More than 200 Nevada inmates fighting fires

CARSON CITY -- More than 200 Nevada inmates have joined the fight against the fires that continue to burn in Southern California, providing relief to firefighters who have been on the job for more than a week.

Crews of 12 inmates plus staff from the state Division of Forestry and the Department of Corrections were sent to the fire zone in San Diego County by Gov. Jim Gibbons in response to a request from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office.

The inmates, the 25 Forestry Division personnel and the 12 correctional officers will be based out of Chino State Prison during their deployment, which could last two weeks.

"They will provide relief to firefighters and do fire break cleanup," said Greg Smith, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Only Gibbons can authorize the use of inmates in other states.

Smith said the last such deployment was about four years ago to California for a fire west of Reno. Nevada crews were not called for the Angora Fire at Lake Tahoe this past summer, he said.

While inmate crews have arrived to help the fire-ravaged region, some other Nevada resources were returning to the state after having helped out last week.

April Conway, a spokeswoman for the Nevada National Guard, said two helicopters and their crews, the CH-47 Chinook and the UH-60 Blackhawk, "stood down" Monday and were on their way home.

One other Nevada Guard asset, an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter used for observation, remained on the job, based out of Los Alamitos in northern San Diego County, she said.

"We're not sure how long they will stay," Conway said of the crew of the Kiowa.

Additional help from Southern Nevada has been sent.

The Salvation Army of Clark County was ordered to send its new emergency canteen to San Diego. The canteen will be staffed by four volunteers to help provide relief to residents displaced by the blazes.