Ishi Camp Inmate Overview
CDCR's Ishi Conservation Camp #18 page identifies the camp as a joint California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and CAL FIRE operation. The facility is in Paynes Creek and serves a different role than Tehama County Jail. It is a conservation and fire camp for eligible sentenced CDCR incarcerated persons assigned to hand crews, conservation projects, and community service work. It should not be described as a pretrial jail, a sheriff booking center, or a place to search for new local arrests.
Ishi is the state facility physically located in Tehama County. Its mission is regional. CDCR states that incarcerated fire crews from Ishi support fire suppression in Tehama, Glenn, Shasta, and Plumas County areas, and crews also work on public projects. CDCR is responsible for security, supervision, care, and discipline of incarcerated persons. CAL FIRE maintains the camp and supervises daily CAL FIRE projects. CDCR staff may accompany hand crews during emergencies.
Ishi Camp Inmate Population
No official capacity figure for Ishi Conservation Camp #18 was located in the research sources. That gap is important because conservation camp size can change with eligibility, staffing, seasonal fire needs, transfers, and statewide prison operations. The public fact that can be stated with support is the population type: Ishi holds sentenced CDCR incarcerated people assigned to conservation camp work. It does not hold Tehama County pretrial detainees awaiting arraignment at the local courthouse.
When a person moves from Tehama County Jail into CDCR custody after sentencing, the county jail roster is no longer the best place to search. CDCR CIRIS is the statewide locator for the prison and camp population. A person assigned to Ishi may have started with a Tehama County arrest, but the camp record belongs to CDCR once state custody begins.
Ishi Camp Lookup Steps
Use California Incarcerated Records and Information Search, known as CIRIS, for an Ishi Conservation Camp #18 inmate lookup. CDCR confirms CIRIS as the statewide incarcerated-person search tool. The public interface is a JavaScript locator, so field visibility can vary by browser and session, but CDCR provides Identification Unit help for search assistance at (916) 445-6713 during weekday business hours, excluding holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
- Open CDCR CIRIS and search the statewide incarcerated-person database rather than the county jail roster.
- Use the person's full legal name and any known CDCR number if available from court, jail, or family records.
- Review the location field carefully to confirm whether the person is assigned to Ishi Conservation Camp #18 or another CDCR facility.
- If the search does not resolve, call the CDCR Identification Unit for help with identity or location questions.
- If the person was just arrested in Tehama County and has not been sentenced to CDCR, use Tehama County Jail channels instead.
The CDCR CIRIS locator is the correct search path for state camp custody, including Ishi Conservation Camp #18.
The locator screenshot supports the statewide search step; it is not a camp facility image or a substitute for direct CDCR confirmation.
Ishi Camp Inmate Contact
Contact Ishi Conservation Camp #18 for facility-level questions and use CDCR statewide contacts for locator help, visitation policy, public records, and broader prison-system issues. The CDCR facility page lists Lt. S. Oschner as Camp Commander and Sgt. C. Hoagland as Assistant Camp Commander in the research captured for this build. Because staffing pages can change, use those names as research context and confirm current command staff through the facility or CDCR before relying on them for a formal request.
Ishi Conservation Camp #18
30500 Plum Creek Road
Paynes Creek, CA 96075
(530) 597-2846
CDCR and CAL FIRE conservation camp
CDCR Locator Help
Identification Unit
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(916) 445-6713
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Pacific, excluding holidays
Ishi Camp Inmate Visits
Do not apply Tehama County Jail's IC Solutions schedule to Ishi Conservation Camp #18. Camp visitation follows CDCR visiting rules and camp scheduling, not the Oak Street jail housing-unit schedule. CDCR's visitor resources direct families to state visitation procedures, including approval and online scheduling through the Visitation Scheduling Application where available. CDCR also maintains a visitation information line at 800-374-8474. Technical scheduling issues should go to the institution visiting sergeant or lieutenant rather than the private technology vendor.
| Visit Topic | Hours / Status | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Standard camp visits | Confirm with Ishi and CDCR visitor resources | CDCR-approved visitation |
| Scheduling | Use CDCR visitation and VSA instructions when available | State prison scheduling |
| Visitor approval | Required before visits under CDCR rules | State visitor process |
| Visitation information line | 800-374-8474 | CDCR statewide support |
| County jail visits | Not applicable to Ishi | Use Tehama County Jail only for local jail custody |
Visiting can be affected by custody status, work crew schedules, fire response, staffing, discipline, emergencies, and statewide CDCR rules. A camp assignment is work-centered, so families should confirm the person's location in CIRIS and verify visiting approval before travel to Paynes Creek. If a person is still in county custody, the Tehama County Sheriff's jail visitation page is the wrong system for Ishi but the right system for Tehama County Jail.
