California disappointed that COVID-19 prevents the state from fully exploiting prison labor to fight wildfires

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout California penitentiaries, fewer prisoners are available to fight ongoing wildfires compared to previous years. The state has warned residents of smokier conditions and more evacuations, explaining, “Exploiting prison labor is much harder in a pandemic, but we’ll keep trying.”

The subdivision of California firefighters composed of incarcerated people, usually paid only $2-5 per day, is much smaller this fire season because inmates have contracted COVID-19 from prison outbreaks. “I really wish our government had done a better job of keeping incarcerated people healthy,” said Cal Fire representative Darryl Johnson. “They’re human beings. And, more importantly, who else will volunteer to get that close to wildfires? People die doing that.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state plans to supplement the inmate subdivision by hiring other firefighters. When asked why this vital civic service was not already composed entirely of firefighters hired equitably and paid well for their work, he responded, “It’s better for everyone. Inmates’ labor saves taxpayers millions annually. And it’s good for the, uh, prisoners because, well, they get a sense of purpose, which is something. Besides, preliminary studies show that COVID-19 transmission rates through thick smoke is 0%, so inmates are technically safer fighting fires than they would be in our prisons.”

Gov. Newsom expressed regret about the unsafe conditions in California penitentiaries that led to the infection of over 9,000 inmates. “It was a mistake not to act sooner. We realize that prison safety and sanitation is a valuable investment. Moving forward, we will ensure that our prisoners are healthy enough to risk their lives practicing complex firefighting techniques inside an inferno.”

At press time, these firefighters will almost certainly be unable to find paid firefighting work after their release as most fire departments require applicants to have an EMT license, a certification that is near-impossible to earn with a felony conviction.

-SL ’22

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