SACRAMENTO - Although it was cancelled by state lawmakers, a controversial fire fee not paid by thousands of homeowners prior to July 1st still applies.

The 5-year-old fee was terminated under the climate change deal approved by the California Legislature as part of the cap-and-trade deal.

The deal provides relief to more than 730,000 property owners living in rural and suburban areas of the state. Homeowners have been paying about $117 a year in wildfire prevention fees, totaling about $479 million in fire fees since the program first began in 2011.

Many have been fighting the fees for years, calling them a double taxation.

Property owners billed for the fire prevention fee must pay up. Those who dispute the fee are urged to call CAL FIRE.

In the Inland Empire, many rural and suburban home owners have shelled out an average of $600 over the past 5-years supposedly for fire prevention programs.

Story Date: August 7, 2017