Placer County residents have voted to strengthen fire services in Foresthill and Placer Hills.
At the county’s special elections on May 7, voters approved two ballot measures aimed at improving local fire services by establishing a new $185 annual special tax for Placer Hills Fire District and $240 for the Foresthill Fire District, according to Kirk Kushen, fire chief for Placer Hills, Foresthill and Newcastle.
Placer Hills will now have access to $925,000 of yearly additional revenue, and Foresthill will have $760,000, Kushen said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee. The additional revenue is essential to the viability of these two fire districts, Kushen said.
“We’re in the foothills of the wild-urban interface, which is an area where forested foothills have communities residing within them,” Kushen said. “We have grass, brush and timber within our communities. We have a very, very high fire danger rating.”