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California's Budget Secret: Prisoners Form Core of Forest Fire Fighting Army
California's Budget Secret: Prisoners Form Core
of Forest Fire Fighting Army
by Peter Wagner
In California, up to three quarters of
the crew members fighting California fires are prisoners. In exchange for a reduction in sentence length, 4,100 minimum security prisoners work fighting fires and on public works projects for …
of Forest Fire Fighting Army
by Peter Wagner
In California, up to three quarters of
the crew members fighting California fires are prisoners. In exchange for a reduction in sentence length, 4,100 minimum security prisoners work fighting fires and on public works projects for …
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More from this issue:
- Welcome to Guantanamo World, by Tom Engelhardt
- Ex Con "Helps Police" by Trying to Murder Sex Offenders, by Gary Hunter
- Law-and-Order Former Texas Attorney General Lands in Federal Prison
- Court Continues Oversight and Orders Corrections in Georgia Jail, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- California's Proposition 36 Parole Violator Drug Treatment Program Covers Probation Violators, by John E Dannenberg
- $450,000 Settlement in California Prison Murder Suit
- Pro Se Tips and Tactics, by John Midgley
- Florida's Incarceration Cost Recovery Statute Constitutional
- Federal Supermax Terrorist's New Home and Bargaining Chip; $1 Million Cells Planned, by Bob Williams
- Wackenhut Changes Name to Geo Group, Politics Remain the Same, by Michael Rigby
- 2000 Census of Prisons, Prison Populations Published
- $22 Million Washington Parole Liability Verdict Affirmed, Review Granted by State Supreme Court
- The Inmate's Guide to Prison Health Care, by John E Dannenberg
- Videotapes Prove Abuse of 9/11 Detainees by Federal Guards
- Suits in Michigan and New Jersey Seek to Force HCV Treatment
- Nebraska Prisoners Win Summary Judgment on Phone Access and Monitoring Issues
- U. S. Supreme Court Rules Consent Decrees May Be Enforced
- Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization & Human Rights, by Mark Wilson
- California's Budget Secret: Prisoners Form Core of Forest Fire Fighting Army, by Peter Wagner
- New York Prisoner Awarded $335,000 for Non-Treatment of Fistula
- Amended Pennsylvania Parole Statute Ruled Ex Post Facto; Third Circuit Orders Release on Parole, by John E Dannenberg
- Jury Finds for Corcoran Guards in Prisoner Rape Suit, by Paige Welch
- $1.4 Million Awarded in Kansas Prisoner Death
- Actual Damages Required to Maintain Suit Under Federal Privacy Act
- Missouri Guards Liable for Refusing Prisoner's Seatbelt Request, by John E Dannenberg
- $135,000 Paid in New York Jail Sexual Harassment Settlement
- $1.5 Million Illinois Prison Rape Verdict Overturned
- Indictment Dismissed for Failure to Comply with Interstate Agreement on Detainers
- Pro Se Indiana Prisoner Awarded $100,000 in Failure to Protect Suit
- Illinois Segregation Brutality Suit Fails Because Injury Was De Minimis, by John E Dannenberg
- Jury Awards Maryland Prison Guard $1.6 Million for Discrimination, by Michael Rigby
- Do New York Shiite Prisoners Have a Right to Separate Services?
