Social Science to Improve Fuels Management: A Synthesis of Research Relevant to Communicating with Homeowners About Fuels Management

The large fires in southern California during the fall of 2003 highlighted the significant fire hazardmany wildland-urban interface communities and homes currently face. Despite this risk, people continueto leave metropolitan areas for the beauty and tranquility of the wildland-urban interface. Thepeaceful natural views instill a treasured sense of place and privacy among residents, which can makeit challenging to manage the environment and reduce fuels (Lee and Tribe 1987, Lee et al. 1987,Shands 1988, Sullivan 1994, Weise and Martin 1994). Firefighting and land management agencies aswell as cooperative extension are leading the movement to encourage private landowners to becomemore active in reducing their risk from wildland fire. Many agencies and communities provide informationto encourage more active involvement of property owners in fuels management. Homeowners’actions have put many of them at risk of wildfire, and resource managers want to encourage them todo something different. In some low risk cases, existing practices may just need minor modifications.But in other cases, managing fuels on private property may mean dramatically changing the look, thefeel, and the view that attracted homeowners to the wildland-urban interface in the first place.