Wildfire protection plan proposed for East Manatee

MANATEE -- Motivated in part by a desire to avoid the kind of ferocious wildfires that scorched thousands of acres in California and Washington, a voluntary community wildfire protection plan is being proposed for East Manatee.

"It is being looked at statewide," said Michael Keegan, area supervisor for the Florida Forest Service. "You have to prepare for the worst year. If you have a bad drought in five years, you want a plan to deal with that."

The area most vulnerable to wildfire, called the wildland urban interface, is defined as Interstate 75 on the west to County Road 675 on the east, and from Moccasin Wallow Road on the north to University Parkway on the south.

The program looks at how state and local governments are managing public lands close to homes and private property, Keegan said.

"We have so many people moving from the city to the county, we are trying to shed light on the fact we can live with the greenery, but we also need to be aware of the dangers," Myakka Fire Chief Dan Cacchiotti said.

The program will identify potential threats to private property, and homeowners can do voluntary mitigation to reduce the danger, Cacchiotti said.

Having a plan in place could make Manatee County eligible for funds to assist with mitigation, he said.

"It's a great program, and doesn't cost anyone anything. Like with hurricanes, we have been pretty fortunate with wildfires," Cacchiotti said. "We have plenty of fuel for wildfires. With all the rain and the sun, the vegetation grows like crazy. I hope we get good buy-in."

Having an adopted community wildfire protection plan would increase opportunities for collaboration, as well as cost-effective mitigation and prevention, according to a press release from the Manatee County Emergency Operations Center.

To introduce the proposal to residents and business owners, Manatee County has scheduled two meetings in East Manatee:

5:30-7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 at Myakka City Fire Rescue, 26636 State Road 70 E., Myakka City.

9-11 a.m. Dec. 5 at Rocky Bluff Library, 6750 U.S. 301 N., Ellenton.

James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee reporter, can be contacted at 941-745-7053 or on Twitter@jajones1.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 7:12 PM with the headline "Wildfire protection plan proposed for East Manatee ."