Texas Tech University

Exploring Wildfire Mitigation & Trust Toward the USFS
Diminishing the Risk

Our research explores how fire agencies and organizations can enhance communication and outreach to increase connections with the communities they serve. Specifically, we explore how the community perceives the U.S. Forest Service in the Enchanted Circle Region, understanding how the community is discussing and seeking wildfire risk information on social media, and exploring how immersive demonstrations can shape perspectives toward wildfire risk and mitigation.

Why Our Work Matters

Our work supports industry efforts to:

  • Understand community perspectives and trust toward the U.S. Forest Service.
  • Identify strategies to build community outreach and communication.
  • Explore how the community discusses wildfire and wildfire mitigation strategies on their own terms.
  • Identify where and how the community is finding their wildfire risk information on social media.
  • Explore how the use of immersive tools such as SimTable demonstrations can shape participants' perspectives toward various wildfire mitigation strategies.
Through public opinion research, we are connecting organizations such us as the U.S. Forrest Service with the communities who are impacted by wildfire mitigation strategies the most.

View more about all of our projects

Our Work in Action

Researchers conducted six, three-hour long focus groups across three cities throughout the Enchanted Circle region of New Mexico to explore community trust and perceptions toward the U.S. Forest Service and its wildfire mitigation strategies. Participants’ main concerns involved economic, community, structural, and watershed loss. The main factors influencing trust were generational distrust, past experiences, and lack of local workers. Throughout the focus groups, participants suggested trust can be rebuilt across the region through community collaboration, increased transparency, and offering multiple platforms where wildfire mitigation information is shared.
Researchers conducted a SimTable demonstration of various wildfire mitigation strategies. Participants were asked a variety of questions to track shifts in perspectives and attitudes towards wildfire mitigation before and after the demonstration. Many participants recognized the SimTable as an effective educational tool. The results of this study can help communicators to see the importance of transparency and how immersive audience experiences and visual demonstrations can share complex information in ways that traditional messages can’t.
Autumn Strother explored how wildfire risk information is shared across social media through a social media monitoring study. This study identified how the public is discussing wildfire information, where the conversation is taking place, and what topics are being discussed. This study is a part of an larger, ongoing social media listening study that aims to dig into the platforms and narratives shaping how the public understands wildfire risks.
Top Gradient

Center for Agriscience Communications at Texas Tech

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