BLAZES COULD BURN LONGER CASH-SAVING JAIL-RELEASE PROGRAM DEPLETES CREW OF INMATE FIREFIGHTERS.

Byline: Amy Raisin  Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The purge of more than 1,700 nonviolent criminals from county jails might be easing the Sheriff's Department's budget woes, but it has devastated a once-thriving inmate-firefighting program in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The inmates, serving time for misdemeanors and targeted for early release from the Los Angeles County jail system in recent months, are the same inmates who historically have qualified and volunteered for fire- suppression crews. They include inmates convicted of drunk driving, domestic violence and minor weapons offenses.

``As of Jan. 1, we had 38 inmates working for us - that's three hand crews,'' said Capt. Bill Cyr of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, in charge of Camp 12 in Castaic. ``Last week, we were down to six. As of today (Friday), we're at one.''

Camp 12, on the grounds of the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center jail compound in Castaic, has trained inmates to clear brush, cut fire lines and assist firefighters since the 1960s. While the camp is staffed by inmates housed in Sheriff's Department-run jails, the Sheriff's Department does not pay the Fire Department to run the program.

Unlike the firefighters who arrive on engines and trucks and use water and hoses to attack the fire, county inmate crews use only hand tools - axes, shovels and chain saws. They often arrive with the first engines and begin cutting a fire line to control the spread of the flames.

For their efforts, they are paid $1 by the county.

As the hot months of August and September approach, some Fire Department veterans fear that the loss of three hand crews from Camp 12 will translate into longer emergency response times and faster-spreading fires.

``They're an integral part of our firefighting practices in the Santa Clarita Valley. They're a great source of manpower,'' said Don McCormack, a retired 30-year veteran of the county Fire Department who helped train the inmates at Camp 12.

``These guys are (the) initial attack for this area. There's a state inmate crew up in San Francisquito Canyon, but it could take them anywhere from 10 to 35 minutes to get down here,'' McCormack said. ``A brush fire can do an awful lot of damage in 10 to 35 minutes.''

After passing an 80-hour course, fire-crew inmates report five days a week to Camp 12, where they adhere to a strict physical-fitness regimen. When not assisting on fires, the crews concentrate on fire prevention, including identifying and clearing brush that would fuel a blaze.

Representatives for 5th District county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich said they are aware of the situation at Camp 12 and are investigating ways to ensure the same level of emergency response as in previous years.

``The supervisor is very supportive of this program and ... wants to make sure it is maintained in the safest manner possible,'' said Jean Huston-Walker, justice deputy for Antonovich. ``If there are no inmates to perform the (preventive) functions, juvenile crews may be able to do the brush clearance.''

Huston-Walker stressed that using juvenile inmate crews solely for nonemergency clearance is just one idea being considered. However, she offered no immediate solutions to replace the three hand crews at Camp 12.

``We want to ensure that there are people on this crew that are appropriate, people who won't try to escape,'' she said. ``It's a situation we're working on.''

Faced with $143 million in budget cuts, Sheriff Lee Baca announced in March that he plans to release 2,600 low-risk inmates who have served as little as 40 percent of their sentences - saving an estimated $17 million.

Cyr, fire captain at Camp 12, said he understands Baca has to balance his department's budget and is not intentionally targeting the inmate fire crews.

Cyr does, however, expect fighting fires in the area to be more difficult this summer.

``We'll still have crews showing up, helicopters,'' Cyr said. ``But they'll be coming from as far away as Azusa and Malibu. You figure if there are three (firefighters) on an engine and we show up with a 15-man (inmate) crew, that's five times the manpower.

``The fires will still go out, but it's going to take two to three times (longer) to get a line around it. What I predict is that the fires are going to get bigger because we don't have the bodies there,'' he said.

Amy Raisin, [phone]

amy.raisin(at)dailynews.com