Poppies
It was my first day as a wildland firefighter when I learned about the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) program that trains and employs inmates as wildland firefighters to work alongside federal, state, and local responders during an emergency incident These crews provide both tangible and intangible amounts of value to the communities that they work in. They work year-round providing fire suppression, incident support, and fire prevention work that saves taxpayers an estimated minimum of $35 million annually (Humbolt County Grand Jury, 2020, 5/22).
When I began working adjacent to the inmate crews fighting fires, I felt completely out of my element. I was intimidated by just their presence and only saw them as a potential threat. I didn’t understand that these men chose to fight fire for many of the same reasons I did. I joined a US Forest Service (USFS) fire crew because I wanted a fresh start, a job that let me stay in athletic shape while being able to have a positive impact on my community. While I was employed with the US Forest Service, these men were volunteer employees while in custody with CDCR.
Our employment may have had different paths, but our motivation did not.
In 2021 CDCR housed over 1600 inmates, 900 of whom were Fireline qualified in 35 Conservation Camps located throughout California. These Camps are a partnership with CAL FIRE, California State’s Fire Authority, and the Department of Corrections. While inmates are working on emergency incidents, they are under supervision from a CAL FIRE Fire Captain, and while they are at home in Camp, they are in custody of CDCR. Many of the inmates who participate in the Conservation Camp program have enjoyed their time there, appreciate the opportunity to be treated with dignity, and serve the community (Humbolt County Grand Jury, 2020).
Conservation crews work for weeks on end on some of the countries’ fastest-moving and most extreme wildfires. While some crews specialize in fireline construction and fire suppression tactics, other crews specialize in incident support. Support crews operate a Mobile Camp Kitchen to prepare, cook, and serve all meals provided to the thousands of people who work in an Emergency incident. During less active fire months, Conservation crews perform fire prevention work to maintain and create fuel breaks, and to reduce hazard fuel loading (Conservation (Fire) Camps, 2022). Without the hard work from these crews, wildfires would be longer, more intense, and more expensive–financially and environmentally.
California fire seasons are long and grueling. In my first season as a Forest Service firefighter, I worked over 500 hours of overtime, but many crews average close to 1000 hours. My Engine crew traveled up and down the California coast moving from fire to fire. The lifestyle was exhilarating and exhausting. At fire camp, I was becoming accustomed to seeing the “poppy crews,” the slang term given to inmate crews because the color of their jumpsuits matched the California State flower. I noticed that they were respectful and extremely hardworking. They also seemed to always be in good spirits. I learned that the individuals that made up these crews had to want to be there; nobody is forced to serve on a fire crew (Conservation (Fire) Camps, 2022). Firefighters operate under such a small margin of error, and it is critical that all crewmembers stay focused on the task at hand.
Now, six years later, many of my coworkers–who are now some of my most valued friends, the people that I trust with my life, whom I turn to when I am struggling, and who I enjoy spending time with off the clock–are formerly incarcerated, many of whom have felony convictions on their record. The stories that some of my friends have shared with me are heart-wrenching. They put a highlight on some of the deep-seated issues within American culture, and highlight a world that I was privileged enough to grow up away from.
One friend was raised by a single mom who worked multiple jobs, sometimes doubling a day shift and a night shift to try to make ends meet. In the absence of a parent, my friend gravitated towards the “bigger kids” and just wanted to be included in what they did. He was inducted into a gang when he was six years old. He considers himself lucky because the gang members who raised him cared enough to ensure that he never used the drugs that they were dealing.
A different friend only began breaking the law because he thought it was the only to help out his community. He noticed that the little kids in his neighborhood would always try to get themselves invited over to other families' houses for dinner. He put together that many of these kids didn’t have adults at home in the evenings, and didn’t get a hot meal unless it was from the school cafeteria. He wanted to do something to help the kids, and at ten years old, knew that he was not eligible for a traditional job, and regardless, the traditional jobs that he saw adults go to every day were the reason why the kids were alone and hungry. He took a job helping a friend deliver packages across town and used his income to help buy food, and basic needs like clothing and shoes for the kids on his block who looked up to him.
Both gentlemen were tried as adults before they were 18 and convicted of multiple felonies. Today, they are involved with mentoring programs within their communities, they are the partners to their wives that I aspire to be, and exemplary fathers. They are also full-time wildland firefighters with the US Forest Service.
They started their careers in fire while in the custody of CDCR and wore orange jumpsuits for many years. They are intelligent, logical, ethical, and dedicated to completing the task at hand. These men, my friends, have added so much value and perspective to my life.
