The fire danger in Southern California is far from over, and as first responders continue

their battle against major wildfires, there's also renewed attention around a lesser known

group that's also on the front lines.

That's incarcerated firefighters.

Stephanie Sy has more.

More than a thousand of the firefighters that have been battling the Southern California

wildfires are convicts, part of a long-running state program. Training and deployment onto the

fire lines is voluntary, with inmate firefighters making a maximum of about $10 a day or up to $30

if they work a 24-hour shift. They may also qualify to get two days

shaved off their sentence for every day they work. The state has become reliant on these

men and women during the increasingly long fire season, and the program is estimated to save

California tens of millions of dollars a year. Supporters say the program

offers a pathway out of prison, but critics say the work and pay are exploitative. For more,

I'm joined by Sam Lewis, Executive Director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition. Sam, thank you so

much for joining the NewsHour. I understand that you have personally

visited these firefighters at their base camps in L.A. very recently. Tell me, how is their morale?

Are they pumped that they're able to help in this crisis? Absolutely. So I was able to visit both

of the base camps, one at the Houghton base camp, the other was in the Rose Bowl.

Morale is high.

As one of the hand crews said, this is my way of giving back.

I made mistakes in the past, but just clearly demonstrates that redemption is possible.

And so we threw the football around a little bit.

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