Nearly 1,000 incarcerated men and women have joined the frontlines in a battle against record-breaking wildfires burning across southern California.

The number deployed – now 939 – are part of a long-running volunteer programme led by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

Their numbers have steadily increased since Tuesday, the day the deadly fires began spreading uncontrollably through Los Angeles.

Over 10,000 structures have been destroyed and 37,000 acres burned, as thousands of emergency workers descend on the Los Angeles area to fight the flames.
What role do inmates play in California’s wildfire response?
Imprisoned people are a contingent of the crews working to put out LA’s huge fires. But their role is different from that of other firefighters on the front lines.

Inmates wear distinctive orange uniforms and instead of using hoses or water, they use “hand tools to aid in fire suppression” and also support other emergency workers, The New York Times (NYT) cited California’s prison agency, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as saying.