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Working after the fires

The 2007 wildfires in Southern California have both negative and positive effects on contractors’ businesses in the area.

Contractors in the pavement maintenance industry of Southern California are getting back in the swing of things following the fires of last October. Many had work put on hold because of the unhealthy air conditions and evacuations. Although most businesses only had to close down for a few days, pavement maintenance contractors saw and will see effects on both current and future business.

In November, Cannon Pacific Services, San Marcos, CA, was in a route make-up mode, according to President Lee Miller. Cannon Pacific specializes in municipal street sweeping, power washing, and other property maintenance services for a diverse government, commercial, and private customer base in San Diego, Orange, Imperial, and Riverside counties.

The company was shut down for three days during the fires due to the amount of smoke in the air. “Our equipment, like most, struggles in extremely poor air quality conditions like we had during the fires, so the equipment wasn’t functioning at optimum levels. Plus, it was unsafe for our employees to be out in those poor air quality conditions.”

Miller says they had to cancel jobs including sweeping city streets, parking lots, and commercial centers. But it didn’t take long for business to pick up. “There was a ripple effect that came in the following week, and we’re even feeling it even today that we’re in a make-up mode,” he says. “And what we’re finding is an unusual amount of ash and heavy debris in the curb line because the extremely high Santa Ana winds.”