in wildfires this year, we could also see an increased need for more reliable inmate firefighters.

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Rick

After many years of being a full time freelance writer, and a long time resident of this state, I've decided to turn my full attention toward California by exploring all that it has to offer. My goal is to inspire you to get out there and explore this amazing state. Please follow my adventures and news content by visiting Calexplornia daily or clicking on one of my Social Media accounts below.

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