• Rocky Mountain Research Station
• 240 West Prospect
• Fort Collins, CO 80526
• (970) 498-1100

Exploring a Social Problem: People, Fire, and the Wildland-Urban Interface

In an effort to facilitate design of more effective outreach programs, social scientists interviewed homeowners in five interface communities in Colorado. The information allowed for a better understanding of how homeowners define the interface fire problem and what factors affect homeowner efforts to reduce risks. One finding was that each community's unique situation and way of defining the interface wildfire problem shapes how the community and homeowners address risks. If a community primarily defines wildland fire as a prevention issue, that community will tend to focus on fuel treatment strategies to prevent a wildfire event. Conversely, a community that views wildland fire as an emergency response issue may focus on community warning systems and building response capacities for local fire departments. Community outreach programs need to take into consideration how specific communities view the problem.

The second study focused on the needs of government and non-government foresters and fuel management experts as they work to encourage and assist individual homeowners and community groups in efforts to lower fire risk on private land. A key finding was that a communication link is missing between agency technical experts and social scientists. To overcome this gap, adequate time must be set aside for interactions between social scientists and technical experts. There is also a need to develop a common, jargon-free language. The researchers proposed that outreach social scientists with extension backgrounds be used to assist practitioners in bridging the divide between social science findings and actual implementation in interface communities.

Additional findings and conclusions from these studies can be found in: "Integrating Social Science into Forestry in the Wildland/Urban Interface." Fire Management Today 66(2): 35-43.

"Insights into Wildfire Mitigation Decisions among Wildland-Urban Interface Residents." Society and Natural Resources 19(8): 759-768.