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Bunker Living Makes a Comeback Near Barstow

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Cozy underground scene via Scrape TV
Every five years or so, someone comes along with an idea for apocalypse living, and now the Los Angeles Times considers the case of Robert Vicino, who is selling berths in an unnamed area near Barstow (Vicino won't give out the address because he doesn't want the unchosen knocking on the door). In his 13,000-square-foot bunker, "Vicino charges $5,000 to reserve a space," reports the Times. "Kids are half price. Pets are free. 'I'm careful not to promote fear' said Vicino, who also sells more conventional real estate and stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall. 'But sooner or later, I believe you're going to need to seek shelter.'" The bunker can hold 132 people--Vicino tells the paper "he's collected deposits on half the spaces but has not raised enough to start renovating." Oh, let's see you close on all those units, Vicino. Anyone can talk deposits. Oh wait, here's a buyer. She's treating herself. "In a down economy, spending money on a bunker berth may seem an extravagance. But Debby Leite of San Diego thinks it's prudent, and she's scraped together $7,500 for a spot in the bunker for herself and her 6-year-old daughter.

"If you look at Noah's ark, everybody thought he was crazy, and then the floods came," she said. "At least this way I know I'll be taken care of."
· Fallout shelters for a new generation [LAT]