Owner of California company that builds nuclear bunkers reports 'crazy' surge in demand as tension between USA and North Korea rises
- Ron Hubbard, president of Atlas Survival Shelters, said bunker sales are 'crazy'
- He has sold dozens recently to Texas, Oregon, Washington and elsewhere in US
- Surge in interest 'is coming from the banter between North Korea and Trump'
- Some of his bunkers include leather sofas, a kitchen area and a laundry room
- In Texas, another firm - Rising S Shelters - has seen sales surge by '200 per cent'
The owner of a firm that builds bomb shelters has said demand for his products has become 'crazy' in the wake of North Korea's rising nuclear aggression.
Ron Hubbard, the president of Atlas Survival Shelters, said he has 'never seen anything like' the current clamoring for his bunkers.
The company - based in Montebello, California - has recently reported sales in North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Oklahoma, Arizona and California.
Speaking to Fox 11, he said: 'It's all North Korea, the banter going back and forth between Kim Jong-un and Donald trump is making world news, I mean these guys are making serious threats,' he said.
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Family fun: Children lie in bunk beds as adults look on in one of Atlas Survival Shelters' offerings
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Entertainment available: A TV set up inside a bunker built by Ron Hubbard's company in Montebello, California
Pictured: A woman shows off the comfortable common room inside one of the bunkers, featuring a TV and leather sofa
Pictured: How the bunkers get 20 feet underground
Pictured: Ron Hubbard inside the BombNado model of bunker. He said demand has been 'crazy' since tensions began rising between North Korea and the US
Pictured: A large bed inside one of the bunkers. Hubbard said that it would be possible to stay in one of the shelters for a year should the worst happen
Defense: A woman demonstrates how one of the bunker's tunnels can be used to defend against intruders. The staircase behind her 'descends at a 30 degree angle to deflect gamma radiation', according to Atlas Survival Shelters
Pictured: Ron Hubbard inside his office in California
'We're trying to mass produce shelters and actually keep them in stock.'
Prices for his bunkers range from a budget $10,000 option to a luxury $100,000 home away from home.
The shelters are installed 20 feet underground and buyers can, if they choose, stay in them for up to a year.
His firm has seen sudden increases in attention before - including when ISIS came to power and amid conspiracy theories that the world would end in 2012 - but the North Korean scare has prompted the biggest surge yet.
Meanwhile in Texas, another bunker firm - Rising S Shelters - has also seen sales surge.
Owner Clyde Scott said: 'I would say sales are up 200 per cent. So this week alone we sold eight. I normally sell about two a week, we are selling about eight a week right now. North Korea is the only reason for the increase I've seen.'
Get cozy: A small fire and table are shown in this homely bunker
Pictured: A six-person luxurious option that comes with a sink and leather sofa
Pictured: The cylindrical rooms being manufactured before they go into the ground
Pictured: Hubbard stands inside one of his bunker creations
Scott said is bestseller is a 10ft by 50ft bunker costing about $110,000.
He said his customers used to be ring-wing Christians worried about the government coming to take away their guns and property but now he's seeing a more diverse customer base.
His company reportedly built a bunker for Kim and Kanye West - though he refuses to confirm it.
Meanwhile Hubbard - speaking to Bloomberg - said the Japanese market is 'going wild hog right now'.
'[Japan as a market] was non-existent for me six months ago, seven months ago. It pretty much started when Kim Jong-un started testing all of his long range ballistic missiles.'
On the Atlas Survival Shelters website, a wide variety of shelters are offered.
Some feature a common room with a widescreen TV, plenty of kitchen space, comfortable beds with Texas flag-themed linen and even a tunnel designed to block gamma rays which also doubles up as a defensible machine gun nest.
The more expensive bunkers even include a laundry room and leather sofas.
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