Craigs Excavating & Fire Service LLC

Craigs Excavating & Fire Service LLC, a self-certified small disadvantaged business based in La Grange, California, provides heavy equipment rental, excavation, and fire suppression support services to the USDA Forest Service as a prime contractor under Total Small Business set-asides. The company operates exclusively as a prime on federal work (100% of recent awards) and holds no subcontract positions; all work flows through indefinite delivery contracts issued by the National Interagency Fire Center on behalf of Forest Service Regions 3, 5, and 6 in the western United States.

Craigs Excavating specializes in equipment rental and mobilization for wildland fire suppression and all-hazard incident response, with core competencies in heavy equipment rental including dozers, excavators, feller bunchers, mulchers, masticators, road graders, and skidders. Representative recent delivery orders include a $75,693.20 Competitive Total Small Business call from USDA Forest Service Region 5 in August 2026 for excavating and fire prevention services in Solvang, California (completion date September 10, 2026), a $112,450 Total Small Business delivery order from Region 5 in September 2025 for equipment mobilization and natural resource management in Clovis, California, and an $80,190 firm fixed-price order from Region 5 in August 2025 for heavy equipment rental with water resources in Solvang, California.

Customer concentration is total — the Department of Agriculture Forest Service accounts for 100% of awards across three organizational units: the Fire and Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center (7 awards, $2.5 million combined potential value) and Region 5 (Pacific Southwest Region) (8 awards, $535 thousand combined potential value), with a single additional award from the broader Forest Service entity. The NIFC holds the strategic weight: its seven multiple-award indefinite delivery contracts collectively represent $2.5 million in ceiling value and anchor the vendor's position for rapid equipment dispatch across regions during fire season and all-hazard incidents.

Craigs Excavating holds five active VIPR I-BPA indefinite delivery contracts issued by the NIFC through June 2030, each with $250,000 to $500,000 ceilings, set aside for total small business participation. The portfolio includes contracts for West Zone heavy equipment with water resources (Regions 3, 5, and 6), miscellaneous heavy equipment for Region 5, and heavy equipment for Regions 5 and 6. Task orders against these IDCs carry firm fixed-price terms and are issued without set-aside designation, enabling rapid mobilization during unplanned incidents.

Activity accelerated in 2025 — from one award in 2022 and two in 2023 to seven awards in 2025 and five year-to-date in 2026 — reflecting expanded deployment of the vendor's equipment across Forest Service regions. The combined potential value of $3.1 million across all awards understates current exposure: the five VIPR I-BPA ceilings ($1.5 million base) are designed for call-down delivery orders with unlimited task-order authority through their periods of performance, positioning Craigs Excavating as a standing resource for the Forest Service's fire suppression operations in western regions. Place of performance spans California locations including La Grange, Solvang, Clovis, Porterville, and Eureka, with scope extending across Forest Service regions in the west.