Opinion

The arrival of California’s wildfire season is a sober reminder of the importance of preventing such fires in our rural communities. With the memories of past wildfires still lingering in our minds, I know we are all thankful for the bravery shown by our emergency responders who answered the call to save lives and homes.

Those who live in areas with wildfire danger have willingly borne the risks and costs of enjoying a rural lifestyle. But I know that the last thing they need is a new fire tax on their homes that will do nothing to boost fire protection.

Fifteen minutes isn’t enough time to get to know a guy. And my first question during a short meeting with Fair Manager John Steffanic probably wasn’t appropriate.

“Are you crazy?” I asked.

Steffanic just laughed. He laughs a lot. They are the sort of belly laughs that make you think he doesn’t take things too seriously.

The reason for my question was to hopefully understand why Steffanic would figuratively jump on a grenade to save the Plumas-Sierra County Fair.

Regardless of the content of my stories, I am a big county fair supporter. I’ve written about this before so I won’t belabor that point.

Under the heading of “other duties as assigned,” I’m responsible for coordinating the fair supplement in this week’s paper. It makes sense because the county fair is my beat; I cover the board meetings and all the news centered on the fairground operations, whether it’s “The Fair” or missing septic tanks.

Most rural fire departments in Plumas County – essentially all comprised of volunteers – already face a daunting challenge: Balancing adequate fire protection services against the increasing financial costs to provide that service.

Assembly Bill 29x, also known as the “rural fire tax” will negatively affect the county’s fire districts by forcing many homeowners to pay up to an additional $150 annually to CalFire for “fire prevention.”