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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2017)
February 24, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 9A Landowners fume over fire fee Hundreds face new assessments By Jack Heffernan EO Media Group SAM STEIDEL/FOR CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Firefighters responded to a blaze in Cannon Beach Sunday. Woman escapes fire that destroyed home By R.J. Marx Cannon Beach Gazette Fire swept through a two-story North Larch Street residence Sunday, Feb. 12, in a blaze that could be seen for miles. There were no report- ed injuries and one woman was assisted safely from the second story after two passersby heard the build- ing’s smoke detector sound- ing from parking lot across street and saw smoke com- ing from building. They as- sisted the occupant from the second story down the stairs to safety. The call was received to dispatch via telephone at 3:31 p.m. on Saturday, Cannon Beach Fire Chief Matt Benedict said. Cannon Beach was first to arrive at, followed by Seaside and Gearhart. “Additional units were dispatched to move- up as part of our mutual aid agreement for a ‘second alarm’ within Clatsop Coun- ty which included Warren- ton Fire, Hamlet Fire, Ne- halem Fire, Lewis and Clark Fire,” Benedict said. The apartment building was almost fully involved when local police and fire arrived first to the scene. The top units of the building were destroyed; the bottom units had some smoke and water damage. In the fire’s early phases, there was risk of it spread- ing, Benedict said, until fire- fighters used a water hose and extinguished the blaze from the outside in. “We have two ladders here, Seaside and ours,” Benedict said. “We used ours from up top to squirt down — most of it was on the second story of the house.” Firefighters did not enter the building because of the risk of collapse. “If you look at the wall from the other side, you can see that it’s bowing out,” Benedict said. “We’re not going to put any- one in there in that danger to put it out.” All units were back in service by 9 p.m. Sunday. In Seaside, members of the City Council praised the efforts of firefighters. “We responded down to that fire and we were right in the middle of that,” Sea- side’s City Manager Mark Winstanley said at a Sea- side City Council meeting on Feb. 13, the day after the fire. “We are certainly always willing to help our neighbors in these situa- tions. We’re very proud of the fire department, and I want to make sure I recog- nize those people on the fire department.” The fire was determined to be accidental, Benedict said. “The volunteers did an amazing job of getting the fire out, no one was injured,” he added. “Special thanks to Cannon Beach PD for their assistance. It was much ap- preciated.” Landowners in Clatsop County are challenging a fee assessed by the state for fire protection, citing improper classification and a lack of ad- vance notice. In early January, roughly 2,300 landowners in the As- toria Forest Protection District were notified that their proper- ties, designated as forestlands in July, would be assessed an annual fee for fire protection as part of their property tax- es. But some argue either that their properties should not qualify as forestland or they had not received proper notice. The Oregon Department of Forestry provides fire protec- tion to forest and grazing lands through money from both the state general fund and fees it collects from forestland prop- erty owners. Overall, roughly 4,750 lots were added as forestlands, while 1,200 lots — including 600 owners — were removed from the list. The current annual tax rate in the Astoria district is $1.21 per acre, and owners of forest- lands are charged a minimum assessment of $18.75 each year. A $47.50 surcharge can be added if property owners build additional structures on their land. Wildfire efforts The money collected from these fees fund wildfire efforts in the state. Rates could vary each year based on the number of wildfires the Department of Forestry responds to in a given year and the number of people paying into the system, Astoria District Forester Dan Goody said. The department does not receive any additional revenue from the assessments. While many of these prop- erty owners also pay taxes to local fire districts that respond to structural fires, the Depart- ment of Forestry’s assessment is based on lands it would pro- tect during a wildfire, Goody said. Therefore, many prop- erty owners who don’t have many trees or vegetation on their land may also be subject- ed to these taxes. But some property owners have been confused about the DANNY MILLER/EO MEDIA GROUP Tim Mancill walks on his property on Wednesday in Seaside. Mancill is appealing the add- ed fire protection fee on his property. Surprise distinction. Tim Mancill, who has owned a 2.36 acre lot on North Wahanna Road in Sea- side for almost 13 years that also includes his home, was assessed $66.25 for his prop- erty. Much of his property includes wetlands, which are submerged underwater for much of the year, along with some willow trees. “I think they’re out for a money grab,” Mancill said. “Don’t they have better things to do with their time?” Goody said people would be surprised about the kinds of land that allow wildfires to spread quickly. In his experi- ence, even lands such as cran- berry bogs have caught fire, he said. The problem: some prop- erty owners whose lands were reclassified were completely unaware that this process took place. “I was surprised and was like, ‘What