Authorities say inmates at a California prison used canes, walkers and wheelchair parts as weapons in fights that sent 24 prisoners to hospitals and forced the facility to be put on lockdown.

Administrators are investigating the violence Monday between rival Latino gangs at Avenal State Prison.

Spokeswoman Terry Thornton of the California Department of Corrections says the fights began around 8:30 p.m. in the yard of one of six dormitory complexes on the prison grounds. Fights later erupted in other dormitories…

Nearly all of the state's prisons are no longer on lockdown, as of Monday afternoon.

The lockdown was ordered last week. That's when four employees were attacked by inmates at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, near Bakersfield.

Investigators now say the attack was an isolated incident…

A stabbing attack this week on four guards at one overcrowded state prison and a racially sparked brawl at another mark the type of violence that guards, inmates' attorneys and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have been worried about for years.

The violence comes at a critical juncture for the nation's largest state prison system.

Later this year, a panel of federal judges will consider whether the crowding has become so severe that the state must cap the inmate population or release some prisoners early.

At the same time, lawmakers are considering a Schwarzenegger proposal to save money for the deficit-ridden state by releasing more than 20,000 inmates before their sentences end.

"For the last two years, we've said something worse than this was inevitable," said Chuck Alexander, executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, referring to this week's prison unrest. "It's just a matter of where and when it's going to hit. In our view, it's a precursor of what's to come…"

When rescue personnel arrived at the medium-security federal prison, the riot was still in progress, said Schramm. Personnel treated the injured parties in a safe and secure location within the prison, said Ledesma. "We all worked together as a team to make sure all of the patients were transported where they needed to go," said Ledesma.

It is still unclear what started the trouble. Officials from the privately-run prison had no comment on the situation.

A riot at a privately run prison left more than 20 inmates injured over the weekend. Authorities say one inmate was critically hurt during Saturday's violence at the Desert View Modified Community Correctional Facility in Adelanto. The other 20 inmates suffered minor injuries and were taken to area hospitals. It wasn't clear what started the riot…

Nineteen people were injured Saturday in a riot at the Desert View Modified Community Correctional Facility in Adelanto, authorities said. San Bernadino County Fire Department officials said one victim suffered serious injuries and needed to be airlifted to a hospital. The others suffered minor injuries and also were taken to area hospitals, said Tim Franke, a fire dispatch supervisor.

A 2006 annual report by Boca Raton, Fla.-based The GEO Group, which owned the facility at the time, described Desert View as a medium-security prison with 643 inmates.

It is only a matter of time before an emboldened inmate population stretches the muscle afforded it by this weak administration. When that happens, it will be interesting to read how The Reporter's headline editor frames it. After all, if an illicit inmate strike is "exercising rights," a prison riot could well be a "demonstration" by beleaguered detainees…