In an article by Don Thompson of the Associated Press he makes the observation that CAL Fire is not citing homes across California evenly.
Property owners in southern and central California were cited 5,076 times during the past three fiscal years for not doing enough to clear their properties and protect their homes from wildfires. During the same period, just eight such citations were issued in all of Northern California, and all of those came in a single year in Tehama and Glenn counties.
The divide is not simply a north-south one. There are great differences even within what state fire officials consider their southern region. Los Angeles County accounts for the bulk of the citations, while Orange and San Diego counties had just one between them even though both have been subject to destructive wildfires in the past decade.
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Under Public Resources Code 4291 homeowners are required by law to meet certain structural clearances designed to minimize firefighter danger and maximize the opportunity to save homes.
“Ultimately, the biggest penalty for somebody who refuses to comply is for their house to burn down,” said CalFire’s Upton. “We don’t wish that on anybody.”