Incarcerated people are working to fight wildfires raging across the state. 

There are eight prisoner crews assigned to various fires. The crews are made up of 17 prisoners and three staff members from the Department of Forestry and the Department of Corrections.

State Forestry spokesperson Tiffany Davila said the incarcerated people are providing direct attack resources at the start of an incident as well as
fire suppression and repair work.

“For example on the Telegraph fire, they’ll go in there, they’ll get in there to those burned areas, they’ll chip dead or burned vegetation," Davila said, "to kind of help rehab that burned area.”

Incarcerated crews are also working on the Rafael, Walnut, Water Springs, Backbone, and Wyrick fires.

The prisoners are paid between $1 and $1.50 cents an hour for the work.

Where Are The Prisoner Fire Crews Working?

• Winslow Crew - Rafael Fire
• Tucson and Yuma Crews - Telegraph Fire
• Douglas and Ft. Grant Crews - Walnut Fire
• Florence Crew - Water Springs Fire
• Perryville Crew - Backbone Fire
• Lewis Crew - Wyrick Fire