Wildfire Today

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Wildfire Today

Tag: Fire Prevention Fee

California decides not to assess fire prevention fee for homes destroyed by wildfire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

CAL FIRE logoThe California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, CAL FIRE, has announced that they will not collect the annual Fire Prevention Fee this year from citizens whose homes were destroyed in last year’s wildfires.

After the fee was signed into law in 2011, homeowners with habitable structures in the 31 million acres protected by CAL FIRE have been assessed a fee each year, currently $153.33, for “fire prevention services”. Those services include strategic fuel reduction activities, defensible space inspections, fire prevention engineering, emergency evacuation planning, fire prevention education, fire hazard severity mapping, implementation of the State’s and local Fire Plans, and fire related law enforcement activities such as fire cause determination and arson investigation.

Officials have endeavored to remove addresses of homes known to have been destroyed by natural disasters since July 1, 2015. However, should homeowners still receive a bill, CAL FIRE has resources to assist them through the exemption process. The exemption form can be found at www.FirePreventionFee.org.

Wildfire briefing, November 25, 2015

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , ,

Man killed in Bully Fire identified

Bully Fire
Bully Fire as seen from 35,000 feet. Photo by Sandym415.

The man who was killed in the Bully Fire in July near Ono, California has been identified as Jesus Arellano Garcia, 35, of Michoacán, Mexico. The body was badly burned and investigators used DNA and circumstantial evidence to make the identification. The fire eventually burned 12,661 acres in Shasta County.

There is a $500,000 bench warrant for the arrest of Freddie Alexander Smoke III who allegedly started the Bully Fire as he was driving a truck to a marijuana plantation he was tending. Mr. Smoke was arrested the day the fire started and charged with causing the fire, but was freed after posting a $10,000 bail. The bench warrant was issued after he failed to show up on August 22 for an arraignment in which he was going to be charged with an additional crime, involuntary manslaughter.

Some California residents hope to overturn Fire Prevention Fee

As California residents in semi-rural areas are receiving their annual $150 bill for the state’s “Fire Prevention Fee”, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association is continuing their litigation over what they call an illegal tax. Some residents say they already pay property taxes to support their local fire departments.

Below is an excerpt from an article in the San Diego Reader:

The lawsuit alleges that after Cal Fire’s loss of $80 million in funding due to 2011’s lingering budget crisis, then-assemblyman Robert Blumenfield (D-Van Nuys) pushed through as an emergency, carefully worded ABX1 29, stating the $150 fee was needed for “benefit services.” By not labeling it as a tax, a two-thirds vote of the legislature was not required. Fellow Democratic legislators quickly passed the bill, and Governor Brown signed it.

Cal Fire claims that in wildfire crises in those semi-rural areas they usually become the lead firefighting agency.

Looking back at California’s Blue Ribbon Report following the fires of 2003

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,
California fires October, 2003
Southern California fires, October 2003. Moving northwest to southeast along the coast, the first cluster of red dots is a combination of the Piru, Verdale, and the Simi Incident Fires; The next cluster-to the east of Los Angeles-is the Grand Prix (west) and Old (east) Fires; To their south is the Roblar 2 Fire; Next is the Paradise Fire; Then the massive Cedar Fire, whose thick smoke is completely overshadowing the coastal city of San Diego; Finally, at the California-Mexico border is the Otay Fire. (A fire in Baja California is also visible.) NASA photo.

It has been a decade since numerous large fires burned hundreds of thousands of acres in southern California in late October, 2003.

Some of the larger ones included Piru, Grand Prix, Old, Paradise, Padua, Simi, Roblar 2, Verdale, Mountain, and Otay. And the Cedar Fire east of San Diego is still ranked as the largest fire in the recorded history of California. The first night it killed 14 people. The fire burned 273,246 acres, and destroyed 2,232 homes in eastern San Diego County. While trying to defend a house near Santa Ysabel, fire Captain Steven Rucker, 38, from the Novato Fire Department was overrun by the fire and killed.

After that fire season the Blue Ribbon Fire Commission’s subsequent 232-page report made more than 40 recommendations. The Sacramento Bee summarized the status of some that were more notable:

  • Allocating “sufficient funds” to state and local fire agencies to address California’s fire prevention and suppression needs. Status: Budget cuts reduced funding. A new fire-prevention fee generated an estimated $85 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year.
  • Replacing and diversifying Cal Fire’s “aging helicopter fleet.” Status: Cal Fire is finishing up design specifications for a helicopter with night-flighting and other firefighting capabilities.
  • Creating a “multi-layered” public education campaign for people living in fire-prone areas. Status: There is no stand-alone state campaign. A mix of local and nonprofit groups is publicizing the risk.
  • Adopting new building codes for vents, roofing and other features for homes. Status: Codes were passed by Legislature in 2004 and required of new construction in 2008.
  • Expanding vegetation clearance around homes. Status: In 2004, the Legislature increased defensible space from 30 feet to 100 feet.
  • Acquire 150 additional fire engines to address California’s fire suppression needs. Status: The state purchased 19 fire engines in 2008. Twenty-five more engines will be delivered in 2014.

More information:

  • Blue Ribbon Commission’s Report on the 2003 fire season, released in 2004 (warning: large 20 MB .pdf file)
  • September, 2004 update on recommendations
  • November, 2005 update on recommendations
  • January, 2008, Blue Ribbon Fire Task Force Update (including 2007 Southern CA Firestorm)

 

Thanks go out to Ken