Fire management has evolved over time based on the scientific understanding and integration of increasingly sophisticated risk management approaches. How fire impacts communities and relates to society are also critical elements of fire management science. Forest Service scientists study how fire impacts people and how people influence our management of fire.

As it relates to wildland fire, risk management science focuses on understanding the complexities of the fire management system, how decisions are made, and potential health and safety improvements. The scientists in the Forest Service Research and Development deputy area produce science and applications to support risk-based fire response for National Forest System lands, other federal and non-federal stakeholders, and private (e.g., insurance) industry.

Risk management and social science are important to wildfire management because:

• Social science helps us understand social perceptions and social license and their relationships to fire response and prescribed fire.
• Risk management science feeds directly into the fire decision support systems we develop to increase the safety and effectiveness of fire operations.
• Advances in this field will enable finer scale risk assessments and projections.
• Further, Forest Service scientists are working on the next generation of risk analytics to support national, regional, and local risk assessments and direct mitigation efforts to protect highly valued resources as well as community preparedness and planning efforts.