Community Preparation and Response
Community Preparation and Response
Communities play a crucial role in wildfire preparedness and response. While professionals and practitioners can help communities prepare and respond to wildfires, community members ultimately decide what actions they are willing and able to take. Community members are often the best ambassadors of wildfire messaging and these resources will be helpful not only to professionals working to educate and assist communities in wildfire resilience, but to community members doing the same work.
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Firewise USA is a voluntary program that provides a framework for communities to organize to take action to increase the wildfire resistance of their homes and community.
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The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network connects people across the country who are working on adapting to living with fire. FAC Net allows these people to exchange information, collaborate to enhance the practice of fire adaptation, and work together and at multiple scales to help communities live safely before, during, and after wildfires.
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The Extension Disaster Education Network provides a variety of resources developed by state Cooperative Extension Services to assist local communities in preparing for and responding to wildfire.
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Southern Fire Exchange hosted a recorded webinar on research examining what motivates homeowners in the WUI to take preparedness actions.
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The National Wildfire Coordinating Group’s Communicators Guide for Wildland fire Management: Fire Education, Prevention, and Mitigation Practices may be helpful in effectively communicating with the communities.
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The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety provides resources to help homeowners better prepare their home and the surrounding area to resist damage from wildfires.
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Some communities practice wildfire evacuation drills to ensure that everyone involved in an evacuation understands their role in the event of a real wildfire. Considerations for planning these events are discussion on page 7 of Wildland Fire Programming for Extension and Outreach Professionals.
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Federal, state, and local agencies in your area, including the Cooperative Extension Service often provide locally specific information that may be helpful to you and your local communities.
