The Californian wildfires around LA dominated the headlines throughout most of January. Articles are calling them the most destructive in LA’s history and saying they may be the costliest in US history. At least 28 people have been killed, an estimated 16,000 homes and other structures have been destroyed and hundreds of thousands have been evacuated at some point. Some estimates suggest wildfire losses to be in excess of $250 billion. It will be some time before Californian officials can fully understand the costs and ripple effects of the fires, such as how toxic smoke has affected the health and wellbeing of citizens thousands of miles away.
The wildfires have also brought to light hidden injustices and inequalities surrounding the treatment of different groups during disasters. Take, for instance, the access wealthy residents in LA had to private firefighters. Whilst the use of private firefighters received widespread backlash from the public, the practice revealed the stark difference in treatment and safety those from poorer backgrounds face. Even the coverage of the LA fires in comparison to previous deadly wildfires reflects our bias to focus on Global North stories and news (Our World In Data shares data on wildfires and clearly shows how wildfires occur globally).
Another of these hidden injustices is the unfair treatment of incarcerated firefighters that have been deployed alongside their non-incarcerated peers to fight the fires. Royal Ramey joined Climate Curious in May 2024 to talk about his experience as an incarcerated firefighter in California and why he struggled to join the fire service after he finished his sentence.
Unjust wages
“California relies on incarcerated people to fight wildland fires because it saves [the] state millions of dollars,” Royal explains. He goes on to share that he “had the opportunity to fight wildland fires whilst incarcerated and [I] fell in love with firefighting and wanted to pursue it as a career.” Incarcerated firefighters work alongside municipal firefighters, but are not paid fairly:
“You have a person that’s making, now it’s $2 dollars an hour fighting fire… they might be closer, next to a person that’s making $80 to $100k a year, plus benefits, plus retirement and [they’re] pretty much doing that same piece of work, right?”
This huge difference in payment has continued during the most recent LA wildfires. A recent Guardian article that interviewed Royal and other previous incarcerated firefighters, shared how ‘incarcerated firefighters make between $5.80 and $10.24 daily, and an additional $1 hourly while responding to emergencies.’
A lack of pathways
As Royal mentioned, it’s very difficult for previously incarcerated firefighters to take their skills and experience and join the fire service. As he puts it, “it was made clear that prison and public service don’t mix”. Simply put, there isn’t a clear pathway for how previously incarcerated firefighters can join the fire service. “It’s a catch 22 because… you learn the skills and the training while you’re in prison. But [there’s] not really like an opportunity… for folks to believe and know that they can become a wildland firefighter once they become home.” Royal’s sentiments were echoed in the above mentioned recent Guardian article, where other previously incarcerated firefighters shared how they struggled or were unable to enter fire service.
This also seems particularly problematic when you consider there is a historic labour shortage in the fire service in California. Royal puts it succinctly:
“Why are we not taking the folks that have the training? Reinvest in them, you know, for them putting that hard work in and then sacrificing their lives. Because every time you fight fire, it’s a possibility you might not come home and everybody knows that.”
Laws passed by Californian governor Gavin Newsom in 2020, were meant to improve this situation. Royal explains that the law “states that anybody that’s been in California conservation camps have the ability to get the record expunged… It’s really based on the judge’s discretion.” Royal also added in a recent interview that the fire camp programmes are attractive to inmates with better conditions, earning more money than other work programmes and having opportunities in the future.
Helping incarcerated firefighters return to work
However, it seems many still face barriers to accessing work, as exemplified by Royal’s work with his co-founder at The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP), a nonprofit organization. Working at the intersection of workforce development, criminal justice and the climate crisis, FFRP created training programmes to help previously incarcerated people train to get the certifications they need to get a position with the Forest Service or California Fire. This includes forestry management too:
“We’re really proactive in prevention work when it comes to wildland firefighting, because you have a lot of homes that, we want to protect.. and then we [want to] educate our participants in forestry management, [so] they get an understanding of the ecological piece.”
Climate change is a major driver of the current wildfires in LA, making management of wildland incredibly important. The World Weather Attribution shared climate change made those weather conditions about 35% more likely. Clearing dry fuel, helping remove bush around people’s houses and managing non-indigenous plants, like the members of FFRP do, helps combat the spread of wildfires. If you’d like to learn more about forestry management and indigenous wisdom, we recommend firefighter and Indigenous leader, Oral McGuire’s excellent TED Talk, How you can live with fire.
The current situation
The good news is that it’s working. FFRP have helped over 200 people get jobs in the fire service and impacted over 3,000 people that have been formerly and are currently incarcerated in California conservation camps. During the LA wildfire crisis throughout January, Royal has been sharing the success of FFRP and how their graduates have been fighting the fires in LA. He’s been featured in ABC news, CNN and The Daily Show, sharing his experience, the reality of incarcerated firefighters face and why programmes from FFRP are so important.
In his podcast episode, Royal told us his ambition was to get similar programmes into the 13 other US states that use incarcerated firefighters to fight wildfires. In the wake of the LA fires, intersectional work like this seems more urgent than ever – especially when we know that climate-driven disasters will become more frequent and intensive. At Climate Curious, we will keep bringing to light hidden injustices like Royal’s story and hopefully help focus our attention on how we protect everyone being affected by such disasters and not the select few.
Want to learn more?
– Listen to Royal’s episode, The hidden injustice behind wildfire fighting in California
– Watch to Royal’s TED Fellow talk, From prison to purpose through wildland firefighting
– Watch Royal’s interview on The Daily Show
– Visit Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program
– Read The Guardian’s article Ramey is interviewed in: ‘Running to danger and saving lives’: 1,100 incarcerated firefighters are on the LA frontlines
– For more on how we can better manage forests and wildland, watch Oral McGuire’s TED Talk, How you can live with fire
