SAN DIEGO -- A countywide measure that would have created a $52 annual parcel tax to fund rural firefighting efforts narrowly failed to garner the two-thirds of the vote needed for passage, election returns showed Wednesday.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Proposition A had 63.21 percent of the voter compared to 36.79 percent against. The measure needed 66.7 percent to pass.

Had Prop A passed, it would have raised about $50 million annually, with half of the money going to local fire departments and fire protection districts and the other half being used for new equipment.

The measure would also have created a regional fire authority made up of San Diego County, the 18 cities in the region and many of the firefighting agencies in unincorporated areas.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts and Mayor Jerry Sanders headed up a commission that sought the measure to upgrade firefighting efforts in the aftermath of the devastating 2003 and 2007 wildfires that collectively claimed 27 lives, destroyed more than 4,000 homes and forced tens of thousands of people from their residences.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously in August to put Prop A on the ballot.

Opponents argued that the measure wasn't specific about how the money would have been spent. They also said that county revenues have soared in recent years -- without the Board of Supervisors bolstering firefighting funding.

The measure's detractors also noted that people who live on large plots in the backcountry would have paid the same as someone living in an urban condo.