Wildfire Preparedness Planning
Cape Cod Cooperative Extension is in the seventh year of a Wildfire Assessment and Preparedness Program. Developed by extension staff in early 2003, the program is intended to help with public education about the risk of wildland (forest) fires and address the issue of fire safety, specifically management of available wildland fuels on public owned lands. This initiative, funded by Barnstable County, will provide the services of a consulting forester who will evaluate identified town owned parcels and develop wildland fire management plans for each identified parcel. Each fire management plan will address fuel reduction measures (mechanical, prescribed fire, or combination mechanical/fire prescriptions) that, if implemented, will reduce the risk of wildfire. The program will also include matching mini-grants to help implement the recommendations made by the consulting forester. It is the goal of the program to develop management plans for up to five parcels in each town of Barnstable County. Eligible parcels include:
- conservation properties
- water district land holdings
- land bank parcels
- land trusts
- and other open town owned lands.
While most residents of Barnstable County understand or are impacted by the level of development which has occurred within the fifteen towns during the last two decades, and can readily see that many of these new homes have been built in the forest environment or are located adjacent to town owned open space lands, few people are aware of the county's potential wildfire danger. Yet, a U.S. Forest Service study found that Barnstable and Plymouth counties, with their sandy soils, drying winds and fuel types (pine and oak) are as wildfire prone as the often fire ravaged regions of southern California. Additionally, in a July 1, 2000 report from the Forest Fire Protection Committee of the National Association of State Foresters, this lack of national public awareness concerning potential wildfire danger along with the increased abundance of fuel supplies on open lands were cited as major national concerns.
Although fires have occurred on Cape Cod and in nearby Plymouth County in the past, the good fortune of not having a recent large forest wildfire event has furthered the public apathy concerning the potential danger. Recognizing the increased and ongoing potential for a disastrous wildfire, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, along with other agencies, will begin a public awareness educational initiative on wildfire danger and preparedness, as the second part of the wildfire program. Homeowners who would like further information and want to know what they can do to protect their homes and better prepare for a wildfire event can click on the following links for information or they can watch for one of the workshops to be held within their local area during the next months.
Click here to watch a video on Barnstable County Wildland Urban Interface Firefighter Training in Truro.
