Is Smokey obsolete?: symbolic meanings of wildland fire and communication in the minds of wildland-urban interface residents

Travis Brent Paveglio

This two-part study uses symbolic interactionism as a basis for understanding the fundamental meanings of wildland fire and fire communications to wildland-urban interface residents. There is a well-documented tendency in the social-psychological and communication literature for communicators to assume that an audience shares the same basic assumptions and terms of reference about the subject being considered. The recent history of U.S. public land management, its relations with the public and its many discontents is rife with examples in which such assumptions turned out to be mistaken. The first part of this study contributes to an understanding of how residents of the WUI actually view wildland fire, its role in forests ecosystems and its attendant risks for human settlements. A second section applies this knowledge to explore residents’ views of wildland fire communications and agency effectiveness in collaborating in the new era of fire inclusion. Three focus groups were conducted with residents of the wildland-urbane interface near Spokane, Washington. Results from the first paper indicate a high level of salience of wildland fire to participants’ daily lives and significant concern about the risk of fire events in their residential areas. Participants were generally quite aware of the additional fire risk in the WUI and recognized the added responsibility WUI residents face in terms of fire preparedness, though few were able to identify the exact terminology or personal protective strategies widely used by fire professionals. Results from the second study indicate that residents get the majority of their information from personal sources or the Internet and that they desire face-to-face, two-way interaction with fire managers about defensible space and fire policy. Participants displayed poor ratings of communication effectiveness and access to fire information, which contributes to lacking trust in management agencies. Smokey Bear received resounding support as a continued symbol of federal fire management, but in participants’ view, the symbol needs expanded meaning coincident with the new era of fire management and local resident responsibility. Each study section concludes with suggestions for fire managers and a final chapter addresses the theoretical links between the studies.

Is Smokey obsolete?: symbolic meanings of wildland fire and communication in the minds of wildland-urban interface residents

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