Misconceptions around strategy: Managing fire response and public communication to support risk-based decisionmaking

Bradley Pietruszka

Treesearch

Misconceptions around strategy: Managing fire response and public communication to support risk-based decisionmaking

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Bradley Pietruszka

Year:

2024

Type:

Scientific Journal

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), May 2024. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.

Download (PDF 735 KB)

Download (PDF 735 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/67734.pdf

Abstract

The 2021 Tamarack Fire in California, started by lightning in a national forest wilderness area, burned nearly 70,000 acres and eventually destroyed 24 structures. Because properties were damaged, the public and media scrutinized the fire management response. This fire exemplifies not only the challenges of fire management in land and resource management, but also how shortcomings in the fire response reporting system can make way for misperceptions to dominate the public narrative.

Keywords

wildfire, public perception, management

Citation

Pietruszka, Brad. 2024. Misconceptions around strategy: Managing fire response and public communication to support risk-based decisionmaking. Science You Can Use (in 5 Minutes), May 2024. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2 p.