Freak wild fires are becoming the new normal as global weather patterns have changed dramatically but we still not have accepted that.
Sounds like the federal government needs to follow California's lead and use prisoners to fight wildfires! I say that tongue in cheek; I don't condone slave labor, but it is just another a sign of the times. I've seen people argue that prisoners want the ability to do work outside of prisons, that these opportunities are "optional", that it gives them work experience for when they leave prison, that they receive reduced sentences and are paid a good wage of something like $2 a day, but something about it just doesn't seem right. Yet making such tough choices must come coupled with an increase in spending at national, state and local levels for fire-prevention measures. The US Forest Service is now spending more than 50% of its budget on firefighting alone, which is seriously undercutting its ability to conduct more cost-effective thinning of forests that can diminish a fire’s intensity and speed.
I will be all right with prison labor, as soon as prison laborers have the legal rights of employees, such as the right to strike, negotiate for wage increases, and the right to quit.