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Fire fee repeal linked to new tax

The bills are in the mail, but don’t get out your checkbooks just yet.

“The bills for the SRA fire fees have started going out,” explained Mono County District 2 Supervisor Hap Hazard on Monday. “Those who have received them can file for the class action lawsuit being solicited by the Howard Jarvis [Taxpayers] Association.”

Hazard was referring to the State Responsibility Area fire fees, which have been decried by many, including District 1 Senator Ted Gaines, as a tax, not a fee.

The SRA fire fee is the result of AB 29X, enacted by the state Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown. It imposes a $150 fee on “habitable structures” throughout California. The bills are being sent out alphabetically, by county, so Inyo and Mono county residents may not receive them for a few more weeks.

Hopefully, according to Hazard, by then the bills will be a moot point.

On Friday, Aug. 24, a repeal of the tax was proposed in Senate Bill 1040.

“The only solution to fix the injustice of this SRA fee is to completely repeal it,” Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast), who is a coauthor of the repeal legislation, SB 1040 told the Lake County News. “Assessing it as a flat fee of $150 and charging someone who lives in a mobile home or cabin on the foggy, rainy North Coast the same amount as someone who owns a multimillion dollar estate in the tinder dry hills of Southern California is egregiously inequitable. The SRA fee has been rendered unworkable and the only solution is to get rid of it.”

But nothing comes for free in politics, and SB 1040 has strings attached.

According to the Ramona Sentinel, “It came attached to Assembly Bill 1500, authored by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez who needs two Republicans in the Senate to vote with the Democrats to pass his bill. For SB 1040 to go forward, it will have to pass the assembly and the senate by midnight on Friday, Aug. 31.”

If SB 1040 were to pass, it would leave an expected $85 million on the table in uncollected fees that were earmarked for CalFire. If AB 1500 were to pass, it is expected to generate $1 billion in tax revenues from out-of-state corporations to fund middle class scholarships, according to the Ramona Sentinel. By linking SB 1040 and AB 1500, about $90 million of those tax revenues collected from AB 1500 would reportedly replace the losses from the fire fee repeal.

Some in the Legislature, while supportive of repealing the SRA fees, were skeptical of this compromise.

State Sen. Joel Anderson of the 36th District has been against the fire prevention fee from the beginning, but told the Ramona Sentinel he will not vote for SB 1040.

“The fire tax is bad public policy and should be repealed or overturned,” he stated. “However, tying two unrelated measures (SB 1040 and AB 1500) together to pressure for votes is best described as extortion.”

AB 1500 proposes that out-of-state corporations would only be able to base taxes on sales in California — the single-sales factor — instead of choosing between two tax formulas as currently allowed.

SB 1040 was authored by state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) and is an urgency bill, written to take effect immediately if signed by the governor, and will require approval of two-thirds of the Assembly, 54 votes.

If it passes the Assembly, the bill will be immediately transmitted to the Senate for consideration.

“Repealing this fee would also remove a financial threat to local fire districts, which face an uphill battle persuading property owners to fund their agencies if they are forced to pay a $150 fee to the state,” Chesbro added in the Lake County News article. “It is these local fire agencies that are the first responders to structure fires in most rural communities.”

“Closing the loophole with AB 1500 is legitimate,” Hazard said. “SB 1040 is a good move for the people I represent.”

Pictured: A rare photograph of the skies in August 1992 from Badger Lake south toward Mammoth. Minaret Summit is under the cloud of smoke, as is Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. (Photo courtesy Keith Dawley)

On its 20 year anniversary, a look back at the ugly fire with a pretty name

Under normal circumstances, Aug. 20, 1992, would have been just another Eastern Sierra summer day. But as fate would have it, 20 years later that particular day is forever etched in the area’s history as the official trigger date of the Rainbow Fire, a pretty name for what was one of the largest, most threatening blazes Mono County, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, the Inyo National Forest and the greater Mammoth Lakes area has ever seen.

The Rainbow Fire began burning about 6 miles below Devils Postpile national monument, not far from Red’s Meadow and Rainbow Falls, hence the name. It was the result of what fire officials now say was a “perfect storm” for such a conflagration. Years of below-normal snow and rainfall, a hot summer, the location along an upslope and the remote location provided fuel and ripe conditions. All it needed was a spark. During the days leading up to the fires, a series of violent, fast-moving weather fronts blew through the area, leaving behind little rain, but lots of lightning strikes, one of which touched off the Rainbow Fire.

