Property owners who own land within the Okanogan Complex Fire boundary – including the Twisp River Fire — that is in any of the county’s open-space property tax classifications can request to have their property removed from the classification without paying the additional tax, interest and penalty normally associated with removal.
Property owners must make the request to be removed from one of the three open-space categories — public benefit (also called open space/open space), farm and agriculture, or timber. The Okanogan County assessor’s office will not initiate the change without a request from the property owner.
Because the fire affected the use of land to different degrees, the assessor’s office recognizes that it may take years for the land to recover to the point where it can sustain commercial timber or agricultural production, said Okanogan County Assessor Scott Furman.
Property owners with damage to their land can remain in the special tax categories if they prefer.
For more information, call the assessor at (509) 422-7190.
