San Bernardino County Fire Hazard Abatement Process Summary
• Initial property surveys are conducted in unincorporated areas of San Bernardino County as well as
contract cities.
• A Notice and Order to Abate is issued to properties where fire hazards have been identified. There
is a 30-day timeframe to comply.
• A property owner may appeal the Notice and Order to Abate within the 30-day compliance
timeframe. There is a $100.00 filing fee to appeal in which is refunded only if the appeal is
successful.
• A second survey is conducted after the Notice and Order to Abate compliance due date.
• Non-compliant properties are issued a Notice and Intent to Abate notice following the second
property survey. Non-compliant properties will also receive a $100.00 administrative citation and an invoice for administrative fees related to the second inspection in a separate letter. The
property owner has an additional 10 days from the Notice and Intent to Abate mailing date to
contact our office and submit photographic evidence of completed abatement.
• The County will initiate action to abate fire hazards on the remaining non-compliant parcels after
the 10-day additional grace period.
• An abatement warrant will be obtained if abatement is required on parcels with structures. The
administrative cost of $298.00 for warrant procurement and service is billed to the property owner.
• A work order is assigned to the County-approved contractor to abate the fire hazards on the noncompliant properties. The contractor completes the abatement and the property owner is billed for
the work.
• An abatement invoice is generated and sent to the property owner of the non-compliant property
for all outstanding costs, which may include: Non-compliance fee, Case Closure fee, Warrant fee,
and County contractor abatement cost.
• A property owner may appeal the administrative citation and appeal the invoice up to 60 days from
the billing date. There is an Appeal filing fee which is refunded only if the appellant is successful in
having all citation or invoiced fees rescinded.
• After 60 days of non-payment:
- A $123.00 late fee is assessed and a lien will be placed against the property with a $211.00 placement of lien fee.
- Unpaid invoices may be forwarded to the Revenue Recovery Division for collection and an additional 25% fee may be added to the unpaid balance.
- Unpaid invoices may be forwarded to the County Tax Collector as a special assessment, and the unpaid balance may be added to the subsequent property tax bill.
Revised 7/11/2022