More than 1,100 inmates teamed up to fight the Eton and Palisades fires in the Los Angeles area.
The state, along with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, runs 35 fire camps where inmates are certified as wildland firefighters.
They can earn between $5.80 (£4.76) and $10.24 (£8.41) a day depending on experience, with an additional $1 an hour during active wildfires, according to the Department of Corrections.
As a result of fires in Los Angeles, 27 people died, more than 12 thousand houses and businesses were destroyed.
