HUNDREDS of inmates have joined the fight against the devastating wildfires in southern California in a controversial scheme to put prisoners to work for long hours and little pay.

Incarcerated firefighters are working around the clock to extinguish the dangerous flames for just $5.80 a day as the horrific blazes have killed 24 people and left thousands of homes burnt to the ground.

Inmate firefighters battle the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, California, on January 10Credit: Getty

3Incarcerated firefighters work to contain the Palisades Fire on January 10Credit: Getty

Kim Kardashian at the 2024 LACMA Art+Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in November 2024Credit: Getty

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has deployed 1,015 incarcerated firefighters and 127 support staff as of Tuesday morning, a spokesperson told The U.S. Sun.

The volunteers earn between $5.80 and $10.24 per day, plus an extra dollar per hour during emergencies, according to the CDCR.

The incarcerated people work with Cal Fire officials in 24-hour shifts from 7 am to 7 am. They then have a 24-hour rest period to recover.

As the fire becomes more dangerous, calls for higher wages for the volunteers on the front lines have grown, and even Kim Kardashian has shown support for the prisoners.

“I have spent the last week watching my city burning. And have seen and spoken to many firefighters who are up all night long using every ounce of their strength to save our community,” Kardashian wrote on her Instagram Story.

“On all 5 fires in Los Angeles, there are hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, risking their lives to save us.

“They are on the Palisades fire and Eaton fire in Pasadena working 24 hour shifts.

“They get paid almost nothing, risk their lives, some have died, to prove to the community that they have changed and are now first responders. I see them as heroes.”

The identities of the people killed by the combined wildfires haven’t been released.

Kardashian then called on Governor Gavin Newsom to raise the pay rate.

“I am urging @cagovernor to do what no Governor has done in 4 decades, and raise the incarcerated firefighter pay to a rate the [sic] honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes,” Kardashian said.

Regulations passed in April of last year ensured that the lowest-level incarcerated firefighter can make just $5.80 a day.

With the added pay during emergencies, the firefighters can make up to $34.24 per day during 24-hour shifts, according to the CDCR.

Prison labor is provided through a program called Fire Camp, which rehabilitates inmates by training them to be first responders.

After the program was established in 1915, inmates have been trained at the fire camps since 1946.

The CDCR hasn’t returned The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.

SPREADING FLAMES

Due to extreme winds, several of the Kardashian family members’ mansions in Calabasas are in danger this week as the wildfires continue.

The four wildfires have burned over 62 square miles, with the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire burning 59 square miles alone.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced on Monday that 23 people were reported missing during the wildfires.

“We have 23 active missing persons reported, 17 in the Eaton Fire area, six in the Malibu area,” Luna said.

“All of them are adults. Thank God there’s no juveniles.”

Evacuation orders are in effect for 105,000 Los Angeles residents as the blazes have destroyed at least 12,300 homes and businesses.