Inmate hand crews are at 30-40 percent capacity
Continue readingCAL FIRE introduces firefighting hand crews staffed by civilians
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CAL FIRE, has introduced two hand crews staffed by civilians, rather than inmates. Based in the San Bernardino Unit, their primary mission will be fuels reduction and fighting wildfires in San Bernardino, Inyo, and Mono Counties.
Each Type 2 Initial Attack crew is staffed by 2 Fire Captains and 12 Firefighter I’s. The 4 Captains selected to lead the crews bring 107 years of wildland firefighting experience, with over 60 of those years spent on hand crews. Most of the firefighters have Type 3 engine time and about half bring hand crew experience.
This is a significant step for a state that has been relying on inmate hand crews for over half a century.
With the COVID-19 pandemic reducing the number of inmate firefighters, the CAL FIRE is scrambling to find enough personnel to handle the all important job of cutting fireline and mopping up wildfires.
COVID spreading through inmate crew camps and prisons has cut the number of inmate crews available from 192 to 94. On July 9 California Governor Gavin Newsom said 12 inmate camps had to be quarantined last month due to the virus. Compounding the firefighter shortage was the early release of thousands of state inmates to create more space in the facilities during the pandemic, and before that, the state’s initiative to reduce the incarceration of those jailed for lower-level offenses.
The Governor announced the state intends to hire an additional 858 seasonal and 172 permanent firefighters. The agency has also changed the mission of six California Conservation Camp (CCC) crews to exclusively perform fire related tasks, two in the south and four in the north.
CAL FIRE to hire more than 1,000 additional firefighters
More seasonal and permanent firefighters
Continue readingFormer inmate firefighters establish forestry company
Former inmates that acquired skills while they were incarcerated are making use of that training and experience in the woods of New Mexico.
Lawrence Jaramillo and Joshua Melendrez became qualified as wildland firefighters and chain saw operators while serving time in Los Lunas prison. The Inmate Workers Camp program (IWC) taught them the basics of wildland firefighting.
After they spent three years in prison the two of them formed a private company, All Around Forestry LLC.
I talked with Mr. Jaramillo Friday just after the final inspection was completed on the largest project they have worked on since the company was issued a business license in November. On the 13-acre job the company’s six employees thinned dog hair thickets, removed some large trees, and otherwise reduced hazardous fuels around structures at the Ponderosa Christian Camp in the Jemez Mountains. He said they have submitted bids on other projects that they hope to hear from soon.
Mr. Melendrez told us, “The cool thing about it is that every single one of our employees with us are wildland fire certified as well,” he said. “We all have done the program. We all went through as ADs for New Mexico State Forestry [after we got out of prison] — went on fires and fought fires with each other for quite some time now. We all have the knowledge of what needs to be done, and to do it thoroughly as well.”
They want to realize what is implied in the company’s name, All Around Forestry LLC, and hope to provide additional services such as a 20-person crew and a fire engine.
Below is an excerpt from an article at KOAT:
For these men it’s about giving people like them a second chance.
“A lot of people are happy and proud to see, I guess, a success story,” Melendrez said. “We owe a lot of it to IWC but it’s also our own mindset to be better for ourselves.”
“They’ve been doing an amazing amount of work, they’ve gotten an amazing amount done,” Ponderosa Christian Camp board director Craig Mathews said. “We hope this is just a spring board for them, and that they’re very successful in the projects they get awarded in the future.”
Not only is it an opportunity to grow, but also a chance to go at life a different way this time.
“We did wrong in the past but that’s not us anymore, we’ve changed our lives completely,” Melendrez said.
Jaramillo said they are looking for other clients to do business with, as well as other former inmates who want to join the company.
Idaho inmate accused of rape at a fire in Utah
The Idaho Department of Corrections has returned their fire crews to prison while it reviews the program
Continue readingTwo men escape from inmate firefighting crew in Washington
At about 2:35 a.m. Tuesday two men escaped from an inmate crew that was assigned to the Head Water Fire in south-central Washington nine miles north of Goldendale. Tyray Munter, 30, was serving time for second degree assault and theft; Maksim Petrovskiy, 22, was convicted of possession of a stolen vehicle.
