That crackling out behind the brush in rural California isn’t necessarily the sound of approaching fire; it could be residents bristling with outrage over new bills for fire protection that are popping up in their mailboxes.

The state Board of Equalization has been sending out $150 fire prevention fee notices for a month to half-million owners of 825,488 structures in 31 million acres of “state responsibility area,” according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire (CalFire). The state hopes to pick up $89 million a year from the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fees.

The money will be used for brush clearing, arson investigations and other efforts to help prevent calamities like the Ponderosa fire that has destroyed more than 60 structures and scorched 24,000 acres in Northern California this week. Governor Jerry Brown declared emergencies in three counties.

Some critics claim that the new levy constitutes double-taxation for people who live in areas served by local fire districts—an estimated 95% of those who are being billed—although they will receive a $35 discount.

The California State Association of Counties, California Professional Firefighters and the California Fire Chiefs Association also opposed the fee, some arguing that the state shouldn’t be leveling fees for services that will most likely be provided at the local level.

They are joined by others, like the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who argue that the new fee, approved by CalFire, is actually a tax and should have required a two-thirds vote in the Legislature. The Jarvis group has threatened to challenge the fire fees in court, as have other affected parties.

The state is not unaware of the unrest.

“The board has been getting a lot of ‘input,' shall we say, on the SRA rules,” George Gentry, executive officer of the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. “So we know there's a lot of consternation.”

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Rural Residents Face New State Fire Bill (by Michael Gardner, San Diego Union-Tribune)   

Northern California Fire Destroys 50 Buildings (by Will Kane, San Francisco Chronicle)

Rural Fire Fee Going to Nearly 30,000 Valley Homes (by Kurtis Alexander, Fresno Bee)

State Ready to Bill Rural Fire Fees for Cal Fire Services (by Mary Callahan, Santa Rosa Press Democrat)