California Fires 11/4/2019

4, November 2019                               California Fires

California fires which have raged across much of California have exposed a deep divide between California’s wealthy population and those more vulnerable. Wealthy homeowners pay private firefighters up to $3,000 per day to protect their properties.

Many of these rich homeowners forced their domestic workers and gardeners to work unprotected ignoring fire evacuation orders.

Included in the more than 4,000 firefighters currently working across the state, there are at least 700 California prisoners. While salaried firefighters earn an average of $74,000 a year plus benefits, prisoners earn about a dollar an hour when fighting active fires. They are also forced to work in the most dangerous areas. This is a gross exploitation of the prison population.

After gaining invaluable experience as fire fighters these prisoners are denied the opportunity to work as firefighters after completing their sentences. This is an absolute travesty.