Abstract:
This literature review synthesizes empirical
research about wildland fire communication
to provide practitioners, such as
land managers, public health and safety officials,
community groups, and others working with the
public, evidence-based recommendations for communication
work. Key findings demonstrate that
it is important to recognize communication as a
context-specific and dynamic process, not a linear
pathway or prescription, or one-size-fits-all approach.
We found that practitioners engaging in
this work may be most effective when they get to
know their diverse publics, engage in honest and
sincere relationship building, and communicate
in ways that are locally and culturally relevant.
This review offers recommendations from the academic
literature for how and where to engage in
communication about wildland fire and smoke
from wildland fire. These recommendations are
not intended to be a set of rigid prescriptions; rather,
they are intended to provide a starting point for
practitioners to think about the multiple ways to
engage with the diverse groups with whom they
work.