U.S. survival camps tap into fears of political unrest

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A new breed of off-the-grid, survival camps are sprouting up across the U.S. in isolated areas of states like Colorado and West Virginia.

An industry once associated primarily with anti-government extremists is now catering to mainstream Americans, who are worried about everything from the growing political divisions in U.S. politics to the threat of climate change.

For an annual fee of around $1,000, members can vacation at the camps, learning - in good times - how to shoot semi-automatic weapons, hunt and grow vegetables -- in case they need those skills for the bad news.

Drew Miller is the owner of the Fortitude Ranch community.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) COLORADO SPRINGS RESIDENT, DREW MILLER, SAYING:

"The major thing we've got are storage rooms, an underground shelter in case there's fall out threat, a lot of sleeping areas, a lot of stored supplies and all of that is completely worthless, or worse than worthless if you don't have the means to defend it, so we've a lot of weapons out here."

It's hard to say just exactly how many Americans are joining private survival communities - Fortitude Ranch alone has about 175 members - but doomsday preparation companies are reporting an unprecedented demand.

SOUNDBITE) (English) FORTITUDE RANCH MEMBER, KIKI BANDILLA, SAYING:

"For me it's kind of one of those things that I find is fascinating and it's really nice to have it sort of in my portfolio - the 'just in case'."

Ranch Member Kiki Bandilla, a health insurance professional, says one of her biggest fears is the possibility of political unrest stemming from the 2020 elections.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) FORTITUDE RANCH MEMBER, KIKI BANDILLA, SAYING:

"I think that the chaos is going to be greater. There's going to be more fear on both sides because there's so much division. And so, as a result, I do see that the self-reliance movement is going to grow as a result of that."

Besides providing camp leaders to guide members through an apocalypse, the ranch has about a year's supply of food and raises livestock like goats and chickens.