Forest Fire Protection Assessment

Many property owners of San Juan County will see two assessments relating to fire protection on their 2022 tax statement. 

• Forest Fire Protection Assessment
• Landowner Contingency Forest Fire Assessment

In prior years, these two assessments were combined and showed on the tax statements as Fire Patrol. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) requested that these special assessments be billed and reported separately starting in tax year 2022.

Forest Fire Protection Assessment is a fee levied on forest and unimproved lands that the DNR protects from wildfire. Assessment revenues are used to purchase wildfire engines, hire and train wildfire personnel, provide forest fire detection systems, purchase wildfire equipment and provide office space and work station in various strategic locations near protected areas. If a wildfire starts, DNR is there to suppress that fire at no additional cost to you if negligence is not involved.

Any landowner who pays Forest Fire Protection Assessment also pays Landowner Contingency Forest Fire Assessment. Landowner Contingency Forest Fire Assessment pays for emergency fire suppression when a paying landowner starts a fire during a landowner operation.

Parcels that are considered for assessment contain forested or unimproved lands that have enough timber (standing or down) or vegetation in its natural state that could catch and carry fire.

• Wildfire Assessments Brochure
• Assessment Rates
• Why your parcel pays the Forest Fire Protection and Landowner Contingency Forest Fire Assessments