CALABASAS : Fire Victims’ Water Bills May Be Waived

The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District is offering to waive or reduce bills for customers affected by the Calabasas/Malibu fire.

For customers whose homes were destroyed or made uninhabitable by the firestorm, the district will cancel debt for water and sanitation services provided within the billing period that included the blaze, said district spokeswoman Bobbie Wymer.

Since billing periods are not the same for each customer, the amount of relief will vary, Wymer said.

Customers whose homes were affected by the fire may apply for a reduction of fees, especially if they used water from their homes to battle the flames.

Applications for relief must be made before Jan. 1. Customers with questions about how to apply were asked to call the district at (818) 880-4110.

“We’re just going to eat the cost,” Wymer said. “We feel we have a moral obligation to the people in our district who suffered a devastating blow. It’s our way of showing sympathy.”

Wymer said as many as 300 of the homes destroyed during the fire that started Nov. 2 might have been within the Las Virgenes billing area, but that no official count has been made. The district operates 1,300 meters within the area threatened by the fire, she said.