Perceptions of wildland fire smoke : literature review and synthesis

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2021

Authors

Ellison, Autumn
Huber-Stearns, Heidi
Frederick, Stacey Sargent
Coughlan, Michael R.
McCaffrey, Sarah
Olsen, Christine S.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon

Abstract

Smoke from wildland fire presents a serious and growing concern. Mirroring global trends in recent decades, many areas of the US are experiencing increasing wildfire size, severity, and frequency. The health hazard of smoke from wildland fire has been well-documented and can be orders of magnitude higher than the hazard presented by actual flames. As the size and severity of wildfires have increased, smoke has at times affected cities hundreds of miles from the source. Amid increasing smoke exposure from wildfires, calls for fuels reduction treatments have also increased. However, treatments such as prescribed fire and natural ignitions that are managed for resource benefits also produce smoke and elicit similar health concerns as wildfire smoke. These treatments can reduce overall smoke exposure by decreasing the risk of more severe, hard to control wildfires in the long-term, but their implementation often depends on public support, as well as public tolerance for the smoke they produce. With exposure to wildland fire smoke projected to further increase there is a clear need for efforts to better mitigate or adapt to smoke impacts in high-risk areas. Such efforts rely on an understanding of how people perceive, plan for, and respond to smoke. This synthesis compiles published scholarly literature on how individuals perceive wildland fire smoke to offer an overview of current knowledge on wildland fire smoke perceptions. It is intended to serve as a documentation of the scope, parameters, and gaps of research to date in this field.

Description

28 pages

Keywords

Citation