Implementation of wildfire risk management by local governments in Alberta, Canada

Harris, Lauren McArthur; McGee, Tara K.; McFarlane, Bonita L.

doi:10.1080/09640568.2010.515881

Cited by 32 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…It has been found to be a key variable from two different angles: as a barrier or incentive to individual preparedness [9, 10•, 67, 97, 98] and as a key ingredient in development of successful outreach programs [34,39,43]. Such financial assistance can greatly enhance the ability of programs to engage in and coordinate outreach and planning efforts, implement fuel treatments on communal lands, and provide mitigation incentives to homeowners.…”

Section: Financial Supportmentioning

confidence: 97%

Community Wildfire Preparedness: a Global State-of-the-Knowledge Summary of Social Science Research

McCaffrey

2015

Curr Forestry Rep

158

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This article builds on findings from a synthesis of fire social science research that was published from 2000 to 2010 to understand what has been learned more recently about public response to wildfires. Two notable changes were immediately noted in the fairly substantial number of articles published between 2011 and 2014. First, while over 90 % of the articles found in the initial synthesis were US-based studies, roughly half of the articles published since 2010 have been conducted outside the USA, the majority from Australia. Second, while the primary focus of earlier studies was on pre-fire mitigation efforts on both public and private lands, roughly half of the recent articles focused on dynamics during and after a fire. Overall, findings from the current review re-enforce key themes identified in the previous synthesis work and provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of how certain variables, such as risk perception, may influence public response to wildfires. In addition, several important dynamics emerged across studies: the similarity of findings across countries, increased work across the temporal gradient, the importance of social interactions and of place attachment in shaping response, the need to take local knowledge and context into account, and the importance of financial support. These patterns suggest that while no single outreach approach or policy is likely to be effective everywhere or for everyone, efforts that facilitate development of relationships, within communities and between community members and fire personnel, can contribute to increased preparedness at the individual and community level by facilitating information exchange and helping to build a sense of community.

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Section: Financial Supportmentioning

confidence: 97%

Community Wildfire Preparedness: a Global State-of-the-Knowledge Summary of Social Science Research

McCaffrey

2015

Curr Forestry Rep

158

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“…In some cases, forest and wildfire plans are the exclusive domain of resource and emergency managers while in others, planners may not yet have asserted a role in hazard planning, often due to lack of adequate familiarity with the subject [50,51]. Limited or no involvement of planners in hazard mitigation plans due to a disconnect between planning and other resource/hazard management agencies is one of the major hurdles in implementing risk reduction measures at the outset of a development [29,52]. Additionally, lack of previous direct fire experience, subjective knowledge, and risk perceptions regarding the fire-prone ecosystem on the part of property owners and local officials may result in inadequate tradeoffs between risks and benefits of alternative landuses or planning policies [11,53,54].…”

Section: Land-use Planning and Wildfirementioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Role of Planners in Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation

2012

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As wildfires affect more residential areas across the United States, the need for collaboration between land managers, federal agencies, neighbours, and local governments has become more pressing especially in the context of the wildland-urban interface. Previous research has not focused much on land-use planners’ role in wildfire mitigation. This paper provides information on how land-use planners can assist communities in learning to live with wildfire risk through planning, preparedness, and mitigation efforts in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Based on interviews with land-use planners, forest planners, and local emergency management officials, we identified a range of tools that could be used for improving wildfire preparedness and mitigation initiatives in the WUI, but also found that planners felt that they lacked the regulatory authority to use these tenaciously. The paper also identifies a range of possible actions that would contribute towards safer building practices in the interface communities.

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“…Where they do exist, fire-related land-use regulations often focus on safety (e.g. egress and water access), rather than restrict development (Harris et al 2011;Muller and Schulte 2011). Neighbourhoods today reflect decades of development and management decisions, with many homes already built in fireprone locations during eras when wildfire risk was not considered when building.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery and adaptation after wildfire on the Colorado Front Range (2010–12)

Mockrin

Stewart

Radeloff

et al. 2016

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Following the loss of homes to wildfire, when risk has been made apparent, homeowners must decide whether to rebuild, and choose materials and vegetation, while local governments guide recovery and rebuilding. As wildfires are smaller and more localised than other disasters, it is unclear if recovery after wildfire results in policy change and adaptation, decreasing assets at risk, or if recovery encourages reinvestment in hazard-prone areas. We studied three wildfires on the Colorado Front Range from 2010 to 2012 that each destroyed over 150 homes, describing policy response and characterising the built environment after wildfire. In each location, we found some adaptation, through better-mitigated homes and stronger building and vegetation mitigation standards, but also extensive reinvestment in hazard-prone environments, with governmental support. Despite suggestions that disaster can lead to substantial policy change and elevate the role of land-use planning, we saw only modest reforms: local governments did not revise land-use regulations; a statewide task force considered but did not require standards for building and vegetation mitigation; and only one jurisdiction strengthened its building and vegetation mitigation standards. Experiences in Colorado suggest that time after wildfire either does not provide extensive opportunities for adaptation in the built environment, or that these opportunities are easily missed.

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Implementation of wildfire risk management by local governments in Alberta, Canada

Cited by 32 publications

References 20 publications

Community Wildfire Preparedness: a Global State-of-the-Knowledge Summary of Social Science Research

Community Wildfire Preparedness: a Global State-of-the-Knowledge Summary of Social Science Research

Understanding the Role of Planners in Wildfire Preparedness and Mitigation

Recovery and adaptation after wildfire on the Colorado Front Range (2010–12)

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