tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498896807194840313.post2622235103717256240..comments2023-07-04T03:16:31.036-07:00Comments on Lawson Valley Confidential: The Fire FeeLawson Valley Confidentialhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15335273840381507724noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8498896807194840313.post-10804763580653795762012-11-09T19:25:27.328-08:002012-11-09T19:25:27.328-08:00I found it ironic that the state sent out expensiv...I found it ironic that the state sent out expensive notices to all back country people warning them that a fee was coming. I just saw $$$. Then I got my bill from some weird office called "Department of Equalization." What is that? How is that "equal" anything? I see the fee I'm asked to pay AS a tax. It's an additional property tax. I am interested if I can deduct it -- as other taxes. <br /><br />You're right; the Cedar Fire blasted through Scripps Ranch, skirted Del Cerro and hit El Cajon and Mira Mesa WAY before it blasted its way up here and that a fire whose name I can't remember went all the way to Encinitas which as I recall is a beach town. <br /><br />And then, too, the Cedar Fire wasn't started by someone who lives out here (most of us know better than to start fires) but by some idiot who had no clue what he was doing and shouldn't have been allowed out of his back yard. <br /><br />Having "back country" people pay a "special" fee is like having golfers pay fees because they might be hit by lightning on a golf course... It feels as if we are being "blamed" for something we had no part in. It's like elementary school; if Johnny comes in late for recess then everyone stays after school as punishment.<br /><br />A couple years ago when a house caught fire (broken water heater which can happen even in cities) I watched my neighbors jump a fence, run across a pasture, carrying shovels and put out spark lit fires that threatened an empty storage barn and a house. We are our own first responders out here. We keep our weeds cut, our firewood away from our buildings, fire-resistent plants planted. We know a lot about keeping ourselves and our property safe. I think we're the last people who should be charged a fee. Martha Ann Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297031232540573009noreply@blogger.com