Hundreds of prisoners are battling the devastating Los Angeles wildfires through a longstanding program with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.Currently, 395 incarcerated firefighters are deployed across 29 fire troops in Los Angeles, the CDCR confirmed Wednesday. Theyre working for just dollars a day alongside civilian firefighters to put an end to historical levels of destruction. This program, and others like it, have been criticized for being exploitative, but some former incarcerated people have said that joining firefighting initiatives can be rewarding.Two major wildfires, as well as multiple smaller fires, have ravaged Los Angeles County since Tuesday nightincluding the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles city history, the Pacific Palisades Fire. Nearly 200,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes, with another 200,000 under evacuation warnings. As windstorms and dry conditions fuel the destruction, the city is becoming increasingly strained for resources.Although 9,000 firefighters are based in Los Angeles, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said Wednesday that this isnt enough to address a disaster of this scale, according to the L.A. Times. Firefighters from other states are pouring in to help, as are members of the National Guard.Inmate laborIncarcerated firefighters have historically made up around a third of Californias firefighting force. Theyre a much smaller percentage of those on the ground in Los Angeles right now.The CDCR has offered an opt-in program that employs low-level offenders as firefighters since the 1940s. Around 15 other states offer similar programs. The firefighters transfer to minimum-security facilities known as fire camps where theyre trained for eight days to respond to fires, floods, and other natural disasters.Incarcerated fire crew members earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day; during emergencies, they earn an additional dollar per hour. Sometimes crew members will work 24-hour shifts where the lowest-skill-level firefighter will earn $26.90 for that entire shift, according to the CDCR. Incarcerated firefighters can also earn credits that help them take time off their prison sentence; many can receive two additional days off their sentence for every one day served.The program has been attacked for being exploitative, as it puts incarcerated people in life-threatening situations for a few dollars a day. These firefighters are around four times more likely to be injured than civilian firefighters. At least four California incarcerated firefighters have died as a result of fighting fires in recent years.Fighting fires after prisonWhen released, these same people sometimes struggle to land firefighting jobs. Many fire departments require EMT certification to become a civilian firefighter, but California law prohibits granting this certification to anyone who has been released from prison for a felony offense in the last decade, has been convicted of two or more felonies ever, or has been convicted of two or more drug offenses in the past five years. Any credentials earned during the eight-day training program do not transfer after release. However, many incarcerated firefighters do go on to gain employment at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention (Cal Fire) after being released. Cal Fire partnered with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition to develop an 18-month training and certification program. In 2022, Cal Fire estimated that 229 incarcerated firefighters had gone through the training program and 136 received jobs in the five years prior.Former incarcerated firefighter Royal Ramey created a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping former incarcerated firefighters find work. His nonprofit, the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, helps others earn the necessary certifications and navigate the application process for entry-level positions within Californias Forest Service, Cal Fire, or other wildland agencies.The prison firefighting initiatives can be beneficial for the prisoners involved; Ramey told NPR that he fell in love with the job during his service time.Joshua Bligh, a formerly incarcerated firefighter in Oregon, said the states program (which is similar to the one in California) was rewarding and even enjoyable for him. He said it felt like none of the prisoners were in it for money; they enjoyed being able to go out in the community and work instead of sitting in a jail cell. He now works as a civilian firefighter.Having that experience in prison really did a lot for me psychologically, spiritually and physically, Bligh says. You didnt feel like such a dirtbag, because you were able to save peoples homes and their assets.Through a loophole in the 13th Amendment, states like California can allow involuntary work as a form of punishment for criminals. Voters rejected Prop. 6 in November, which would have ended indentured servitude in prison systems. Prison work programs occur in all 50 states and generate billions of dollars in revenue, while workers often earn only pennies per hour.However, firefighting is voluntary work for California prisoners, and they receive the largest compensation of all prison jobs. Incarcerated prisoners do not receive punishment or face disciplinary action if they choose not to serve in a fire camp.