Wildfire Season Around Corner, Cal Fire Warns

Convicted felons, turned firefighters, trained for the next big blaze Wednesday in Corona. Cal Fire inmate firefighters are serving their sentences with the California Department of Corrections in low security camps in Riverside.

The day started bright and early, as Cal Fire responded to a simulated wildfire.

“The crew will unload and receive their tool that’s assigned to them,” said Chad Moxley, a Captain for Cal Fire Riverside County.

Once they received their gear, the captains checked the equipment, then made sure everyone and everything was ready to go.

While the line was checked, two inmate firefighters stepped aside, and practiced setting up a fire shelter.

“If you’re entrapped by fire, you need to have an escape route,” said Moxley.

But, if there’s nowhere to go, Moxley explained, “you can clear an area of vegetation and deploy your fire shelter. . . and, that shelter is made of an aluminized type of material that will reflect roughly 95 percent of the heat away from the firefighter.”

Next, the crew’s endurance and speed are tested. They had to complete a timed two and a half mile hike from the bottom to the top of a mountain, with only 55 minutes to complete the hike, while the carried 45 pounds of gear.

The crew traveled in groups that ranged from 12 to 18 men. They were also graded on every completed task.

“We’re out there in front of the hose lines,” said Moxley. “We’re in the areas the bulldozer can’t get to because of terrain.”

. . . and, the pressure was fierce, because fire officials said, a lack of rain is leaving Riverside County grass dead, dry and prone to catching fire.

“There’s very low fuel moisture in the brush,” said Moxley. “So, that stuff will burn now.”

When the crew returned from their hike, they cleared through the brush, and created a fire line.

“They have to cut 40 feet per man, over a two hour period,” said Moxley. “So, a 14 man crew will cut 560 feet of fire line.”

There was no flamable material left on that line when the crew finished, which would have prevented the spread of a fire.

Once finished, the crew relaxed. Next – the real thing.

“All in a days work,” said Moxley.