08/30/07 . Preferential Treatment for Wealthy during Wildfires

Last month we were awakened at 2:00 in the morning by a policeman explaining that the fire was closing in and we needed to ready for full evacuation. I wouldn't wish his visit on anyone, after the rummy realization my kids were okay we began to pack the "important stuff". After 26 years of marriage how do you decide what makes the cut; your grandma's needle point pillow or your sons home run baseballs? If your rich enough apparently you never have to. As wild fires close in on the multi-million dollar second homes in the Sun Valley area the likelihood that they will burn is rare because their homeowners insurance company has stepped up to pay for the estates to be sprayed with fire retardant. The idea of insurance companies protecting clients is novel and in this case expensive, about $1000.00 a pop. Many have been disgusted that the wealthy would get special treatment during a natural disaster, but the sad reality is that this actually frees up the forest service to protect other properties. Thankfully the fire missed our home but it did cause us to reevaluate what we considered valuable! We got the horses, cat, dogs and family photos loaded and we were ready to go.