These California inmates risked death to fight wildfires. After prison, they’re left behind

When he was 17, Fernando Herrera saw a bleak future for himself. A life of gangs, violence, arrests and confinement trailed behind him. He wanted something more. While in prison, the Yuba County teen joined a program that would put him on a firefighting inmate crew at the Pine Grove Youth Conservation Camp in Amador County. As an inmate, he helped fight the Thomas Fire that destroyed more than 1,000 buildings in Southern California in 2017.