10
Jana waited and watched. She and her brother had founded the Oregon Firebirds eight months ago. They, along with Curt’s best friend Jasper, had spent three years planning—and then gambled everything against this shot at launching a firefighting helicopter team.
It had turned out in ways she’d never imagined despite all of her careful planning.
The fires had burned and the jobs had flowed. They were still a year from being debt-free, maybe two—six helicopters and all of the personnel and support vehicles didn’t come cheap. But they were far more cashflow positive than even her most optimistic projections. She’d built in contingencies and negotiated early payment bonuses as much as she could, and it had worked.
But it wasn’t only the Oregon Firebirds that had exceeded expectations. T
