Fire and Society

Many of the common descriptions of public opinion of fire management, such as“Smokey taught the public to think that all fire is bad,” are based on conventional wisdom – an accepted truth or a story that has been repeated so frequently it is accepted as fact.  In reality, such conventional wisdoms may or may not be an accurate reflection of public opinion.  Given that public attitudes toward fire management can shape management decisions, it is important that understanding of public views is based on empirical rather than assumed evidence.  Prior to 1998 research on the social aspects of fire management was limited, particularly in the non-economic areas.  However, since the advent of the Joint Fire Science Program in 1998 and the National Fire Plan in 2000 a significant body of work has developed examining diverse social aspects of fire management.  These empirical studies provide some sense for the realities of different conventional wisdoms and suggest that more often than not they are inaccurate for wildland fire. This presentation will provide an overview of what has been learned to date in relation to public views of fire management and discuss areas where findings do and do not support conventional wisdoms about the social aspects of fire management.  The focus of much of the research has been on understanding social concerns around fire mitigation efforts before a fire.  Studies have looked at a wide range of topics including social acceptability of prescribed fire and thinning, defensible space efforts, risk perception, community preparedness, trust, and communication.  A smaller body of work has begun to look at public views of fire management during fires including alternatives to evacuation and communicating with communities during a fire.  Findings from these studies can help ensure that limited resources are most effectively targeted at the issues that are of actual concern to the public and not ones that managers and policymakers believe are the concern.