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| Pros and cons: Inmates help fight Cuesta Fire thanks to state program |
| By newtimesslo.com- Chris McGuinness |
| Published: 08/27/2015 |
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The day's sun beats down on a group of men trudging up a steep hillside within the Santa Margarita Ranch. They wade through thick clusters of poison oak as they secure their footing and go about the business of pulling down a tall coastal oak tree using a rope. They grunt and heave until it finally comes crashing down. It’s Friday, Aug. 21, and the Cuesta Fire, which burned more than 2,446 acres over the course of six days, is on its last legs. Most of the flames that enveloped the hillside and threatened the nearby town of Santa Margarita were extinguished or contained, but there’s still a lot of work to do. Smoldering hot spots still need to be put out, brush needs to be cut and cleared, trenches dug to head off any complications should the blaze spark back to life. It’s ugly, back-breaking, and unglamorous work, and some of it’s being done voluntarily by groups of inmates from California’s state prisons. The men working on the hill that day are easily identified by their bright orange clothing, and by the large vans with grated windows that transport them. They are participating in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Conservation Camp program. The program, run in partnership with Cal Fire, allows non-violent offenders a chance to serve their time outside the walls of the state’s correctional facilities, where they can live and train at special “camps” to assist firefighters in battling blazes across the state. Read More. |
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