Exploring relationships between perceived suppression capabilities and resident performance of wildfire mitigations

Area of Science:

• Wildfire Management
• Community Resilience
• Human Dimensions of Natural Hazards

Background:

• Increasing wildfire activity necessitates enhanced local capacity for wildfire risk reduction in residential areas.
• Local fire departments (LFDs) face growing demands in wildland-urban interfaces due to increased incidents and socio-demographic shifts.
• Understanding resident perceptions of fire service organizations (FSOs) is crucial for effective wildfire risk mitigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore rural residents' perceptions of various fire service organizations (FSOs) in wildfire-prone areas.
• To examine the relationship between perceptions of LFD capabilities and resident wildfire risk mitigation activities.
• To identify how trust and perceived capacity of FSOs influence home defense strategies.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-mode survey administered to 770 residents in wildfire-prone areas of northeastern Washington State.
• Exploration of perceptions regarding LFDs and other FSOs (state, federal, private).
• Analysis of correlations between perceptions of LFD capacity/capabilities and performance of 11 home wildfire mitigation activities.

Main Results:

• Residents expressed high trust in LFDs for wildfire response, exceeding trust in other FSOs.
• A significant negative correlation was found between trust in LFDs and resident implementation of fire-resistant siding and sprinklers.
• Perceptions of LFD capacity were negatively correlated with purchasing generators and proper firewood storage.

Conclusions:

• Perceptions of FSOs are associated with specific wildfire mitigation actions, like firewood placement and siding choices.
• Trust in LFDs did not significantly correlate with many other recommended mitigation actions, indicating potential gaps in understanding or motivation.
• Findings suggest a need to better align resident expectations with LFD capacities and to promote shared responsibility in wildfire risk reduction.