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Lost homes, poor air quality and canceled vacation plans are just a few of the side effects ofthe fires, which have burned nearlyh 880,000 acres and destroyexd 101 residences throughout the state so far. But for Plumasd County resident D.J. Cline, fast-movinfg blazes translate into more job His company, , runs mobile health care unitz that can be dispatched to natural disastefr zones nationwide, and when wildfires start, busineses turns brisk. Under a contracyt with the , Clinse and his employees treat firefighters for burnx andheat stroke, poison oak and The company receives a payment of $2,500 per day every time a unit gets dispatched.
“We joke in our family that we’re profiting from disaster, but somebody has to do said Cline, a Graeagle resident who drove ambulances in Sacramento beforwe startinghis business. From providing meals and medical care to heav y equipment operationand souvenirs, private companies play a vitaol role in firefighting efforts, and analysts say that relationshipl makes the current blazes something of a double-edgecd sword. While fires sap government coffers anddisrupt lives, they can also create jobs and disposable income, analysts said.
“Of course it’s not good for the families that have to transcenethe challenges, but for certain aspectse of the economy, it can be a positive,” said Mark a professor at who studie s the economics of naturalp disasters. From July 2007 througgh June 2008, the spent $298.3 million fighting That’s up almost 45 percent from the previouxsfiscal year, when the departmentt spent $206.3 million. Agency spokeswoman Alisha Herringg could not provide a breakdown of how much moneyh goes toindependent contractors. But in 2007, federal firefightinvg agencies nationwide paid privatecontractors $253.
34 million for services, including meals, mobile shower units and air said Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for the in Boise, Idaho. Official hesitate to say whether spending on private contractors will increasethis year, but severa factors suggest companies assisting with the fires will have more In California and other Western states, forests have grown thick from years of fire suppressiojn efforts, and moisture levels are low due to Bill Whitson, a director of acquisition management with the U.S.
Foresg Service, said those issueas could create an upswing in fire activith and more opportunities forprivate “It’s a large amount of moneyh that gets expended every year,” said Whitson, who overseesa private contracts for firefighting efforts in Northerbn California. “I don’t know if it’s goinbg to be a record but it seems like every year now triees to be arecord year.” Another Smurthwaite said, is an increaser in the number of people living in the “wildland-urban interface” — areas wherse housing developments and fire-prone forest intersect.
According to a 2008 repor t by the InternationalCode Council, an organization dedicated to building there are 46 million homesz built in these areas, and development there continues at the rate of 3 acres per minute. “It’s reasonable to say that more mone has been directed to contractors as a resultg of the building boom inthe wildland-urba interface,” Smurthwaite said. “All fire costs spike when properth and homes are involved in anurban wildfire.” Many of the businesa opportunities created by the current wildfires come in the form of governmentr contracts that must be procureed well in advance. The U.S.
Forest Service, for often finds services through a procurement proceszs that can take up toa year, Whitson said.