California farmers forced to fight wildfires on their own land
Many farmers in rural areas across Northern California are battling blazes on their properties as they wait for help from firefighting crews. The state of California has been ravaged over the past several weeks with an early and forceful fire season. And fire crews are stretched thin. California regularly uses prison labor for difficult fire fighting work, but the state released a number of its inmates early due to Covid-19. Faced with depleted resources, fire crews are prioritizing higher populated areas. That’s left many California farmers with little choice but to fight the wildfires on their own. Modern Farmer reports that some farmers cleared land to create fire breaks around their farms and put out spot fires.
