A Certain Company was rorting the system by their pilots leaving the engines running while they sat under a tree having lunch or a nap - and billing the engine time to RFS
Pretty sure that was policy throughout the whole organisation and all the customers were aware of it.
Then again in those days nobody used to ask "how much" when there was a fire burning and the aircraft were never on any "standing charge" or contract. It evened it out probably to what other operators were charging.
Go ask Erickson how much an S-64 is per hour "ad hoc".
At least you got experienced crews and well equipped aircraft with comms and support in the field thrown in that could actually lift something.
I seem to remember on that fire spending half my time trying to find aircraft from other operators that were either lost (3), or run out of fuel (2), or hit something (2)!
Don't get me started on what a complete and utter waste of time the military was! Sounds like they may have a little issue with the current fires.