the heck is this?’” Mancill said about the mo- ment he received the notice in January. Mancill was one of about 70 landowners who attended a town hall meeting in Sea- side on Saturday, Feb. 4, to discuss the issue. The town hall, organized by state Sen. Betsy Johnson and state Rep. Deborah Boone, featured lo- cal officials and members of the Department of Forestry, as well as concerned landowners. At times, the town hall became disorganized with attendees shouting out of turn, multiple people who were there said. “There were so many ques- tions,” said Coral Rose Ship- ley, a Seaside property owner. “It was very hard for the peo- ple presenting to make their presentations. They had one outlook and the audience had another outlook.” Goody said he was sur- prised to hear that many prop- erty owners were not aware of the classifications in 2016. The state had sent postcards 10 months prior to the letter sent in early January, so residents may have disregarded them as junk mail, he said. “They get a lot of mail, a lot of junk mail, and a lot of that gets overlooked,” Goody said. “It definitely was not the intent to blindside people.” Astoria district In October 2013, a fire as- sessment committee began its review of the Astoria district. The six-member committee included appointments made by the Department of Forestry, the Oregon State Fire Marshal, the Oregon State University Extension Service and three by the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Following a review, the committee made recommendations about what areas could be reclassified as forestlands. “I don’t mean any disre- spect to any of the folks living on the lands, but there is over 100 years of experience study- ing fire risks on the commit- tee,” Goody said. Two public meetings and one hearing in May in Astoria and Seaside produced no oral or written public comments, Goody said. The final classi- fication was recorded by the county in July. Appeal process The classification process is now final, but the Depart- ment of Forestry received 29 appeals of the assessment pri- or to Monday’s deadline. The appeal process will likely last until sometime this spring, Goody said. Once the process is completed, the reclassified land will be added to the For- est Patrol Assessment Roll in July. While the state sent out postcards, held public meet- ings and sent notices to news- papers, it typically sees little involvement from the pub- lic until late in the process, Goody said. “We typically don’t get much public involvement un- til it starts hitting the pocket- books,” he said. “Our honest intent is to make forestland as- sessment honest and equitable to all.” County Manager Cam- eron Moore said at the Feb. 8 Clatsop County Board of Commissioner’s meeting that the county was not notified in advance about the letter sent out in January. He also said ODF officials apologized to the county for the confusion during a meeting on Friday, Feb. 7. Sen. Johnson said she had preliminary discussions with top officials at ODF earlier this week about making ad- justments to the assessments in Clatsop County. Adjust- ments would be based on the apparent failure of communi- cation, she said. “The number of people who attended the town hall meeting gave rise to the fact that there was some kind of failure to communicate,” Johnson said. “If we had this kind of disconnect in commu- nication, something is wrong.” GoFundMe, fundraising by Community Church aid those who lost their homes Fire from Page 1A Coaster Theatre Executive Director Patrick Lathrop was among those who lost his home. “I had just left and was shopping in Seaside and got a phone call and came back down,” Lathrop said Wednes- day. “I witnessed it. I was very lost — that’s the only thing I can say. I was just so confused, I didn’t know what to do.” Lathrop said in addition to his own living space, an apart- ment used by Coaster Theatre for guests artists, rehearsals and meetings was also de- stroyed in the blaze, which was ruled accidental. ‘Loving and caring’ “I’ve only seen good,” church administrator Nancy Gi- asson said on behalf of Pastor David Robinson and congre- gants. “It’s just been beautiful the way people want to help.” Giasson said after the fire “a flood of people, members and friends of the church” came to the church with offers of assistance. “Extraordinarily loving and caring — this is the way this community is,” Giasson said. “We care about each oth- er. We’re just happy to serve and to be a flow-through for their gifts.” The church coordinated with other efforts to establish a fire relief fund. Money will be disbursed equally by those displaced by the fire. Whatever people give goes 100 percent to the victims, Gi- asson added. “I’m still a little loss to be honest,” Lathrop said. “I keep going back to compared to what the women above me lost. I don’t have anything to complain about.” You can help To donate, visit www. gofundme.com/3d- mwsfc or contact Emmas Lindsay at Dogs Allowed, 503- 440-8740. To donate to the Can- non Beach Communi- ty Church Fire Fund, go to www.beach- community.org. CANNON BEACH FIRE AND RESCUE Police Officer James Jordan at the scene of the fire on North Larch Street in Cannon Beach. We have the Sweetest Treats for your Valentine! N e w Full color, scenic montage postcards of Astoria now available at the Daily Astorian office! Pre-order CHOCOLATE DIPPED S STRAWBERRIE 4th for February 1 s) (limited supplie Valentine’s Day Balloons NOW Available!! Making Sweet Memories for over 50 Years! 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