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There’s an effort to reinstate a fee for rural Californians to help fund wildfire prevention. The plan would charge up to one hundred fifty dollars a year for homeowners in less populated areas overseen by the state. That’s about a third of California. The money would fund Cal Fire’s prevention work. A similar fee was in place for about six years but ended in 2017 after complaints. Critics say many rural homeowners are on fixed incomes and already pay a lot for insurance and wildfire safety. Lawmakers say they would consider lower fees for some residents as they did in the past. Still, there’s worry rural residents might even pay multiple times for fire protection if they also already have to fund local fire districts in their area on top of state taxes.
