At Delta Camp, a resident fire department outside Vacaville, an hour’s drive northeast of San Francisco, the number of arrested firefighters has dropped to 55, well below the camp’s capacity of 132. Above all, the state has the capacity to train and house over 3,400 enclosed fire department. At present, only 1,306 prisoners have been deployed.
Men like Mr Martin, who was released on August 11, say they are grateful to be home again.
The state’s most important fire agency, Cal Fire, says it is overwhelmed by the size and complexity of the fires in Northern California, which burned through nearly one million acres on Saturday afternoon, forcing more than 119,000 people to evacuate and leave at least five people dead.
Cal Fire, which has deployed 13,700 firefighters, is advocating for more staff, especially the crews who make the so-called handlines, the clearings that are crucial to stopping and delaying fires. Mr Newsom has requested more firefighters from as far away as the East Coast and Australia.
“Increased crews are absolutely essential to our ability to handline and do hard work on our fires,” said Brice Bennett, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire. “They’re a great resource.”
The coronavirus has exposed countless examples of inequality across the nation, destroyed state budgets, and targeted tens of thousands of families. The debate over California’s resident firefighters shows how the effects of the pandemic have been deeply felt in unexpected corners of society. In California, it has been the difference between the manpower to save homes from fires – if not.
The California Department of Prisons estimates that its Conservation Camp program, which includes resident firefighters, saves tens of millions of dollars a year in California. Bringing in firefighters to replace them, especially considering the hard work involved, would challenge a state that already stood for cash.
