Riverside County Looks to Create New Inmate Fire Crew

The Board of Supervisors directed staff this week to study the possibility of converting a former Riverside County Department of Probation juvenile detention facility south of Banning into a fire camp, where inmate hand crews could be stationed for future deployment to wildfires.

In a 5-0 vote without comment, the board signed off on a 30-day analysis of the viability of turning the 1,100-acre Twin Pines Ranch into both a wildland outpost and rehabilitation facility.

The 67-year-old ranch was shuttered in the spring when probation officials determined it was no longer cost-effective to keep it open. The site is situated just off state Route 243, between Banning and Idyllwild, on the perimeter of Mt. San Jacinto State Park.

"There are numerous areas of Riverside County that are exposed to the dangers of wildland fire, and the Twin Pines Ranch is ... in close proximity to several of these fire-prone areas," wrote board Chairman Jeff Stone, who called for the Executive Office study. "The ranch would be a natural candidate to serve as a fire camp, as well as an alternative for rehabilitation of criminal offenders."

Stone estimated that 80 to 120 inmates could be housed at the location, taking a little pressure off the county's packed correctional facilities, from which thousands of detainees are released yearly to relieve overcrowding.

In addition to having inmate crews standing by at the ranch to battle wildfires, the supervisor suggested they could also be employed to assist with a variety of other operations, including brush-clearance and sandbagging in preparation for local flooding.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection currently operates three fire camps in the county where "low-risk" criminal offenders are assigned for firefighting operations.