California scrambles for more firefighters amid pandemic Published on July 10, 2020 at 05:48AM by By DON THOMPSON and DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As California enters wildfire season, the state is scrambling to find sufficient firefighters amid the coronavirus outbreak that has depleted the ranks of inmates who usually handle some of the toughest duties and caused a budget deficit that derailed plans to hire 600 new state firefighters and support personnel. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday said the state would instead add 172 professional firefighters and he'll use his emergency authority to beef up seasonal crews as the state enters another hot, dry summer when fires often rage out of control. The threat from coronavirus already sidelined some of the firefighting hand crews that do what Newsom called “the really hard grunt work.” They typically include 15-17 inmates or civilian California Conservation Corps members who use hand tools and chainsaws to ...