Michael Maguire, Cooperative Extension Director for Barnstable County, told commissioners the county received a $139,500 USDA Community Wildfire Defense grant to update and regionalize wildfire planning across Cape Cod's 15 towns.

Maguire said the county previously developed a regional wildfire plan between 2008 and 2012 and implemented many recommendations; changing forest demographics, open‑space maintenance and recent national wildfire events prompted a renewed planning effort. The grant will be matched by $15,000 the county placed in its budget and an expected $45,000 contribution from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), for an approximate total of $199,500 to hire contractors and run town‑level planning processes.

The work will include town‑by‑town vetting of plans, public hearings, and outreach to fire chiefs, conservation agents, and state and federal officials. Chief LeBlanc of Harwich and others from the Cape and Islands Fire Chiefs Association participated in the meeting and expressed support for coordination and mutual‑aid planning. Maguire said the Joint Base Cape Cod and park partners will be engaged and the goal is to identify priorities that each town can adopt while coordinating regionally to secure implementation funding.

Commissioners praised the outreach plan and asked staff to schedule town briefings once contractors are under contract. Maguire said AmeriCorps members and Fire Corps personnel will assist with data collection, community education and implementation tasks.