Fire Hazard Abatement Questions

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having all citation or invoiced fees rescinded.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

You may have received a notice because at the time of inspection your property showed fire hazards (weeds/grass overgrown). However, it is possible that your property was cleaned after our inspection but a notice was still sent to you. In this case, we would like to thank you for maintaining your property. Please keep in mind that weeds/grasses need to be kept below 4 inches at all times.

Please review your notice with 1st inspection photos and refer to this website (fire hazard definitions, before and after photos.) We would like you to survey your entire property for fire hazards, whether we can see it or not.  Providing defensible space by cutting weeds/grasses and removing combustible debris creates a defendable property should a fire come through your area.

Yes, photos are taken at first inspection and are sent to the property owner on the Notice to Abate.  Photos are also taken at second inspection, which is prior to the issuance of an Administrative Citation. In addition, photos are taken of a non-compliant property before and after abatement work is performed.

If any work is completed on the property by the County there will be a bill generated. Since the enforcement process began while you were the owner you may be responsible for abatement costs, fines and or penalties.

Yes. There is a $76.00 administrative fee plus the cost of the work. It is a maximum of $627.00 per hour. We cannot provide estimates.

No phone calls will be made once the second inspection has been conducted—100% abatement must be complete by the due date or an Administrative Citation may be issued.

The FHA Program uses the County Tax Assessor’s information to obtain property information which includes mailing address. Please verify your property information and if changes are needed please contact the  tax assessor’s office.

County Code requires 100 feet of defensible space around structure. You are welcome to make arrangements with your neighbor for additional hazard abatement.

A list of Contractors who have attended and participated in an informational meeting can be obtained here: Contractor List.

Note: While these contractors have attended an informational meeting, the County does not evaluate, supervise, monitor, or otherwise warrant the quality of these contractors, nor does the County endorse any contractor on this list over any other contractor. Property owners are not obligated to select a contractor from this list. It is being provided as a courtesy to assist property owners.

Contact our office at (909) 884-4056 for the status on your property.