Southern California is experiencing the worst winter wildfires in 40 years. Winter fires are unusual, and these particular fires are extraordinary. According to The New York Times, across Los Angeles County, the fires have destroyed more than 12,000 structures.

Some of those fighting on the fires' front line are making as little as $1.00 an hour. Imagine facing an unprecedented fire, fueled by wind gusts as strong as 75 mph, for 12 or 18 hours a day and being paid roughly 15% of minimum wage.

Millions of Angelenos are shocked and angry that the fires have overwhelmed emergency responders. The New York Times asked, could city and county fire departments have moved more quickly to mobilize additional firefighters to stem the fires' progress?

According to the Associated Press, crews from California and nine other states are part of the ongoing response that includes nearly 1,400 fire engines, 84 aircraft and more than 14,000 personnel, including newly arrived firefighters from Mexico and Canada.

Joining the crews from other states and countries are hundreds of inmates from California's prison system. Nearly 950 incarcerated firefighters were dispatched "to cut fire lines and remove fuel to slow fire spread," according to an update from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are on the front lines fighting the flames. Behind them in the trenches are inmate "hand crews," digging, chopping and cutting their way through the brush to prevent the spread of fire.

Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of prisoners are put to work every year, some of whom are seriously injured or killed after being given dangerous jobs with little training and paltry wages, reported AP. In addition to fighting wildfires, in other states inmates operate heavy machinery or work on industrial-sized farms and meat-processing plants tied to leading commercial brands. These men and women are part of a labor system that denies them basic rights, wages and protections guaranteed to other American workers.

California has relied on prison labor to fight fires for more than a century. Inmates are paid little for the dangerous and difficult work. Inmates earn roughly $5 to $10 a day, with $1 an hour added from local fire departments during times of disaster.

Another incentive came with Proposition 57, legislation prompted by California voters in 2016. Prop 57 inmates can accrue sentence credits by participating in rehabilitative programs. Those who work full time in fire camps can shave time off their sentence.

How is it possible to compensate inmates so little for such dangerous and demanding work? According to NPR, prison labor programs, generally, have historical ties to the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery "except as a punishment for crime." Although "indentured servitude" is unlawful, it remains in prisons as a relic of an unfortunate and embarrassing era in America's history.

In 2005, at the peak of the inmate firefighter program, officially known as the Conservation Camp Program, there were 192 crews, or 4,250 inmate firefighters, according to the AP. Participants of the program include support staff such as cooks, orderlies and maintenance workers.

Prison reform and the pandemic decreased the number of inmates eligible to attend the firefighting camps — operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Four years ago, as prisons shut down and inmate populations declined, the corrections department camps fell to 1,821 participants. According to the AP, as of July 2, there were 83 hand crews with about 1,760 participants.

Some formerly incarcerated firefighters have looked back with satisfaction on their experience. For some it may be a welcome relief from the confinement of prison. That alone does not justify the blatant exploitation of incarcerated men and women.

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book "The Executioner's Toll, 2010" was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on X @MatthewTMangino.

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