Ishi Camp Inmate Mail
Mail and money for Ishi Conservation Camp #18 follow CDCR family-resource rules, not Tehama County Jail's P.O. Box 490, IC Solutions, inmate deposits, or package-order process. CDCR's family resources include contacting an incarcerated person and sending money. Those statewide pages should be checked before sending funds, packages, or mail because CDCR rules, approved vendors, and institutional limits differ from county jail rules.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail Address | Use CDCR mail instructions and confirm the current facility address for Ishi Conservation Camp #18 |
| Phone / Contact | CDCR family contact rules and facility procedures, not IC Solutions jail visitation |
| Money Deposit | Use CDCR approved send-money resources and vendor rules |
| Packages | Follow CDCR package and property limits, not Tehama County Jail commissary packages |
This distinction prevents lost mail and rejected deposits. Tehama County Jail accepts jail deposits by phone, online, or kiosk for county inmates, and it uses a separate package website for commissary orders. Ishi is a CDCR camp. Use state prison instructions, confirm the person is assigned to Ishi through CIRIS, and include the identifying information CDCR requires for mail or funds.
Ishi Camp CDCR Intake
Ishi Conservation Camp #18 does not book people straight from a Tehama County street arrest. The local arrest path starts with an agency such as the sheriff, Red Bluff Police Department, Corning Police Department, or California Highway Patrol, then moves through Tehama County Jail and Tehama Superior Court when charges are filed. If a person is convicted and sentenced to CDCR custody, that person may later be placed in a state prison facility or an eligible conservation camp assignment. At that point, the state record is separate from the county booking record.
Camp placement is work and custody based. The research describes Ishi as a minimum-custody style conservation and fire camp for eligible incarcerated fire crew participants. CDCR says conservation camps offer rehabilitative and educational services, including substance-abuse programs, religious programs, GED, and college courses. That does not mean all CDCR inmates are eligible for a camp. Classification is the CDCR process for deciding custody level, program needs, safety concerns, and placement. Use CIRIS to confirm the result, then use CDCR and facility contacts for program or visiting questions.
About Ishi Conservation Camp
Ishi Conservation Camp #18 opened in April 1961. CDCR lists fire suppression as a primary mission, with crews serving Tehama, Glenn, Shasta, and Plumas County areas. The camp also supports public agencies and community partners. Research-listed projects include BLM, Fish & Game, Caltrans, Tehama County Resource Conservation District, Tehama County Fairgrounds, Red Bluff schools, CAL FIRE facilities, Tehama County schools, U.S. Forest Service, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Red Bluff City Parks & Recreation, Adopt-A-Highway, State Parks, Butte County snow removal, Tehama County Public Works, and Shasta County schools.
The camp has distinctive local work. Its CDF Boxed Meal Shop produces ready-to-eat boxed meals for firefighters and distributes them throughout the state. At Christmas, Ishi Camp provides bicycles for foster children in Tehama County in cooperation with Tehama County Social Services. Those details show why a Tehama County inmate population search has to separate local jail custody from state camp custody: the county jail is a booking and local detention facility, while Ishi is part of the California prison and conservation camp system. Sheriff Dave Kain's office operates the jail and county records channels, but CDCR and CAL FIRE operate Ishi.
For a current local booking, start with the sheriff's current inmates page and the Records Division fallback. For a sentenced person assigned to Ishi, use CDCR. If the custody type is unclear, compare the arrest date, court status, sentencing status, and holding agency before calling.
Note: Confirm location, visitor approval, and CDCR rules before traveling to Ishi Conservation Camp #18.