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By Willie Brown
Last week it was announced that Fire Aid concerts, recently held at the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome to help wildfire victims, have raised $50 million so far.
More good news came on Feb. 18 when the L.A. County Board of Supervisors announced efforts to implement eviction protections for low-income renters who have lost their jobs due to the fires. The supervisors voted 4-0 to approve the motion, with Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Kathryn Barger abstaining from the vote.
A resolution incorporating countywide eviction protections will return for a second and final vote on Feb. 25.
Qualified low-income renters who have lost their jobs will continue to receive eviction protections as long as they show evidence of income loss related to the fires. Tenants would be protected from eviction between Feb. 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025, giving unemployed tenants rent relief for up to 6 months.
While county officials scramble to try and mitigate worsening of the already devastating homelessness crisis, Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Ladera Heights) is fighting to improve another aspect of the wildfires—severely subminimum wages of incarcerated firefighters.
Bryan wants to amend the state’s penal code to reflect the importance of this potentially deadly through increased pay. Currently, incarcerated firefighters are paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, earning an additional $1 per hour when responding to emergencies and up to $26.90 over a 24-hour shift. Fighting fires is purely voluntary, but those who are willing have to literally sign away all claims if they die on the job. More than 900 inmates were dispatched to the recent fires in Southern California.
Bryan’s Assembly Bill 247 would require inmate firefighters who have been trained to receive an hourly rate of around $28 an hour. The topic of lousy pay comes up every time prisoners are sent to help extinguish a major California wildfire, but then dies when the crisis is over. The assemblymember said this time, he “refuse(s) to let this moment where California and Los Angeles in particular have experienced its largest wildfire, be another moment where we just talk about the issue.”
It’s beyond time for incarcerated firefighters to receive decent pay for their hard, life-threatening work.
Recovery efforts are going to take a while for the thousands of victims, whether they lost their homes, jobs, or businesses. But it’s good to see everyone from private citizens to politicians and local agencies pitch in to help in whatever way they can.
If you have been affected by the wildfires, you can find resources at either of the Disaster Recovery Centers in Westwood or Altadena:
UCLA Research Park West
UCLA Research Park West
10850 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Altadena
Altadena Disaster Recovery Center
540 W. Woodbury Road
Altadena, CA 91001
Both locations are open 7 days a week, from 9:00am to 7:00pm.
