Inmate crews from Carson City and throughout Nevada respond to southern California fires
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 12/07/2017 - 4:52pm
Six Nevada Department of Corrections and Division of Forestry fire crews including inmates from Stewart Camp in Carson City have been deployed to fight fires in southern California, state prison officials said Thursday.
The inmate crews, each made up of minimum security inmates, are on their way to southern California from Stewart Camp in Carson City, Pioche, Ely and Jean camps that are located in the respective towns. Additional teams are being sent from Three Lakes Valley Camp located 30 miles north of Las Vegas.
They join firefighters from Carson City Fire Department, Central Lyon County, East Fork, Tahoe Douglas and other agencies throughout northern Nevada that were mobilized Tuesday to battle the wild fires, fueled by Santa Ana winds across Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
The 126 inmates, 105 males and 21 females, will be working the Thomas fire in Ventura, Calif. As of Thursday, the fire has consumed 96,000 acres. More than 15,000 structures are threatened, according to CalFire.
“Our hearts go out to those who are affected by the fires in California,” stated NDOC Director James Dzurenda. “Our camp officers and inmate firefighters are trained and prepared for this type of deployment. We are here to help.”
The NDOC runs nine conservation camps in the state in corroboration with the NDF. At the camps inmates are trained to fight wildland fires, assist with snow removal and weed abatement, handle general clean-up and are involved with many other community efforts as needed.
Over the past three years all the conservation camps averaged 460,000 hours working on emergency incidents each year.
