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Lincoln County board denies most land-only fire claims, grants relief where buildings were destroyed
Summary
At a May 22, 2026 Board of Equalization session, Lincoln County commissioners reviewed dozens of Form 4-25 damage reports from the Cottonwood fire, denying many land-only claims because grass is treated as a crop under state law and granting partial relief where inspectors verified destroyed structures.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners, sitting as the county Board of Equalization on May 22, 2026, reviewed dozens of Form 4-25 damage reports stemming from the March Cottonwood fire and voted to deny most claims for land-only parcels while approving reductions to improvement values on properties where buildings were destroyed.
County Assessor Julie Stenger told the board the Department of Revenue’s new Form 4-25 permits one application to list multiple parcels under the same ownership and that assessor worksheets document recommended final values for each parcel. "They changed the application this year and allowed a taxpayer to use just one application for all the parcels they want to report," Stenger said, explaining why the board must confirm a final determination for each parcel on the worksheet.
The board repeatedly cited state statutory limits during its decisions: grass (referred to as grama in the hearing) is considered a crop and cannot be adjusted on Form 4-25, and the county’s real-property valuation process does not assign an initial value to fences, windmills or certain well equipment. As a result, the board denied relief where damage was limited to pasture, fencing or other items outside the county’s real-property valuation.
Where photo evidence and assessor field reviews showed destroyed buildings, the board accepted assessor recommendations to reduce improvement values. For example, in an application by James C. Lydic et al. for Lydic Rose Cattle Company, assessors recommended leaving land values unchanged but reducing improvements on parcel 108508.30 from roughly $107,129 to $80,347 for a new total recommended value of $266,409; the board voted to accept that recommendation. In another case, Bernille and Sandra McClellan’s submission showed multiple outbuildings destroyed; the assessor recommended removing the farm site and reducing building value to zero while lowering aggregate assessed value, and the board granted the relief.
Board members repeatedly emphasized their limited authority under statute. Chair Kent Williams opened the session and framed the agenda as limited to evaluating Form 4-22 and 4-25 items. At several points commissioners noted that property owners retain the 30-day right to file a Form 4-22 protest to the county board and, if dissatisfied, must pursue further review through TURK (the administrative review body referenced in the hearing).
The meeting record shows a pattern across items: land-only parcels where damage consisted principally of burned grass or lost fencing were denied; parcels showing structural destruction received lowered improvement valuations and partial grants of relief. The board dated decisions and recorded motions and seconds for each item before moving to the next.
The board adjourned the Board of Equalization session and reconvened as the Board of Commissioners after completing the Form 4-25 items. No new county policy or change to statute was adopted at the meeting; owners who wish to challenge a particular adjudication were repeatedly told their remedy is an appeal to TURK.
