A much-deserved reward for their hard work.

First responders in Los Angeles have been working nonstop over the past month as a series of deadly fires have ravaged the state and left thousands homeless.

Two of those fires, the Palisades fire and the Eaton fire, were finally 100% contained nearly four weeks after they started. And the damage is devastating, with the Palisades fire alone burning over 23,000 acres and destroying over 6,800 structures, killing 11 people.

The damage from these fires is estimated to be over $250 billion, with residents frustrated at the slow response from the government as they seek to start the process of cleaning up and rebuilding.

But through it all, and despite less than favorable conditions, first responders have been working around the clock to not only control the fires but also evacuate residents and provide assistance to the victims. And they had some unlikely help working alongside them: Inmates from the local prisons.

Over 1,100 inmates joined the efforts to fight the fires, prisoners who are part of 35 “fire camps” in local facilities that are offered not only to allow inmate to earn time off their sentences but to prepare them for careers after they’re released.

It’s an all-volunteer program, meaning the inmates choose to join the fire camps, and they earned around $30 per day fighting the wildfires.

Well yesterday, Jelly Roll hosted a free concert for first responders in the Los Angeles area, inviting firefighters, paramedics, police officers, the National Guard and their families out for a night of fun after such a trying time.

And one section of the historic Rose Bowl stood out more than others, because he also invited some of the inmates who helped fight the fires to come out for the show.

The inmates clad in orange jumpsuits seemed to enjoy their night out, and Jelly Roll gave them a shoutout during the concert:

“To some of them inmates that it was the first concert they ever seen, baby, welcome to a Jelly Roll show.”

@betterdayzbybetterwayz Thank you Jelly Roll. Thank you first responders. Thank you inmates. @Jelly Roll #rosebowl #jellyroll #bunniexo #reentry #recovery #betterdayzbybetterwayz ♬ original sound – Ryan Horrocks

And they were even spotted dancing along to Whitney Houston before the show started:

@kobestylezz #jellyroll #losangeles #california ♬ original sound – Kobestylezz

And look, I know there are people who are going to be pissed off and complain that they’re inmates and shouldn’t be rewarded when they’re serving time for committing a crime. But it’s things like this that give the inmates a chance to feel normal again, to realize what they’re missing out on, and hopefully give them something to work towards once they’re released. It’s motivation to improve themselves, along with being a reward for their hard work fighting the fires over the last month.

But it wasn’t just Jelly Roll that they got to see: Lainey Wilson, who’s in Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards tonight after being nominated for Best Country Album as well as Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Save Me,” her duet with Jelly Roll, stopped by the free show to honor the first responders, which also featured appearances from Marshmello and Flavor Flav.

Nearly 16,000 people showed up for the free concert that was open to only first responders and their families, with nearly 1,000 of those being inmates.

During the show, Jelly told the crowd that it was something he wanted to do to honor those who worked around the clock to keep their community safe:

“I want you to know that you are here tonight because you are a hero or you are a loved one of a hero. And I knew the moment I was watching this go down all the way in Tennessee in my house, I thought if I got a chance to go to California I was gonna play music to everyone who worked their ass off for the last two months trying to keep the rest of this place safe. Thank y’all for having me tonight. This is awesome.”

@angelamelissa__ Jelly Roll shows love to the Inmates tonight #jellyroll #jellyrollandfriends #rosebowl #firstresponders ♬ original sound – angelamelissa__

Source: https://www.whiskeyriff.com/