A Northern California fire district is closing some of its stations indefinitely and blaming rising inflation among other things. In doing so, they hope to save more than a million dollars in revenue costs."South Placer Fire District’s operational costs have increased faster than its sources of revenue," the district announced on Thursday. "This is largely a result of inflation, wildfire risk, increased state-mandated safety standards and rising public safety concerns."Video player above: Top Stories from Sept. 23, 2022Two of its fire stations in Granite Bay closed on Saturday, according to the district. Firefighters at Station 19 on Auburn Folsom Road will be transferred to other stations. Firefighters at Station 15 located on East Roseville Parkway will be moved to the previously closed Station 16 located on Olive Ranch Road. Along with firefighter changes, a specialized truck used for search and rescue efforts, fire ventilation and salvage operations will be removed from the fleet. How is the fire district funded?The district relies on property taxes, and a special tax paid by individual property owners, it said, clarifying that it isn't funded by the county or state. The changes to the fire district were made in a special board of directors meeting on Aug. 16, according to documents from the district. The board of directors had advised residents earlier in August of the need to change its model. The special meeting was called to address the budget restrictions after funding from a grant award that allowed the district to increase staffing in 2018 ran out in 2020. "The district has been carrying those positions through general fund expenditures for the last 18 months," documents said. "The district has not experienced a significant increase in revenue to support these additional positions."Proposition 218 could have helped increase revenue for the district. However, it did not pass in July with 53% voting against it. The district calculated that closing the two stations and shutting down a fire engine will save them about $1,116,255, according to documents from the meeting.Cost of closing stationsHowever, that savings comes at a cost to the community. The changes will directly impact those in Granite Bay, Loomis, southern areas of Penryn and Newscastle, the district said. There will also be times the ambulance will be unstaffed."If there is a fire in the district's primary response area, all station members will staff engine 16 and leave the medic unstaffed," documents said as a response to moving four people to staff Station 16. Station 20 will also see a similar model where all fire crews will move to a fire if needed and leave the ambulance behind."In splitting staffing this way, area response coverage is increased by maintaining an engine that has previously been a cross-staffed operation leaving the district empty every time the medic transports a patient to the hospital," according to documents.The district also said the downsizing of a specialized truck that can help ventilate a home on fire will mean they will have to purchase new ladders and extrication equipment for its other engines."These additions allow all engine companies in the district to perform ventilation, if needed, at nearly all residents," documents said. "Granted, commercial properties will be problematic."They plan to mitigate those risks by moving some engines around. Read the full fire district meeting agenda here.