By Mike Harris
Mountain property owners next year can expect to receive a $115 bill from the State of California for fire protection services after the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection last week voted for a higher fee than it had originally approved. Why mountain residents should expect a $115 fee instead of a $150 fee is because the fire board agreed to offer a $35 discount to those property owners currently living in a fire district, such as San Bernardino County Fire, Running Springs Fire or Crest Forest Fire.
Mountain communities such as Lake Arrowhead, Crestline and Running Springs are in a State Responsibility Area (SRA).
After packing the California Fire Board with four of his own appointees, Gov. Jerry Brown last week was able to get the state board to approve a $150 wildfire fee for rural properties.
Brown expects the wildfire fee to provide the state with about $50 million annually, and would apply to around 850,000 properties located in a SRA.
The wildfire fee now goes to the state Board of Equalization to determine how the state will bill rural property owners.
But the bill mountain property owners receive could go higher than $115.
If a property has more than one… (Read more)
Source: Mountain News, via Assemblyman Tim Donnely website newsroom. Photo used is in the public domain.
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