California inmates battle wildfires for $1 an hour

As wildfires rage across northern California, a group of low-paid firefighters is on the front lines. 

Inmates in California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been fighting wildfires for $1 an hour. Some have worked as long as 72 hours straight. 

The men and women fighting the wildfires work throughout 43 adult conservation camps in the state, CNN reported. As part of their work there, they clear hiking trails and flood channels and cut brush and trees, both to prevent fires and — in emergency situations like we're seeing right now — to stop them from spreading.

SEE ALSO: California wildfire victims returning to their destroyed homes is absolutely heart-wrenching Read more...

More about California, Prison, California Wildfires, Science, and Climate Environment

from Mashable http://ift.tt/2gEOYPI