Abstract
Wildfire management in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) protects property and life from wildland fire. One approach that has potential to provide information about the amount and location of fuels to forest managers and, at the same time, increase public knowledge and engagement in reducing wildfire threats is public participation in scientific research (PPSR)—also known as citizen science—where members of the public participate in the research process. In this exploratory study, residents of a wildfire-affected community tested a smartphone application to collect data about forest fuels and answered questions about wildfire, their community, and experiences using the application. In this paper, the application is introduced, the volunteers’ motivations, attitudes, and behaviors are considered, and the potential of using a PPSR approach for wildfire management discussed. Although there are practical challenges to applying PPSR approaches to wildfire hazard management, the participants in this study demonstrated the potential of PPSR to increase awareness and understanding of actions that can reduce the threat of wildfire. Wildfire managers may consider utilizing PPSR approaches to engage the community in wildfire preparedness.
Highlights
In many wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas, where unoccupied forests meet human development, wildland fires can threaten human life and structures [1]
We developed a smartphone application and examined whether it was a suitable technology for forest fuel loading data acquisition by people with a range of experiences living in a wildfire-affected community
Forest fuels treatment in the WUI is important to reduce the threat of wildfire to communities
Summary
In many wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas, where unoccupied forests meet human development, wildland fires can threaten human life and structures [1]. The policies of fire exclusion have resulted in changes to forest structure, contributing to more intense and severe wildfire events with the potential to disrupt the lives of people living nearby and to destroy their property. Forest managers engage in activities that aim to reduce or modify the fuel available to wildfires near priority areas (such as communities), thereby reducing the severity and size of wildfires and making fire suppression efforts more effective. Forest fuel management activities in the WUI may include controlled burns, thinning tree stems, pruning branches, clearing brush and other ground fuels, chipping, or planting fire resistant species. As forest fuels within broad, spatially heterogeneous areas can change rapidly (e.g., fallen branches after a wind event), they require frequent re-measurements for effective monitoring
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