SAN DIEGO -- The city of San Diego estimates its portion of the cost to fight the Cedar Fire is $16 million, but an additional $9.4 million will be needed to fill a gap in the Fire Department budget.

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The preliminary estimates were given to Mayor Dick Murphy and the City Council by City Manager Michael Uberuaga, who said the cost is likely to rise when cleanup and erosion control are added.

The City Council will discuss Monday where the money will come from to pay for the firefighting costs and what is needed to prevent future disasters.

They will consider whether to extend by another two months its lease of a firefighting helicopter.

The chopper was not being leased by the city when wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes and thousands of acres throughout San Diego.

The cost of using the helicopter would be roughly $808,870 -- paid entirely by outside sources: the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies would put up about $400,000 toward the cost; private donors and sponsors have already pledged $310,300; and the County of San Diego is expected to provide the remaining funding.

The council will also discuss whether to take out a seven-year lease on two pieces of equipment that provide light and fill self-contained breathing devices and bottles with oxygen at emergency scenes. The devices would be used by the fire and police departments during critical night incidents.

If approved, the city would lease the devices for seven years at a total cost of $1.11 million.