Hasan Piker is a popular content creator online, sometimes called the “liberal Joe Rogan”.
Here he is interviewed by an LA TV station in regard to his recent reporting on prisoners working the fire lines during the current crisis in Southern California.
“As of today, 939 Fire Camp firefighters have been working around the clock cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread, including 110 support staff.,” California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement to NPR on Friday.
This is not a new practice. California has relied on incarcerated firefighters since 1915. And prison labor has been used to respond to emergencies and disasters nationwide for centuries, said Bianca Tylek, executive director of Worth Rises, a criminal justice advocacy organization.
To those, like Tylek, opposed to the continued use of inmates as firefighters, the system is seen as exploitative.
California’s department of corrections says individuals who are part of this program are there voluntarily and are paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, with additional pay provided during emergencies and in other circumstances.
This controversial practice also fills critical personnel gaps, especially as California faces a future with longer and more destructive fire seasons due to climate change. During the first full day of the wildfires, LA area-crews were battling upwards of five large blazes at the same time, which stretched the county’s emergency response resources and staff, Anthony Marrone, LA County fire chief, said Wednesday.