Palisades, Eaton fire victims expecting refund checks in mail urged to update address

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- For families who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires in January, there are so many things they need to do. One seemingly small thing could end up costing them, including forgetting to file a change of address.

It appears some homeowners are not receiving important documents because their mailing address is no longer valid.

Thousands of homes were destroyed in the Eaton and Palisades fires. While the mail must go through rain, sleet or snow, that can't happen if your house is no longer standing.

"There's a million little details that you just don't even contemplate," L.A. County Assessor Jeff Prang told Eyewitness News.

Since January, the L.A. County Assessor's Office says it's been re-assessing property damage and evaluating all properties in the fire zones.

Because of that, those homes qualify for temporary reductions in assessed value and property tax refunds in some cases. However, not all post offices forward government checks, so some refund checks are now being returned to the county.

"When these properties were destroyed and people went some place else, they needed to notify us where their updated address is. Many people did not," Prang said. "A good number of people didn't because they didn't file an application. We just proactively lowered their assessments to reflect the damage."

This comes as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and other relief agencies met with Altadena officials Tuesday.

A big problem they say is there is there's simply not enough housing available. Months after the fires, many still don't have a permanent address.

The assessor's office is now revising valuations and applying that to future tax bills. Homeowners should update their current mailing address with the county.

"You need to go onto our website, assessor.lacounty.gov, and update your mailing address. You can do so with an electronic signature, so that we can make sure that the mail that you need to receive from our office gets to you," Prang said.

Officials say updating your mailing address does not change the official records. It just ensures that important tax notices and documents, including refunds, are sent where you can receive them.