The Lee Board of County Commissioners voted Jan. 21 to award a proposal to develop a Lee County Community Wildfire Protection Plan to examine the risk of wildfire and build a consistent approach to address wildfire response, mitigation and preparedness.

A $174,334 proposal from SWCA Inc., an environmental consultant, was selected to create the plan. In April, the board awarded a planning grant funded through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery to Lee County Public Safety for the plan.

This project will create the county’s first community wildfire protection plan, which will include the increased risk of wildfire associated with trees downed by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

The plan will address objectives identified in the ResilientLee Recovery and Resilience Plan. Funding for wildfire response, mitigation and preparedness is available through the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

However, under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, a Community Wildfire Protection Plan is necessary to apply for these funds. County officials said the plan is expected to take 12 months to complete and will be done in advance of the August 2026 deadline for funding.