By Aug. 21, constant winds at between 30 and 60 miles per hour fanned the blaze, expanding it to more than 8,000 acres in 24 hours. “Embers can travel miles ahead of the fire front,” said Debra Hein, Bureau of Land Management Fire Management Specialist. “Often you don’t know about smaller, spot fires until you find them.” Spot fires were caught just 3-4 miles north of Mammoth Lakes, and just above Sledz and near Chair 14 at MMSA. “It was headed for the Mammoth Pass in the direction of Mammoth Lakes.”

This year, with numerous fires in four states requiring thousands of firefighters, the conditions are similar to those of 20 years ago, according to Mammoth Lakes Fire Department’s Thom Heller, who was on scene for the Rainbow Fire. Interagency Fire Manager Jeff Iler noted that manpower was at first “pretty thin” for fighting the Rainbow fire, though teams later arrived from all over the U.S. and even Puerto Rico.

Heller remembers crews working 24-hour shifts cutting lines around the fires, but beyond a certain point, the winds ruled the day. Air support crews were grounded and those firefighters on the front lines could only hunker down and wait for a break in the weather. “It’s very similar to 20 years ago,” Iler agreed. “This time, there’s not a lot of SoCal activity, but there is in Northern California and across the Rockies.”

Meanwhile, engine companies were stationed to protect the MMSA Main Lodge, and more were based out of Tamarack Lodge charged with making sure the fire didn’t reach the Mammoth Lakes area. In town, local Mary Canada said she recalls seeing the glow from her hot tub. “We put some valuables and essentials by the door, just in case of evacuation,” Canada related. “Neighbors were hosing down their roofs and taking other preparatory measures. They took it seriously, as well they should have.”

She also recounted the community dinners held by Robin Stater, at which folks could commiserate about what might happen if fire reached the town.

Richard Perloff with the U.S. Forest Service said the fire burned through the chaparral near the point of origin, and then hit the nearby red fir timber. Paul Meyers, also with the USFS, said he saw flames estimated at the time to have climbed as high as 300 feet. “We could work the flanks, but couldn’t hit it with a frontal assault,” he said. “The whole valley was on fire.”

The fire either destroyed or threatened as much as 80% of Devils Postpile National Monument, and crews falling back helped wildlife as best they could along the way. Firefighter Ron Riise recollected subduing a bear (via tranquilization) and helping save its life during the early retreat.

A crew estimated at about 1,200 persons battled the fire, which wasn’t declared contained until Sept. 16. In the end, the Rainbow fire consumed 8,200 acres of Forest Service land and another 600 acres of National Parks Department land. Included in the equipment lost: Engine #22, which was caught in a fast-moving fire front and was melted.

Mop up and rehabilitation went on for another 3 months until the snow finally arrived that winter. A bit of trivia: the blaze wasn’t declared officially “out” until April 1993. Erosion control was part of the effort that included removing partially burned or fallen tree remains, blasting out root bases, and aerial seeding to help reforestation. Decades later, some of the charred landscape that looks almost that looks almost like walking on an alien world is starting to be replaced by new vegetation.

“Fire is integral to the ecosystem,” Perloff said. Iler said it reinforces the concept of defensible space, which he maintains has been proven by research, and adds to the safety of both people and property.

“Prescribed thinning and burns are also important to help get the natural balance back,” Iler went on to add. There are exceptions, however, he acknowledged. “Certain endangered species are still judgment calls for various agencies. Take the sage grouse, for example; sage brush is a valued ecosystem for certain wildlife. On the other hand, some fires are left to burn themselves out based on predetermined needs or lack of proximity to inhabited areas.

Some, according to Iler, prefer to see ecosystems remain unchanged, which he thinks is not realistic. “It’s all gonna burn eventually,” he stated. “You can try to save the piñon trees, but they’ll be replaced by brush some day.”

“We have to think outside our limited life spans, and imagine what things looked like 1,000 years ago and what they’ll look like 500 or 1,000 years from now. Whether we’re dealing with a huge fire or a more mosaic one, the present is only a snapshot in time,” Scott Kusumoto with the USFS commented.

Hein indicated another challenge we face is the growth rate. “There have been more homes put up here in the last 50 years, and even in the last 20 years,” she and Iler pointed out, especially mentioning Crowley, which has almost quadrupled in size during the past two decades or so. That, Hein said, means planning has to be mandated for inhabited areas to strategically deploy resources and manpower. “The old idea of a fire truck in your front yard shouldn’t be considered possible anymore,” she said. “Otherwise you end up spending lots of money to fight losing battles.”

