State of Emergency Proclaimed : Governor OKs Tax Help for Palomar Fire Victims

Victims of the eight-day fire that burned 16,000 acres and destroyed four buildings on Mt. Palomar last month will be eligible for special tax relief under a state of emergency proclaimed Friday by Gov. George Deukmejian.

The proclamation for San Diego County will enable residents who suffered losses in the fire to defer property taxes for December and write off losses over the next five years in state tax filings, according to the county Office of Disaster Preparedness.

“We had declared it a local emergency area some time back and had requested that the governor declare it a state disaster area,” said Dan Eberle, the county office director. “So we’re happy to see that.”

The fire, which began Oct. 3 and was quenched in a downpour eight days later, caused an estimated $6 million worth of damage including burned buildings, destroyed agricultural land and loss of income, said Tom Amabile of the county office.

15 File Reports

Fifteen ranchers and homeowners have filed casualty reports with the county, Amabile said. There could also be reports from the Mission Indian reservation, the community services district and the Yuima Water District, which lost its building in a subsequent mud slide.

However, Eberle and Amabile said it remains to be seen how extensive the coverage under the governor’s declaration will be. For example, it may cover only direct fire damage, they said. They said they will have to find out whether related flood damage will be included.

“I’m hoping that they have set guidelines and it won’t be a matter of interpretation,” said Amabile, an operations officer with the office.

Eberle said the county’s earlier declaration entitled fire victims to the possibility of some reassessment of property taxes. It also provided certain powers for taking emergency action to protect health and safety--an option that ultimately was not exercised.

He said neither proclamation makes possible low-interest loans.

The fire, traced to a man legally burning debris in an avocado grove, damaged state and federal land, including the Cleveland National Forest and Palomar Mountain State Park, and private lands where four residences and four outbuildings were destroyed.

Eberle said the state-declared emergency is the second in the county this year. Earlier, Deukmejian declared a state of emergency after spring frosts destroyed agricultural produce in North County.