Fair risk-sharing

Wildfires continue to burn across much of California, from the Oregon border to Santa Barbara County. For now, the Southern California regions that were so devastated by the infernos of last fall have been spared, but the driest and most dangerous months lie ahead. The state is not out of the woods.

That’s the point. California is more and more in the woods, with new suburbs and stand-alone homes being built in areas that nature periodically sweeps with wildfire. Defending that property is becoming an increasing burden to all of the state’s people, whose tax dollars pay for CalFire, the state fire protection agency.

Taxpayers should expect to share the burden of protecting the state’s forests. But it is unfair to compel property owners statewide -- especially those who already pay for local fire protection -- to also underwrite heroic efforts to defend homeowners who choose to live in fire-prone regions.

After last year’s fires, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed an insurance surcharge on all property owners to fund what will surely be a growing CalFire budget. It was a creative effort to build the state’s disaster response, but it unfairly apportioned costs.

In his May revise, the governor came back with a two-tiered system, with lower fees paid by property owners in low-risk areas. It’s a step in the right direction, but it still fails to require developers who court disaster -- and resulting state costs -- to foot an appropriate share of the bill.

State Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) has a better plan. Her SB 1617 would place a $50 surcharge on structures in fire zones. That’s more like it.

But that doesn’t mean Schwarzenegger’s plan should be off the table. The governor correctly points out that California must enhance its preparedness for all disasters, including earthquakes. A major quake in Los Angeles would require response not just from the fire departments that residents here already pay for but from the new equipment and systems that CalFire needs for firefighting.

Schwarzenegger’s plan and Kehoe’s bill are not mutually exclusive, and in fact the two-tier insurance charge inches closer to reasonable if it’s part of a program of charges supplemented by Kehoe’s. Agreement on a perfect solution may be unattainable, but it’s encouraging that the governor and the Legislature are working on it. All Californians must pay their fair share for disaster preparedness -- with the emphasis on “fair” as well as “share.”