Today, several of those who were on the front lines then say the anniversary of the fire is a good reminder that we live in an area that is both beautiful, but also potentially dangerous. “There was the 1987 Mammoth Fire, the Laurel Fire … those were wake up calls,” Heller said. “The 1992 Rainbow Fire was clearly a wakeup call, and in recent years let’s not forget the Sherwin Fire. It’s easy to forget.”

Iler added he’s concerned about the next two years, in the wake of the Blowdown event last November, which he said increased fire fuel loads.

Heller and Hein advocated being proactive. “Don’t wait until an incident,” they said, suggesting using building with more new, fire-resistant materials and participating in Fire Safe Councils among other measures.

On thing many of those involved at the time remember clearly, though, was a spirit of community, which supported the crews as they worked, and also pulled together. “There was an incredible sense of survival afterward, and of a job well done,” Heller concluded.

Pictured: A mudslide in Twin Lakes last week left some residents with quite a mess. (Photo: Mono County)/

It’s been a destructive week. It began on Friday, Aug. 17 when the Twin Lakes area experienced flooding and a mudslide after deluge-like rainfall.

Mono County Director of Road Operations, Jeff Walters told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that his staff had responded to the mudslide in the area and provided 150 sandbags, among other assistance.

Debris cleanup was still underway on Tuesday and a propane tank was MIA, according to Walters.

On Saturday, Walters was notified that a big rig had hit the Crowley Lake overpass and caused damage, however, since the County owns the road on the overpass, but not the overpass itself, it was a Caltrans issue to be resolved.

On Sunday, Walters was again notified, this time of a camper in a 45-foot motorhome who, due to the heavy rain, had become stuck at his campsite at Hartley Springs. A County employee was working in the area and was able to use the County grader that is parked at Obsidian Dome to get the stranded camper out.

Heavy rain, thunder and lightning hit the Eastern Sierra at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 22 waking many Mammoth locals. The lightning sparked at least three fires, one near Schulman Grove (see Bristlecone Pine Forest Visitor Center story) another just outside of the Town of Mammoth behind the geothermal plant, and another on Lookout Mountain.

Mammoth Lakes and Long Valley fire crews responded to the fire at the geothermal plant, which burned about 1/10 of an acre according to MLFD Chief Brent Harper.

“The fire was creeping through the duff,” Harper said so there is no guarantee that the rain would have put the fire out if local crews had not responded.

The Forest Service responded to the fire on Lookout Mountain.

But why were there so many people around to put it out?

It took one week and 571 personnel members, but full containment of the Indian Fire was announced on the morning of Aug. 15.

The Indian Fire started on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at approximately 2:06 p.m. and was burning southeast of Mono Lake and North of Hwy 120. While the fire never threatened any structures or human lives, it did threaten sage grouse habitat as well as some transmission lines supplying electricity to Southern California. These are the two main reasons, in addition to the fire’s size, which have been cited as the reason for the large amount of resources put on the fire.

United Stated Forest Service Incident Commander Mike Wakoski described it as an “exciting fire” when he briefed the Mono County Board of Supervisors this past Tuesday.

“It has burned 12,574 acres,” Wakoski said. “An acre is the size of a football field, so it burned about 13,000 football fields. It had a wind to it so we had to wait for it to slow down to get around it.” The final official count was 12,574 acres.

“There was a threat to power lines which is why there were so many resources thrown at it,” Wakoski continued. “If the power grid had been affected, Southern California would have been without air conditioning.”

Public Information Officer Bob Boole added, in a phone conversation on Wednesday, that 571 people on a fire was not an unusual situation.

“Most crews carry 20 people, so you have five crews and you’re already at 100 people,” he explained.

Editor’s note: We double-checked the math and it’s accurate!

According to Boole, Lee Vining, Wheeler Crest and Mammoth Lakes Fire departments were involved in the fire suppression in one way or another.

Firefighters were expected to continue to build and improve containment lines, mop up any hot spots, and repair any impacts caused by fire suppression through the end of the week.

As of Aug. 13, the lightning-caused “Indian Fire” had burned 13,500 acres and was 70% contained.

