Private firefighters can be contracted by communities or individuals who want to ensure they have access to firefighting services in the event of an emergency.

What this means, the newspaper explains, is that proper management is not really about preventing wildfires "but instead preventing points of ignition within communities by employing 'home-hardening' strategies—proper landscaping, fire-resistant siding—and enjoining neighbors in collective efforts such as brush clearing."

Hiring a private fire crew costs thousands of dollars a day, and most work through government contracts or with insurance companies. Some wealthy property owners are calling them in directly.

Not everything has been torched in the California wildfires. Some of those wealthy enough to do so invested in fire mitigation technology and hired private firefighters to preserve their property. Keith Wasserman,

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Dunn (pictured), owner of private firefighting firm Covered 6, told the Mail his phone had been 'ringing off the hook' with pleas for help.