While I still have a twinge of intimidation when I see inmate crews working, I am no longer afraid. I see them differently; I see men in orange jumpsuits, not criminals. I look at their faces rather than their boots.
As I do, I recognize their calloused hands, the sharpness in their eyes, and their exhausted body language. Today, I don’t see a line of men in orange jumpsuits hiking toward me, I see experienced wildland firefighters. I understand the knowledge, the work ethic, and the drive to succeed that these men bring with them everywhere they go.
The CDCR program gives inmates an opportunity to learn and practice skills that can easily be translated to successful blue-collar careers once they are released from CDCR custody. Participants in the Conservation Camps can learn to operate and maintain chainsaws while learning to fell trees and clear brush. They may have the opportunity to work within a mill and practice woodworking skills, they can learn large and small motor repair, or they have the opportunity to learn to cook, or organize and handle logistics for the camp. Above all, the participants learn time management, teamwork, and to take pride in their work (Humbolt County Grand Jury, 2020).
Conservation Fire camps do not operate without controversy. In many people’s eyes, these Conservation Fire Camps are only a modern approach to the prison labor “chain gangs” utilized in the early 20th century. (Logue, Andrew, 2020) One of the many critiques of the CDCR program that arises is that there are very limited options for those with felony convictions to obtain positions as career firefighters. Being a licensed EMT or paramedic, or having Department of Justice clearance is a prerequisite for many fire departments across the country. In California, until recently, it was impossible for those with a felony conviction to be licensed EMTs or Paramedics (Logue, 2020). However, in 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that allowed for inmates who served as Fireline qualified members at these Conservation Camps to apply for their records to be expunged (AB 1247: 2022, CDCR). This measure was enacted in order to re-establish value within the Conservation Camp Rehabilitation program. Additionally, this added validation to any participant in the Rehabilitation program that the skills that they practiced were not only valued, but sought after within the civilian workforce.
However, the change in the legislature does not come without challenges. Just because a record is expunged, does not mean that all restrictions are eliminated. The American Bar Association (2018) defines “expunge” as: “to remove or erase completely” but explains that if an individual is applying for a professional certification or license, their record is visible, and may have a negative impact on obtaining licensing. Currently, in California, after only two years of Newsom’s expungement legislation in action, 5% of licensed EMTs have a prior felony on their record (Remijas, Zachery, T, 2021). CAL FIRE and the US Forest Service are two agencies that do not require EMT licensing or DOJ Clearance, and many formerly incarcerated individuals gain temporary, seasonal, or permanent employment within those agencies (Humbolt County Grand Jury, 2020).
The gentlemen I mentioned in my life have provided so much value to everyone they come in contact with. As firefighters, they work in conditions that outsiders cannot imagine, they selflessly sacrifice themselves to help others and are experienced, competent, and celebrated leaders on the Fireline. As CDCR crew members, they helped keep costs lower on emergencies, protected life, property and resources, while learning valuable skills that can lead to successful careers upon release.
More than any fiscal value or hours worked, the value that these gentlemen have added to my life is intangible. I have learned so much more about a community of people who need allies and advocates. I have learned to slow down and listen and look for ways to learn from everyone I come in contact with. I know firsthand that many of these people are not inherently bad. Bad things may have happened to them, they may have been in bad situations, and they may have made bad choices. But for me, it seems unfair to hold someone to the worst period of their life. Wherever my life takes me, my friends have made me better, more accepting, and less judgmental.
References
- AB 2147: Expedited Expungement for Formerly Incarcerated Fire Camp Participants. (2022, January 21). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility locator/conservation-camps/fire_camp_expungement/
- American Bar Association. (2018, November). American Bar Association What Is Expungement? Retrieved February 19, 2022, from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/teaching-legal-docs/what-is-_expungement-/
- Conservation (Fire) Camps. (2022, February 15). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/#CCPF
- Humbolt County Grand Jury, (2020, 5/22) Angels in Orange, The North Coast Journal. Retrieved February 19, 2022, from https://www.northcoastjournal.com/media/pdf/angels_in_orange-cc_report.pdf
- Logue, Andrew (2020, November 12). Inmate Hand Crews Fight California’s Forest Fires. The BPR. https://www.bostonpoliticalreview.org/post/inmate-hand-crews-fight-california-s-forest-fires
- Remijas, Zachary, T (2021) A Burning Question: Sparking Federal Protection of Inmate Firefighters through California’s Conservation Camp Program, 41 J. Nat’l Ass’n Admin. L. Judiciary 211 Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/naalj/vol41/iss1/5