Encouraging Wildland Fire Preparedness: Lessons Learned from Three Wildfire Education Programs

Abstract

Managers may often wonder why some people do not choose to adopt defensible space practices despite understanding the benefits of doing so. Research has sought to understand why a new practice or innovation is or is not adopted. This paper will briefly discuss factors found to influence adoption rates and describe how three different fire education programs - Firewise Communities/USA, FireFree, and Fire Safe Councils - address them. Some key lessons/findings for managers working with homeowners to create defensible space and reduce hazardous fuels across ownership boundaries are the importance of tailoring efforts to local values, promoting programs that foster neighbor contact, and making the practices more accessible via checklists, demonstration sites, and highlighting the social advantages of adoption.

Parent Publication

• The public and wildland fire management: social science findings for managers

Citation

Sturtevant, Victoria; McCaffrey, Sarah. 2006. Encouraging Wildland Fire Preparedness: Lessons Learned from Three Wildfire Education Programs. In: McCaffrey, S.M., tech. ed. The public and wildland fire management: social science findings for managers. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-1. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 125-136.