Firefighting inmates invaluable
Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.
SUN WIRE REPORTS
YELLOW PINE, Idaho -- In Utah, they are inmates at Bluffdale State Prison. But in the fire zone, they strut proudly in black T-shirts proclaiming themselves members of the Flame 'N' Go Hotshots -- the highest designation for firefighters.
"Being in this program makes all the difference," said Bart Clark, 33, a six-time felon who has spent 11 of the last 15 years in prison. "Now I can tell my 4-year-old son that his dad isn't in prison, he's out fighting fires."
Almost every day since mid-May, Clark -- convicted most recently of kidnapping -- and the rest of his 20-man crew have been battling blazes across the West. The crew is far from alone.
In this devastating fire season, one in six crew members fighting fires is a convict from such states as Utah, Wyoming and Nevada.
"Sometimes there are special considerations, on account of their being inmates," Mike Melton, a Forest Service official, said. "But frankly, we're glad to have any help we can get."
Other federal officials say the inmates have been invaluable, providing a much needed, well-trained and well-supervised reinforcement to resources that have worn thin.
And at wages that average $1 an hour, the use of inmates is a bargain, one that might ease the taxpayers' burden in a year in which federal firefighting costs will exceed $1 billion.
Nationwide, 81 large fires were still burning on 1.67 million acres Monday in 11 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. To date, 74,571 fires have burned nearly 6.6 million acres.
However, millions of acres of forests and grasslands in Montana were reopening -- with restrictions -- to the public today because cool, rainy weather and increasing numbers of firefighters have lessened the danger of wildfires.
Firefighters have been mobilized from 38 states, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and numerous military units. By official count, 25,000 firefighters are spread across the West -- more than 2,000 are inmates.
Many of the inmates described themselves as blessed, seeing fire as a vehicle that has brought not only a taste of freedom but an opportunity to redress old wrongs.
Prisoners were given a sobering reminder last week that firefighting is not without risk. Two inmated-firefighters, Michael Bishop and Roger Braithwaite, were killed last week in a lightning strike in Utah.
"I wasn't too proud of him when he first went in to prison," Dan Bishop of Riverton, Utah, said of his late son. "But I became very, very proud."
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Scientology foe’s arrest raises issue of rights
- ‘Stripper-mobile’ with live dancers raises safety, decency concerns
- Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto arrive at MGM Grand
- Miguel Cotto camp says big cut in June fight an asset now
- Cada cherishes moment as poker’s youngest champ
- $5.1 million later, life goes on for Darvin Moon
- Vegas resorts get new places on Monopoly game board
- Fight snapshot: Arum takes a pot shot during Pacquiao training
- Rebels old and new celebrate anniversary of 1990 title
- Live Main Event blog from the Rio
Blogs
Shark Bytes
Players on championship team always worked hard (1 Comment)
Sports: Upon Further Review
Fight snapshot: Predictions for Pacquiao-Cotto
The Kats Report
A lesson in information dissemination, with a little Twitter and a lot of Agassi
Now and Then
Ichabods were tougher than they sound
Politics: Ralston's Flash
I shudder to think what the “amazing door prize from the governor” might be (3 Comments)
Pew Center report finds what others have: Nevada's economy depressed, future in doubt (5 Comments)
Elsewhere
Kelly Pavlik to fight in hometown on Dec. 19
Calendar »
- 11 Wed
- 12 Thu
- 13 Fri
- 14 Sat
- 15 Sun
-
Foreigner at Star of the Desert Arena
Star of the Desert Arena
-
Days of the New at Wasted Space
Wasted Space | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
DJ Boris at Godskitchen
Body English | 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
-
Holding on to Sound at Beauty Bar
Beauty Bar | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Rockabilly Wednesay at Revolution Lounge
Beatles Revolution Lounge | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati












