ARIZONA, USA — More than 100 Arizona inmates graduated on Wednesday to become members of the first Arizona Healthy Forest Initiative crew.
The crew consists of low-risk inmates that are employed to clear forests of debris and help prevent wildfires, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.
The new program was signed into legislation last year by Gov. Doug Ducey in partnership with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Re-Entry and the Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
"Wildfires pose a serious threat to Arizona communities every year," Ducey said. "Our proactive Arizona Healthy Forest Initiative is a major step to reduce wildfire risk and protect our communities."
The inmates attended classroom and field training at the Fort Grant Unit at ASPC-Safford, where they learned to manage hazardous vegetation across the state's vast terrain, the release said.
The crew will begin their new jobs next week under the direction of the Department of Forestry and Fire Management.
The Arizona Healthy Forest Initiative comes as wildfires intensify in Arizona and the West.
The Fire Potential Outlook, a fire forecast put out by the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, predicts above-average fire danger starting in March for the southern part of Arizona.
According to the forecast, high fire danger will start in Texas then sweep across New Mexico before growing in Arizona to cover most of the state by June.
Fire officials are also warning the 2021 monsoon season, which was one of the wettest seasons in recent years, could be causing some of that fire danger. The monsoon storms caused plants to grow right before winter.