Inmate ‘smoke buster’ hand crews cut to a single active team; Department of Corrections, forester say program limits are structural
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Summary
Wyoming State Forestry told legislators the pre‑release inmate hand crew program has fallen from three crews to one, largely because of changes in correctional populations and voluntary participation rules; committee requested DOC participation and cost options.
State Forestry and county fire leaders told the Joint Appropriations Committee that Wyoming’s inmate hand crew program — a primary source of hand‑crew capacity for wildfire suppression — has declined from three 20‑person crews to a single active crew.
Kelly Norris, Wyoming state forester, explained the crews are pre‑release, minimum‑security inmate hand crews supported by the Department of Corrections and based at the Wyoming Honors Conservation Camp in Newcastle. She said the program requires voluntary participation and that reductions after 2017 and further changes to correctional programs and population flows reduced the number of eligible inmates. “We could not get, we were competing. We couldn't keep 3 crews going,” Norris said.
Warden and county chiefs described operational limits: the crews require training, supervision, and meals and also need overnight DOC staff while deployed. Norris said the division is using grant dollars to pay inmates above DOC pay rates to improve participation and that three previously vacant crew‑supervisor lines were reclassified to “fire trainers” to help staffing; she asked the committee to invite the Department of Corrections to provide its perspective on capacity and possible program changes.
Committee members asked for an estimate of the cost to restore multiple crews and whether changes in DOC policy or additional state funding could expand capacity. Norris said the department would ask DOC to brief the committee and did not provide an immediate statewide cost estimate but described operational barriers (voluntary sign‑up, post‑release transitions and limited pool of eligible inmates) that complicate rapid expansion.
County fire leaders stressed the value of hand crews to initial attack and structure protection; those leaders told the committee that loss of crews increases reliance on distant federal crews and lengthens time to deliver boots on the ground for multi‑day incidents.
