A local small business that specializes in disaster recovery is now expected to be on call when disasters arise in six states after being awarded a unique agreement through the federal government.
B&G Forestry LLC, based out of Granby, was one of several vendors recently selected by the U.S. Forest Service under a blanket purchase agreement to render services in the forest service’s Region 8. Per the agreement, B&G is expected to be ready to mobilize in areas devastated by natural disasters, such as wildfires, hurricanes and floods, and assist with recovery and rehabilitation efforts.
“(We’re) expected to be on call,” said Elizabeth Cline, research and contract administrative specialist with B&G. “It’s like being a doctor on call. If there’s an emergency or disaster recovery necessary … we’re at the ready to respond.”
B&G will respond to six Region 8 states including Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Georgia.
“It does not guarantee that we’re going to be called, but the chances are pretty high that we will be, given the flooding and everything,” Cline said.
The agreement is especially timely now as June 1 marked the start of hurricane season for the Atlantic coast. The states B&G will respond to are often devastated by the severe storms.
The agreement is a unique one, according to Cline, as it involves multiple states. There exist no other blanket purchase agreements on that scale, she confirmed.
Under the agreement, when non-emergency disaster recovery services are needed, the forest service will send call orders to B&G, which would then mobilize equipment and crews to the designated area. Once there, crews would conduct the necessary services including road maintenance and construction, road blading, tree removal, debris removal, trail maintenance and construction, ditch cleaning and more.
“There are hundreds of other vendors that would like to be part of the opportunity,” Cline explained. But only 32 were selected, she added.
The agreement stipulates a $7.5 million cap for services over five years. Broken down, the cost for each individual call is not to exceed $250,000 and not more than $1 million per state, Cline estimated.
B&G, which has less than 10 employees, will also stay busy locally as the company just received a second blanket purchase agreement to provide services within Region 2, which encompasses the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado.
That agreement, as Cline explained, is specifically for fire mitigation efforts. B&G possesses a tactical water tender truck for wildfires that would be called out when needed.
That’s in addition to the business’s close relationship with Grand County’s fire protection districts, as they are currently working together on a teaming agreement for B&G to provide back-up for local fire crews.
B&G, in its current form, has been in Granby since 2013. In that time, it has assisted in various capacities with several major wildfires in Colorado and California, including last year’s massive Silver Creek Fire that broke out northwest of Kremmling.