Wildfire information and acceptability of fuels treatments

Agencies and land managers often seek support from local residents as they increase the pace and scale of fuels treatments on public lands. Rocky Mountain Research Station's Patty Champ and collaborators affiliated with the Wildfire Research (WiRē) team investigated how sources of wildfire risk information may influence opinions about fuels treatment approaches on nearby public lands in select communities in the Western United States. 

Findings suggest public land managers may be more effective if they align their communication efforts with local organizations, such as the fire department or a community, that provide useful wildfire information to broader audiences. Local sources of information tend to be widely received, perceived as useful, and have positive correlations with acceptability. Meanwhile, nonlocal sources vary in their receipt, perceived usefulness, and correlations with acceptability. Therefore, public land managers may benefit from leveraging and aligning messaging with trusted local partners and from developing fuels treatment plans that consider existing local sentiments.

Photo Credit

Wallace et al. (2025)

Researchers analyzed relationships between sources of wildfire risk information, individual-level factors, and the acceptability of fuels treatment approaches on public lands near select wildland-urban interface (WUI) communities in the Western United States.