1 thought on “california pay inmates to fight forest fires wtf”
My grandfather was a forest ranger. he was slated to go into the US army during WWII but was late for induction because he was putting out a forest fire. He was angry when he found he had been declared 4f because his job was critical. The next year he wanted to reforest the area but because of the war there was no one to help plant trees. The only people not involved in the war effort were the POWs in a near by camp. The ranking POW was a German forest ranger. When he heard about the project said, “This has no bearing on the war. This is for the grandchildren and their children after.” The German POWs volunteered to help and several reforestation projects were done by POWs during WWII. The 2 forest rangers were friends until the German forest ranger died in the early 1960s.
My grandfather was a forest ranger. he was slated to go into the US army during WWII but was late for induction because he was putting out a forest fire. He was angry when he found he had been declared 4f because his job was critical. The next year he wanted to reforest the area but because of the war there was no one to help plant trees. The only people not involved in the war effort were the POWs in a near by camp. The ranking POW was a German forest ranger. When he heard about the project said, “This has no bearing on the war. This is for the grandchildren and their children after.” The German POWs volunteered to help and several reforestation projects were done by POWs during WWII. The 2 forest rangers were friends until the German forest ranger died in the early 1960s.