- Ninth Circuit Affirms California Parole Denial Based On "Some Evidence", by John E Dannenberg
- California Prisoner Not Earning Wages Is Denied Workers' Comp, by John E Dannenberg
- California Pays $1.25 Million for Woman Crushed by State Prison Bus
- D.C. Prisoners Serving Life Sentences Have No Right to Earn Good Time Credits on Maximum Terms
- Unearned Good Time Credits May Not Be Withheld as Disciplinary Sanction, by Bob Williams
- County Must Disclose Detention Center Settlement to Newspaper, by Bob Williams
- Pauper's Declaration Sufficient for Cost Bond in Texas Medical Malpractice Suit
- Preliminary Injunction Automatically Expired in 90 Days for Alabama Women Prisoners, by Bob Williams
- Administrative Hearings and Judicial Reviews Mandated for Sex Offender Classifications Without Current Felony Conviction., by Bob Williams
- RFRA May Protect Federal Prisoners' Right to Cast Spells
- Capello Decision Remains Good Law
- Injunctive Relief Granted for Parole Rescission Based on Free Speech
- Consent Decree Entered in Unconstitutional BOP Parole Revocation Procedures, by Bob Williams
- Kansas Trial Courts Have Latitude in Setting Restitution Payments
- Notice Required in Texas Parole Date Rescission
- Qualified Immunity Appeal Deemed Frivolous; California Pays Beaten Prisoner $149,500
- Plaintiff Entitled to Trial on Question of Whether Mental Illness Warrants Tolling Statute of Limitations
- PLRA Only Requires Exhaustion of Applicable Remedies
- Arkansas Work Release Prisoner Entitled to Unemployment Benefits
- Kansas Good Time Regulations Enacted After Prisoner's Crime May Not Be Applied Retroactively
- BJS Says 1 in 15 Adults Will Go to Prison
- Los Angeles County Pays $2.75 Million for Illegal Strip Searches, by John E Dannenberg
- News in Brief
- Common Fund Required for Incentive Award
More from Peter Wagner:
- Jails and Prisons Have Reduced Their Populations in the Face of the Pandemic, but Not Enough To Save Lives, Sept. 1, 2020
- Large Scale Releases and Public Safety, June 1, 2020
- How Prepared Are State Prison Systems for a Viral Pandemic?, May 1, 2020
- Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie, April 15, 2014
- In Memory of Jon E. Yount (1938-2012), Feb. 15, 2013
- Momentum Builds to End Prison-Based Gerrymandering, Dec. 15, 2012
- Prison Town Legislators Represent Prisoners' Interests? Not Quite, Nov. 15, 2004
- Local Officials Tell Prisoners: "You don't live here", Aug. 15, 2004
- Thirty Three Years after Attica: Many more Blacks in prison, but not as guards, July 15, 2004
- California's Budget Secret: Prisoners Form Core of Forest Fire Fighting Army, June 15, 2004
More from these topics:
- SCOTUS Shuts Down GEO Group Bid for Immunity in Suit by Colorado ICE Detainees, July 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Prison Labor, Sovereign Immunity, Interlocutory Appeals, Immigration Detention.
- Colorado Ordered to Stop Tossing Prisoners in Solitary for Refusing to Work, July 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Injunctions, Good Time, Constitution, state, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Federal Judge Upholds Infamously Brutal Farm Labor at Angola Prison, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Deliberate Indifference.
- Constitutional Challenge to Louisiana Prison “Farm Line” Granted Class Certification, March 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Exposure to Heat, Injunctions (PLRA), Class Certification, Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Incarcerated Women Featured in True Crime Media Face Flood of Sexual Harassment, March 1, 2026. Sexual Harassment, Prison Labor, Hygiene Supplies, Mail, TV/Movies.
- Missouri Prisoners Forced to Shovel Snow in Subzero Temperatures, Feb. 1, 2026. Retaliatory Segregation, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Exposure to Cold, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Labor Coalition in Minnesota Demands Disney Contractor Pay Prisoners Minimum Wage, Jan. 1, 2026. Prison Industries, Prison Labor, Advocacy, Contractor Liability, jobs.
- Wisconsin DOC Is Not Tracking Work Release Data, Jan. 1, 2026. Work Release, Prison Labor, Statistics/Trends, Fair Labor Standards Act.
- How I Learned to Transcribe Braille in Prison, Jan. 1, 2026. Prison Labor, Education, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, jobs.
- Hyundai and Kia Sued in California for Use of Prison Labor in Southern States, Dec. 1, 2025. Work Release, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

