Costs are dealt with differently from county to county. In Los Angeles County, L.A. County Fire and Sheriffs each have their own helo squadrons. You get lost, call 911, get airlifted out, you do not pay a dime for being rescued by a county tax paid public service entity. In other counties like Riverside for example, it depends on the nature of the rescue. You get lost in Riverside County you get plucked out by Cal Fire which is contracted by the county for emergency services. You wreck your car on a highway however, AMR (private for-profit ambulance service) initiates a helo due to distance from hospital. They call Mercy Air (private for-profit air ambulance service) to fly you to the nearest trauma center. You heal up and open the mail to find a fat bill. I agree I do not want to pay the knuckleheads who get lost on a trail by their own ignorance/stupidity. I also do not want to pay for dopes who call 911 because they have a cold, sniffle, hangnail, leaky faucet, bee problem, or lost cat. Yet, this is the nature of our 911 system -- you call, you get a response from a mulitude of "all risk" public service agencies.
