CAL FIRE Fire Protection Tax Bills Delayed #CaFire

Thursday, March 21, 2013

CAL FIRE Fire Protection Tax Bills Delayed #CaFire

California State Board of Equalization (BOE) announced Wednesday that it will delay fire prevention fee bills.

Fire Prevention Fee Bills Delayed

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The fee was approved by the legislature in 2011 for people who live in rural areas that rely on Cal Fire for fire prevention and protection. The fee affects more than 800,000 homeowners. Most people are charged $115, but some have to pay $150, depending on whether they live far from fire services.

According to the BOE, the delay in the collection of these fees is being postponed due to a large number of complaints submitted by homeowners.

The fire prevention fee funds are administered by Cal Fire. Current state law requires the BOE to bill the owners of habitable structures located within the State Responsibility Area (SRA), and collect the fees.

However, on March 12, 2013, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed a lawsuit against Cal Fire and the BOE, challenging the constitutionality of the measure.

In a statement released Wednesday, BOE Chairman Jerome E. Horton said, "Until the Courts decide the constitutionality of this legislation, it remains the law and the Board has no alternative but to follow the law which gives Cal Fire the authority to direct the board to delay the collection of the fee.

Time will determine whether these funds were necessary to help prevent and manage fires in certain areas, and whether the law is constitutional. If the law is found to be unconstitutional, we will not permit these fees to further burden feepayers."

The State of California is currently gearing up to send a second round of bills to rural property owners for fiscal year 2012-13. the updated mailing schedule will soon be available at boe.ca.gov and calfirefee.com.

Learn more: http://www.calfirefee.com/

CFN - California Fire News 2013

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, March 21, 2013