[pct-l] Big Fires and FEMA

[Hiker97 at aol.com (Hiker97@xxxxxxx)]

First, my heart goes out to those who lost their homes in the big California 
fires.  I hope they get their lives back together, but as a crushed tax payer, 
I am curious about the big fires and homeowners insurance.  I think that 
river flooding and hurricane victims get some type of homeowners insurance through 
FEMA (my tax dollars), so they can live in these areas (often a life style 
choice).  Private insurance companies often stay away from this business.  I 
think developers pushed through legislation years ago, so they could build in 
river and coastal areas and homeowner insurance would be available.  Is FEMA 
providing the same deals for mountain dwellers?  

Also, I think I heard that some homeowner associations had strict rules on 
bush clearance and survived the fires with no problems.  I guess residents in 
all these fire areas pay part of their taxes for fire protection.  I wonder if 
there are extra tax assessments for living in these fire prone areas, 
especially during the big drought.

Since some of my tax dollars might be involved, I want to stay informed.  Any 
info will be appreciated. Thanks, Switchback