The Indian Fire started on Wednesday, Aug. 8 at approximately 2:06 p.m. The fire is southeast of Mono Lake and north of Hwy 120. Firefighters both on the ground and in the air are aggressively fighting the fire with 551 people committed to that effort. Although cooler weather and light precipitation on parts of the fire helped slow its progress, fuels remain very dry. Over the next several days, firefighters will continue to build and improve containment lines as well as mop up any hot spots.

As the firefighting effort lessens crews will refocus on the restoration of impacts caused by the fire suppression. Local biologists and botanists from the BLM are working directly with firefighters on rehabilitating the landscape. The public is also an important partner in healing the land by treading lightly in the burn area.

Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team 3 assumed command of the fire effective 6 p.m. on Aug. 10. The management of the fire is under Unified Command between the Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service. Incident commander, Mike Wakoski would like to thank the community of Lee Vining and the adjacent areas for their support and hospitality to Team 3 and all firefighters.

-Press Release

Smoke from the Indian Fire (Photo: Leslie Willoughby)

A thunderstorm that passed through the Eastern Sierra Wednesday afternoon ignited a lightning fire about five miles southeast of Mono Lake, north of Hwy 120, on Bureau of Land Management public lands. The Indian Fire is burning in sagebrush and grass and was about 1,000 acres late last night.

The Indian Fire started at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, and as of 9 p.m. was 15 % contained. Crews initially hit the fire hard and were supported by four airtankers, two helicopters, an air attack and a lead plane.

Wednesday night crews remained in full suppression mode on the fire where 6 engines, 4 handcrews, 2 water tenders and 2 dozers are fully engaged. Participating agencies include BLM, the Forest Service, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, CalFire, and the Lee Vining Volunteer Fire Department.

Although no structures are located in the area, the fire is burning in sage grouse habitat and crews will continue to aggressively suppress it.  -Press Release

Double taxation?

“Don’t close CAL FIRE’s budget on the backs of county residents,” said Amador County Supervisor and Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) Board Member, Richard Forster during a media conference call on Monday, July 30, regarding the State Responsibility Area fire fee bills soon to be arriving in mailboxes up and down the Golden State.

The SRA fire fee is the result of budget bill AB 29X, enacted by the state Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown. It is to be imposed on “habitable structures” which do not include barns, detached garages, sheds, etc.

Bills were expected to start going out this week, alphabetically by county. However, Forster explained on Monday that the billing had been delayed a week.

Regardless of when the bills begin to flow into California resident’s mailboxes is a small issue in the grand scheme of the situation.

“This is not a fee but a tax,” said San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob. She went on to say that San Diego County is poised to file a lawsuit against those imposing tax, but has to wait to receive the bills, first.

“This is so, so wrong,” Jacob said.

Napa County Supervisor & RCRC Immediate Past President Diane Dillon agreed. “This is not the way to deal with problems that exist,” she said. “Folks are not aware that the bills are coming.”

At the end of last year, CAL FIRE spokesman Daniel Berlant explained to The Sheet that typically CAL FIRE has received 90% of its funding from the state general fund. However, given the state’s current budget crisis, CAL FIRE now needs a more stable funding source. The state’s solution: an SRA “Benefit Fee” for rural residents living near wildland areas.

The new fee will be imposed on more than 825,000 homes and apply to almost all residents of Inyo County, as well as some in Mono County. All owners of “habitable structures,” which include both residential structures and non-residential structures like stores, warehouses, hospitals, libraries, museums, and government buildings, including jails, will pay the $150. Further, residential “habitable structures” with more than one dwelling unit will be charged $25 for each additional unit.

CAL FIRE regulation offers minimal fee exemptions for structures already covered by local fire districts. Property owners within an SRA and also within the boundaries of a local agency that provides fire protection services will only receive a reduction of $35 per habitable structure.

This was described as “double taxation” during Monday’s conference call since many rural areas in the state are so far from outside assistance that local fire departments are really the only chance they would have in an emergency fire situation.

“Volunteer fire departments take care of us, not CAL FIRE,” said one participant on the call.

These areas would be paying for a service they would not be utilizing.

“A fee comes with a service,” Dillon said. Without that service attached, it’s a tax.”

Another issue with the bill is that it is going to be sent to homeowners from July 2011 records. Since many of these homeowners have foreclosed since that time, the bills are going to be sent to people who don’t own the structures anymore.

“This is a potential disaster,” Dillon said.

According to the conference call documentation, California county supervisors and assessors had no role in developing this fee; have no role in collecting the money or enforcing payment; and will not receive any benefit from the payment of this fee.

