Incarcerated individuals have long been putting their lives in danger to help battle some of California's largest wildland fires, and soon they'll be getting a raise.

On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 247, which clears the way for inmates serving part of their sentence on the front lines to make at least the federal minimum wage.

Previously, incarcerated firefighters could earn credit toward their sentences for volunteering to assist wildland firefighters in various capacities, but they were limited to making between $5 to $10 per day in the field, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Now they'll be making at least $7.25 per hour. The wage will also be revisited annually.

The state's inmate firefighting population

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