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At Bert's Cafe, the customers with dark shirts and yellow insignias and guns sat in the rear booths.
It was lunchtime on Monday afternoon. The small cadre of law enforcement -- from the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, California Department of Insurance and Contractors State License Board -- were taking a break from patrolling the disaster zone of the Angora fire ensuring contractors were on the up and up.
Some of the investigators had pockets full of contractors' business cards. From 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the investigators met about 20 contractors.
Ninety percent of the contractors contacted had minor deficiencies in either their workers compensation insurance, business license or contractors license, the investigators said. They were asked to leave the area and told to come back when everything was worked out.
It's a hard-line stance used to prevent those with bad intentions from bilking those with damaged or destroyed homes out of thousands of dollars.
Those without business licenses with the county, or without workers compensation, can underbid those who meet all the requirements.
"We want everybody on the same playing field," said Dick Jones, deputy district attorney with the office's consumer protection unit.
Jones, who ordered a cheeseburger with a side of cabbage, has the background to ensure contractor legitimacy.
For 13 years he worked in internal fraud for the California State Automobile Association. The period included the Oakland Hills firestorm that consumed more than 3,000 homes.
Last Wednesday, the team began contacting people affected by the Angora fire for informational purposes on how they could protect themselves. On Monday, the day when the roads in the disaster area were opened to through traffic without any checkpoints, the team went on patrol for enforcement.
They will be patrolling for the "foreseeable future," Jones said.
Betty "B" Gorman, executive director of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, said several contractors from out of the area have come into the office to register with the chamber.
"They are wandering into the office here, no question about it," she said.
A list of contractors and people in related trades is available at the chamber, located across the street from Lakeside Inn. Where the contractor is based out of, their insurance rating and whether they are licensed is some of the information available on the list.
It was lunchtime on Monday afternoon. The small cadre of law enforcement -- from the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, California Department of Insurance and Contractors State License Board -- were taking a break from patrolling the disaster zone of the Angora fire ensuring contractors were on the up and up.
Some of the investigators had pockets full of contractors' business cards. From 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the investigators met about 20 contractors.
Ninety percent of the contractors contacted had minor deficiencies in either their workers compensation insurance, business license or contractors license, the investigators said. They were asked to leave the area and told to come back when everything was worked out.
It's a hard-line stance used to prevent those with bad intentions from bilking those with damaged or destroyed homes out of thousands of dollars.
Those without business licenses with the county, or without workers compensation, can underbid those who meet all the requirements.
"We want everybody on the same playing field," said Dick Jones, deputy district attorney with the office's consumer protection unit.
Jones, who ordered a cheeseburger with a side of cabbage, has the background to ensure contractor legitimacy.
For 13 years he worked in internal fraud for the California State Automobile Association. The period included the Oakland Hills firestorm that consumed more than 3,000 homes.
Last Wednesday, the team began contacting people affected by the Angora fire for informational purposes on how they could protect themselves. On Monday, the day when the roads in the disaster area were opened to through traffic without any checkpoints, the team went on patrol for enforcement.
They will be patrolling for the "foreseeable future," Jones said.
Betty "B" Gorman, executive director of the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce, said several contractors from out of the area have come into the office to register with the chamber.
"They are wandering into the office here, no question about it," she said.
A list of contractors and people in related trades is available at the chamber, located across the street from Lakeside Inn. Where the contractor is based out of, their insurance rating and whether they are licensed is some of the information available on the list.