Neither California counties nor assessors helped in compiling the list of names and addresses of persons for which the “fire fee” is to be imposed. CAL FIRE is responsible for providing the State Board of Equalization with this information.

State Senator Ted Gaines recently stated in his newsletter, “The tax will not provide any more fire protection and will actually make it harder for local fire agencies to raise the money they need to keep people safe. It’s a lose-lose proposition for the people in my district and for anyone concerned with public safety and the rule of law.

“This tax should have been subject to a 2/3 vote in the legislature just like every other tax, but the Democrats called it a fee to get around that requirement,” he continued. “The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association will file a lawsuit disputing the fee’s legality and I hope it gets overturned ASAP.”

In further comment on the tax, Gaines said, “It was, is and always will be a shakedown of rural property owners that takes their money every single year but gives them zero in the way of additional fire safety.”

Visit www.calfirefee.com to see if you live in a “State Responsibility Area” and will be paying this tax. For questions regarding bills, call 888.310.6447.

As of Sunday, firefighters and crews from several jurisdictions were getting the upper hand in containing what’s been labeled the Fish Fire, on Fish Springs Road, west of U.S. 395, south of Big Pine in Inyo County.

The fire had forced the closure of U.S. 395 earlier in the weekend, but as of Sunday, it was open in both directions. All evacuations of the area had also been cancelled. No injuries had been reported and no structures were threatened by the 1,103-acre blaze, the origin of which is still under investigation.

As of Monday morning, it was listed as 90% contained with full containment expected by the end of the day. Firefighters are continuing construction of a containment line around the perimeter of the fire, as well as mopping up hot spots.

The fire involved 10 engines, 8 crews and 5 water tenders, with 190 total personnel on duty from CAL FIRE, Inyo County Sheriff, US Forest Service, CHP, Big Pine Volunteer Fire Department, Bishop Volunteer Fire Department, Olancha Volunteer Fire Department, Lone Pine Volunteer Fire Department, Independence Volunteer Fire Department, Wheeler-Crest Volunteer Fire Department, Bishop Tribal Police, BLM, LADWP, Caltrans and Mono County fire departments. -CAL FIRE

Pictured: A view of the Hodgdon Burn from Crane Flat. (Photo courtesy NPS)/

Prescribed fires are here to stay

Members of the public became concerned this week when they discovered that Yosemite was planning a prescribed burn in the park (see this week’s Letters to the Editor).

With warm weather and winds, some Mono County residents believed the fire risks were too high to purposely start a burn. A number of letters were sent to Yosemite’s Fire Education and Information Manager Gary Wuchner, asking why the park chose this late date for a prescribed burn.

Local Mammoth Lakes Fire Marshal, Thom Heller explained that a standard prescription must be met for any agency to go forward with a prescribed burn. Data regarding winds, weather, and other conditions is input, and the outcome determines whether or not a burn will be allowed.

“I understand people’s concerns,” Heller said, “especially since we are into summer now.”

However, Heller pointed out that after 100 years of not burning, the public was going to need to get used to more and more burns of this nature.

“We are playing catch up in heavily stocked areas,” he said. “[Burns] will be more prevalent in upcoming years because fire achieves the goals agencies need to obtain.”

Heller pointed out that locally our air quality is the poorest in the winter, making it unrealistic to burn in those months if agencies want to stay within air regulations. Plus, burning in the winter would not achieve the soil nutrient goals that agencies strive for when implementing a prescribed burn.

Heller said, “people get upset when fires get away from prescribed burns regardless of the time of year,” adding that it was not more dangerous to implement a prescribed burn now than at other times of the year as long as the standard prescription was being met.

An update on June 19 at http://www.nps.gov/yose/parkmgmt/current_fire.htm stated that the Hodgdon Prescribed Burn was still moving forward and would begin ignition that day.

“Fuel moistures and other fire factors, within Hodgdon Meadow burn unit, have reached optimal levels to successfully complete the 234 acre project,” the web report said. The project area is near the Big Oak Flat entrance station, campground and community of Hodgdon Meadows.

On Tuesday night, June 20, Wuchner sent the following update on the burn:

“From the Hodgdon Burn Boss:

Total acres to date: 204; Total burned 06/19/2012: 70 acres; Total burned 06/20/2012: 134 acres; Total acres left to burn on 06/21/2012: 30 acres.”

Completion was expected by June 21.