Human Dimensions of Fire
In this webinar, Gordon Foster, Rangeland Fire Protection Coordinator with the Oregon Department of Forestry, discusses working with Rangeland Fire Protection Associations; what they do, how they work, and public agency and association cooperation.
View article.
This rapid review investigates recent evidence (post-2009) regarding the effectiveness of public health messaging during smoke events. Principal results were: 1) Smoke-related public health messages are communicated via a variety of channels, but limited evidence is available regarding their effectiveness for the general public or at-risk groups. 2) Messages that use simple language are more commonly recalled, understood, and complied with. Compliance differs according to socio-demographic characteristics. 3) At-risk groups may be advised to stay indoors before the general population, in order to protect the most vulnerable people in a community.
View digest.
This brief summarizes data and studies to determine whether the results of JFSP-funded projects are reaching potential users and informing management decisions and actions. Those studies have helped identify issues and influence changes within the program. While some studies showed that JFSP-funded research is being used for planning and for supporting treatment prescriptions, they also identified barriers that prevent greater use of fire science information by the broader fire management community. These outcomes studies are an important tool to help the JFSP address those barriers and continue to make program improvements.
Access database.
The GBRMP Consortia Database provides a way to easily identify the various partnership groups in the Great Basin and obtain a quick reference to their goals, points of contact, and relationships.
View research brief.
This research brief summarizes a series of interviews with land managers who make decisions about post-fire rehabilitation and restoration. These interviews explored barriers to improving post-fire recovery that included: policies and funding cycles that constrain managers’ ability to monitor and re-treat effectively, pressure and legal action from interest groups, pressure from concerned public/neighbors, climate change, and
ecological debates such as native vs. non-native species use. These identified barriers provide a social-political-ecological framework that may influence on-the-ground manager decisions after wildfires in the Great Basin.
View guide.
This planning guide is the outcome of an international collaboration of researchers and practitioners/field managers working in communities at risk of wildfire in three countries. Initially, the team of social scientists from Australia, Canada, and the United States utilized the collective research literature to examine factors that influence stakeholder trust.
View report.
This study was designed to improve the understanding of both individual and community actions that homeowners currently do or might take to protect their home or property, and the barriers that impede homeowners from completing firewise treatments to their home or property.
View guide.
This guide provides information about stakeholder groups to assist managers as they deal with issues facing these systems. The guide was created for land managers to consult as they plan and carry out projects, particularly on public land where groups often have conflicting interests.
View synthesis.
This synthesis reviewed existing scientific knowledge on the following questions:
- What is the public’s understanding of fire’s role in the ecosystem?
- Who are trusted sources of information about fire?
- What are the public’s views of fuels reduction methods, and how do those views vary depending on citizens’ location in the wildland-urban interface or elsewhere?
- What is the public’s understanding of smoke effects on human health, and what shapes the public’s tolerance for smoke?
- What are homeowners’ views of their responsibilities for home and property protection and mitigation, e.g., defensible space measures?
- What role does human health and safety play in the public’s perceptions of fire and fire management?
- What are the public’s views on the role and importance of costs in wildfire incident response decisions?
- To the extent that information is available, how do findings differ among ethnic and cultural groups, and across regions of the country?
View article.
For this study, researchers traveled to two fires—the Gap in California and Gunbarrel in Wyoming—each of which used a different strategy for managing the fire. At each site, they interviewed key agency individuals and asked them about internal and external factors that influenced their fire management decisions. We also interviewed community members to understand whether they sought to influence fire management. Findings did not wholly support conventional wisdom and suggest that internal pressures are as important as external pressure in shaping fire management strategy.