Higher Tax Bills OK'd For Riverside County Property Owners Who Don't Clear Weeds

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved the Riverside County Fire Department's request to attach fire mitigation charges to the tax bills of four property owners whose orchards and vineyards were cleared of weeds and other potential fire hazards at the county's expense.

In a 4-0 vote without comment — and Supervisor Chuck Washington absent — the board authorized agency officials to apply the unpaid amounts, with surcharges, to the owners' tax invoices this year.

Subscribe

According to the fire department, the owners, whose properties are located in unincorporated areas of Hemet, Murrieta and Perris, are delinquent and altogether owe a total $158,189 under the county's Fire Hazard Reduction Program.

The amounts, which range from a low of $20,393 to a high of $44,705 per owner, stem from activity in calendar year 2025.

Only Deputy Fire Chief Geoff Pemberton spoke, simply asking for the board's affirmation. None of the property owners appeared before the board.

The reduction program involves deploying contractors to clear weeds and related overgrowth that might otherwise fuel brush fires during wildfire season, which generally spans May to November. In most cases, the orchards and vineyards that were mitigated were deemed "abandoned or neglected" under county Ordinance No. 772, according to the fire department.

Officials said property owners were served with orders to abate, or mitigate, the potential hazards, and when inspectors received no reply or saw that no action had been taken, contractors were sent to the locations under county authority to clear away the excess foliage.

"The (ordinance) is designed to protect life, property and the environment by addressing hazardous conditions that increase fire risk and other public safety concerns," according to an agency statement posted to the board's agenda.

The actions geared to the orchards and vineyards were separate from fire hazard mitigation operations that targeted residential properties last year.

Agency documents stated property owners were billed to recover the county's expenditures, but the fire department received no response. A $254 administrative fee has also been folded into the final bill sent to the proprietors.

The charges will function as tax liens on the orchards and vineyards.