Are those felons getting pad a full salary with danger money? Seems like abuse otherwise.
These kinds of fires happen in Australia in the forests occasionally, but the houses are generally more spread out, so fewer are lost. It is always a risk building in a dry forest though.
Apparently unlike other areas, this wasn't as close to the "fire zone" as you would think, but with urban creep, it was bound to happen at some point. I think they get paid yes and they might even get time off their sentence if they are non-violent offenders or something. I don't know all the details.