Where you stand depends on where you sit: qualitative inquiry into notions of fire adaptation

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Wildfire and the threat it poses to society represents an example of the complex, dynamic relationship between social and ecological systems. Increasingly, wildfire adaptation is posited as a pathway to shift the approach to fire from a suppression paradigm that seeks to control fire to a paradigm that focuses on "living with" and "adapting to" wildfire. In this study, we seek insights into what it means to adapt to wildfire from a range of stakeholders whose efforts contribute to the management of wildfire. Study participants provided insights into the meaning, relevance, and use of the concept of fire adaptation as it relates to their wildfire-related activities. A key finding of this investigation suggests that social scale is of key importance in the conceptualization and understanding of adaptation for participating stakeholders. Indeed, where you stand in terms of understandings of fire adaptation depends in large part on where you sit.

Exploring the Influence of Local Social Context on Strategies for Achieving Fire Adapted Communities

“…One long-term focus of wildfire science and management concerns the ways that private citizens, landowners, or industries can contribute to larger initiatives that minimize adverse fire impacts on human populations [4,7,30]. These initiatives stem from a growing recognition that ongoing human development can influence the composition of wildland fuels that drive wildfire risk or increase societal pressure to aggressively suppress fires that might adversely impact human values [31][32][33].…”

“…Alternative perspectives suggest that local context is perhaps most actionable and illustrative when it is understood and presented as a narrative set of conditions that define a given community. Such narratives provide an entry point for the design of adaptation efforts that are tailored to the unique conditions of a community and which are most likely to be perpetuated in the future because they reflect who local people are while allowing them to plan who they would like to be [2,4,26,80].…”

“…There is a growing recognition that human adaptation to wildfire risk is a contingent exercise that may vary across diverse "communities" forming important building blocks of larger landscapes. The unique combination of local history, culture, interpersonal relationships, trust in or collaboration with government entities, and place-based attachments that human populations develop in a given landscape all can have a large bearing on variable efforts to create "fire adapted communities" (FACs)-a central, yet purposefully nebulous goal designed to help alleviate humans' unsustainable relationship with wildfire [1][2][3][4]. Common goals surrounding FACs include reducing potential losses to human infrastructure during wildfires, promoting fire as a natural disturbance force, and lessening the need for fire suppression efforts that continue to drive increases in firefighting injuries and costs [5,6].…”

Recognizing Women Leaders in Fire Science: Revisited

“…Her notable works include seminal contributions on how to place values on environmental and natural resource amenities [303,304], assessing wildfire mitigation decisions among residents within the wildland-urban interface [305,306], and assessing the connection between wildfire risk and housing prices [307]. Her recent works include assessing the economic cost of health impacts from wildfire smoke exposure during the 2007 Southern California fires [308], and social assessments of attitudes on fire adaptation [309].…”

“…Dr. Brenkert-Smith's research focuses on environmental sociology, social dimensions of risk, place attachment, and gender. Her notable works include assessing wildfire mitigation decisions among residents within the wildland-urban interface [305,306,309]. Her recent work includes contributions to a synthesis calling for more adaptation to wildfires in western North American forests [37].…”