When not assigned to a fire the prisoners were held at the Olympic Corrections Center near Forks, Washington which houses approximately 380 minimum custody male inmates.
The Head Water Fire has burned 100 acres and has the following resources assigned: 2 hand crews, 6 engines, and 3 helicopters for a total of 123 personnel.
California firefighter dies after suffering chain saw injury
A California firefighter died July 11 in a hospital from injuries he suffered July 5 while fighting a wildfire near Lakeside in Southern California.
Frank Anaya, an inmate firefighter with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation based at the La Cima Conservation Camp, was throwing cut brush during line construction operations when he lost his balance and fell into a running chainsaw. He suffered a severe cut to his upper right leg behind his chaps.
The 22-year old firefighter underwent multiple surgeries, but succumbed to his injuries July 11, 2017, according to the CDCR.
Our sincere condolences go out to Mr. Anaya’s friends, family, and coworkers.
Other California inmate firefighter fatalities that we are aware of in the last six years:
- January 4, 2012. Crisanto Leo Lionell. Heart attack near the conclusion of a 20-minute, .66 mile exercise hike.
- August 19, 2012. Jimmy Randolph. Anoxic encephalopathy combined with complications of heat stroke while assigned to the Buck Fire.
- February 25, 2016. Shawna Lynn Jones. Struck by rolling boulder while working on the Mulholland Fire .
- May 24, 2017. Matthew Beck. Struck by falling tree while doing project work with his crew.
Edited July 14, 2017 to reflect new information in the Green Sheet. The victim was not running the chainsaw, but was swamping for it (throwing the cut brush).
More details released about the May 24 inmate fatality in California
Above: The top of the tree that struck Matthew Beck on May 24, 2017. CAL FIRE photo.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has released a few more details about the accident that killed a California inmate firefighter in Humboldt County on May 24. As disclosed earlier, Matthew Beck died after being struck by a falling tree.
Now we know that the tree had been previously identified as being hazardous but it was thought to be outside the work area.
Alder Crew #4 was working on Ishi Pishi Road towards Somes Bar picking up piles of limbs and brush from the previous two days of work to feed into a chipper. The machine was running at full throttle when the crew supervisor saw the tree falling and yelled a warning, which was not heard by the entire crew due to the noise from the chipper.
The supervisor attempted to call the Fortuna Emergency Communications Center on his hand held radio but could not make contact. He got in the crew carrier truck and drove about 400 yards to a location from which he could talk to the ECC with the vehicle’s mobile radio.
Mr. Beck received a fatal blow from the tree causing blunt force trauma to the head, neck, and torso.
The tree was a 105-year-old, 146-foot Douglas-fir, with a 21.5-inch diameter (DBH). It weighed approximately 3,000 pounds and had a downhill lean of about 46 degrees. Mr. Beck was hit by a portion of the tree that was about 18 feet from the tree top.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Eric.
Typos or errors, report them HERE.
California inmate firefighter killed by falling tree
(Revised at 1:13 p.m. MDT May 27, 2017)
The California inmate firefighter in Humboldt County was killed May 24 while working on a county roads project in the northwestern part of the state in Del Norte County.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Matthew Beck, 26, was working with a crew in the Hoopa area. He suffered major head, neck and back injuries when a 120-foot tall tree uprooted and fell on him. He died before life-flight crews were able to reach him.
“We are saddened by the death of Matthew Beck, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends,” said CDCR Secretary Scott Kernan. “The inmates who year after year help protect our communities from the devastation of fires perform a valuable public service, and it is a tragic event when we lose one of them.”
Mr. Beck, who was assigned to the Alder Conservation Camp in Del Norte County, was serving a six-year sentence for burglary and was due to be parolled in October. He is the fourth inmate firefighter to die on a fire since the conservation program was created in the 1940s.
In February of 2016 another California inmate firefighter, Shawna Lynn Jones, 22, died after being struck by a boulder that rolled down a hill on the Mulholland Fire near Malibu.
Our sincere condolences go out to the friends, family, and coworkers of both firefighters.
This article has been edited to rectify incorrect information initially provided by the CDRC. The firefighter was not working on a fire at the time of the accident.
California inmate firefighter dies of injuries suffered on wildfire near Malibu
Shawna Lynn Jones suffered major head injuries after being struck by a rolling boulder.
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