Wildfire evacuation and its alternatives in a post-Black Saturday landscape: Catchy slogans and cautionary tales

Abstract

Prior to 2009 the United States and Australia were seeing increased interest, implementation and research support for alternatives to evacuation during wildfire – a broad class of strategies that would enable residents to remain in their homes or other designated safe areas during the pass of a flame front. Yet policy discussion of alternatives to evacuation in both countries shifted in the wake of Australia's 2009 Black Saturday Fires, which resulted in 173 deaths and burned approximately 430,000 ha. Soon after, the United States and Australia began implementing new approaches to public and property safety during wildfire events. The goal of this manuscript is to discuss key provisions of these emerging approaches to public safety during wildfire and evaluate their possible legacies. We do so by contrasting approaches in both countries with research insights on alternatives to evacuation during wildfire events. Insights are also paired with broader lessons from research on hazard, risk communication and wildfire. Our analysis provides insight on how emerging approaches could impact broader policy objectives for ‘creating fire-adapted communities’ and/or affect resident responsibility for personal wildfire protection. We suggest ways to influence these possible legacies through careful implementation and possible revision of emerging approaches to public safety during wildfire.