SMETHPORT — Residents in McKean and Elk counties soon will have a say on ways to better protect their own communities from wildfires.

A survey is being distributed as part of the development of a community wildfire protection plan, which is intended to pinpoint locations at risk for wildland fire and to make recommendations for vegetation thinning treatments and other mitigation actions homeowners can take to reduce wildfire risk.

“This plan is very important to the county,” McKean County Planning Director Jeremy Morey told The Era. “It will provide recommendations that communities can implement which will make them less susceptible to wildfire threats. The plan is not a mandate and only offers recommendations that can be used.”

The plan would also assist local volunteer fire departments in accessing funding sources to buy new equipment, he said.

Over the next year, a core team of key stakeholders, including county planning representatives, county and local fire department representatives, the U.S. Forest Service, Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and other land management agencies, will be meeting to discuss areas most prone to wildfire and identify actions that are needed to reduce the risk of wildfire to residents in each county.

“A key part of the planning process is to engage the community in planning and decision making,” officials said in a news release. “A series of public outreach events will be held over the coming months to solicit input from the public in the planning process. A CWPP Facebook page has been set up to engage with the public on the project and to post announcements on project progress.”

The draft of the plan will be available for public review in late summer 2017 and will be finalized in the fall 2017.

“McKean and Elk counties are using the same consultant and working through our plans together, but will each get our own separate plan specific to our respective counties,” Morey said.

Last year, the U.S. Forest Service contacted McKean County about pursuing the plan, Morey said, and this year, McKean and Elk counties were awarded a $45,000 grant to tackle this plan.

The project is in collaboration with local, county, state and federal land management agencies.

The Facebook page for the project can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/ElkandMcKeanFirePlans/ or the survey can be taken at

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DXPNKCY

For more information on the project or to provide input, contact project manager Victoria Amato at vamato@swca.com.