RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Roughly 200 property owners in the below-mentioned municipalities and unincorporated areas of Riverside County have not abated weeds and other fire hazards around their parcels. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors is slated to consider setting a hearing, at the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department's request, to impose fire mitigation charges on the tax bills of those owners.
According to the department, the delinquent properties altogether owe a total of $142,749 under the county's Fire Hazard Reduction Program. The amounts, which range from a low of $373 to a high of $5,044 per property and stem from activity in calendar year 2025.
Properties in all five supervisorial districts were identified by the department as delinquent on payments. They included parcels in unincorporated parts of Corona, Hemet, Murrieta and Wildomar, as well as the cities of Banning, Beaumont, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Perris and Temecula, and the communities of Cabazon, Homeland, Juniper Flats, Nuevo and Sedco Hills.
If scheduled, the public hearing would take place on June 23, when the board would consider any challenges to the assessments or approve them in a block vote.
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 parcels that were mitigated were vacant or set off from main residences, 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 purpose of the Fire Hazard Reduction Program is to reduce or eliminate fire hazards created by vegetative growth and the accumulation of combustible debris, which pose a danger to the health, safety and welfare of the residents in the vicinity of any real property," according to an agency statement. "Voluntary compliance is the primary goal of the program. Each parcel owner is provided the opportunity to abate the property prior to the county's conducting the abatement."
According to agency documents, the property owners in question 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 would function as tax liens on the properties
In summary, to see if you or your property is out of compliance:
If the board sets the June hearing, all those who received assessment notices would have an opportunity to challenge them and seek relief.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Temecula, CA Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.