Chapter 7: Wildland Fire Appendices and Acknowledgements
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Chapter 7: Wildland Fire Appendices and Acknowledgements

   

Chapter 7: Wildland Fire Appendices and Acknowledgements1

Martha C. Monroe, Susan K. Jacobson, Susan Marynowski, and Alison Bowers2

This document is a chapter in the Wildland Fire Education Handbook. To learn more about this handbook, please refer to Chapter 1: Introduction to the Wildland Fire Education Handbook (FOR 72) .

This chapter of the Wildland Fire Education Handbook contains additional background information and resources to help make your programs a success.

Audience Needs Assessment and Survey, Awareness and Attitudes about Fire in Florida

Introduction

The telephone survey of 675 rural and suburban residents of North and Central Florida provides some very useful direction for the development of the Fire Education Toolkit program. Key messages that have been identified by extension agents and home landscaping experts are confirmed by this survey. Residents dislike smoke and negative air quality effects of fire, and are concerned about the fate of wildlife in fires. While rural Floridians are somewhat tired of hearing about fire, the survey identifies some promising topics for attracting the public to education programs about fire in Florida.

Survey Methods: The Survey

The survey was created through a process of question development and testing. Questions were developed, reviewed, and refined by Toolkit team members and several outside survey experts. A final slate of questions was pilot tested by telephone on a random sample of 10 target audience members. The survey was refined according to the results and comments from the pilot test. The final survey was put in machine language by the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR), University of Florida, who recommended some further technical changes to ease administration and improve responses to the survey. The survey was administered from BEBR during April by a trained telephone survey research crew. The automated and computerized BEBR system is able to randomly select and dial Florida households.

The final survey included 60 questions:

5 true-false knowledge/awareness questions on fire

5 attitude questions on fire in general

3 awareness questions about prescribed fire

11 questions rating the risks and benefits of prescribed fire

2 questions comparing the risks of wildfire and prescribed fire

4 questions about likelihood of taking actions

6 questions asking what respondents would like to know about fire

6 questions about resident's environmental surroundings

10 questions about respondent's experience with and concern about wildfire

8 sociodemographic questions

Sampling

Sampling was performed for the project by the survey contractor, who maintains a computer database of Florida households and telephone exchanges, categorized by census-based Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). A random sample was taken with the following constraints:

For the purposes of later research (comparing the attitudes and awareness of people with and without experience with wildfires), the sample was divided into two segments: high-fire counties and low/no-fire counties. High-fire counties were Volusia, Flagler, Union, Wakulla, Columbia, Taylor, St.Johns, Osceola, and Brevard. Low/no-fire counties comprised the remainder of the 57 counties in the project area. High-fire counties were over-sampled (a larger sample was taken) so that the number of people with wildfire experience would be high enough to make later comparisons between the groups. This over-sample was corrected with a weighting of the survey data for this report.

Based on these criteria, a random sample of households was taken from the 57-county area (N=675). Although the target number of 700 cases was not reached, the sample was exhausted and multiple recalls were made before the survey data were considered complete. The sample was not stratified by county, but because of the nature of the random survey, this self-adjusting sample is equivalent to a stratified sample, according to BEBR sampling experts. However, because of the wide geographical area being sampled, a few counties were missed in the sampling scheme (e.g., Calhoun, Leon, Polk), probably as a product of the random process, the exclusion of MSAs, or the extremely small county size. In the final analysis, these data are a random sample and, with appropriate weighting of the over-sampled areas, are representative of the rural/suburban population of Central and North Florida.

In addition, BEBR was able to insert 8 fire questions into their monthly Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) survey. This survey was directed at a random sample of all Floridians in all 67 counties (N=499), [view PDF ] and was spread out over the entire month of April to control for time bias. Because the CCI survey sampled from all Floridians, it does not represent our rural/suburban target audience. Nevertheless, this free service provided by BEBR provides an additional snapshot of the knowledge and attitudes of Floridians which may be added to our knowledge base.

Data Analysis

Data analysis was done using the Statistica package for Windows (StatSoft, Inc., 1995). Data were imported into Statistica from a survey output spreadsheet provided by BEBR. Frequencies and/or descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations) were calculated for survey variables. Cases from the over sampled high-fire counties were weighted by a factor of 0.25, and cases from the low/no-fire counties were weighted by a factor of 1.96 in order to bring the two samples into a representative picture of the rural/suburban residents of Central and North Florida. Weighting factors were determined by dividing the proportion of households in each group in the total population by the proportion of households in the data set. With weighting, the data are analyzed proportionally as they appear in the actual populations. The only problem with weighting is that it may introduce bias into an analysis, but with our large sample and low-level weighting factors, bias is not expected to be a problem.

Results

For a complete listing of survey results, view PDF .

Demographic Summary

The respondents in our sample are 43% male and 57% female and range in age from 18 to 90 years, with an average of 48 years of age. Despite our efforts to focus on rural Florida, only 45% believe they live in a rural area; 36% claim suburban, and 16% said they live in an urban area. Regarding education, 31% of the respondents have a high school degree, 19% have two years of college and 15.5% have a four-year degree. Only 12% of the sample have attended graduate school. Regarding ethnicity, 86% are white, 6% are black, and 2% are Hispanic. Nearly a quarter (24%) of the sample worked in agricultural or natural resource professions during their life.

The respondents live an average of 7.2 miles from a natural area, 78% of whom say their natural area has pine trees. When asked if this natural area has burned since they have lived at this location, 67% said no. Despite this proximity and potential risk, 45% of the respondents were unconcerned about wildfire during the 1998 fire season, though 28% were very concerned. More than half the sample (58%), however, smelled smoke during the 1998 fires for an average of 8 days. Only 3% of the respondents were evacuated, but 38.5% of the respondents say the fire was near their home (on average, 10 miles away).

Knowledge and Awareness Summary

A majority of the respondents had an accurate view of fire in Florida. Table 1 summarizes the results of the knowledge-based questions.

Attitude Summary

Respondents shared somewhat mixed views about wildland fire in Florida. A majority agree that it is beneficial (60%), and slim majority (56%) think their local wildlands should be burned periodically. Although just more than half of the respondents (53%) favor protecting air quality more than burning natural areas, a large majority (79%) believe some residents should tolerate more smoke. See Table 2 .

A variety of questions asked respondents to consider the risks and benefits of prescribed fire (see Tables 3 and 4 ). Their largest concerns are for harm to wild animals and the spread of prescribed fires. They believe the greatest benefits are preventing wildfire and improving the land for forestry and agriculture. In comparing the results of prescribed and wildland fire, 71% of the respondents thought that wildfire killed more wild animals than prescribed fire; 19% thought the outcomes would be equal. Perhaps the respondents did not answer the risk question (Table 3 ) for only prescribed fire, but all fire. A majority (62%) also thought wildfire created more smoke than prescribed fire and 28% thought they would be the same.

Likelihood of Taking Actions

A surprisingly high number of respondents claim to have already taken some actions to protect their home from wildfire. Of the four actions queried, over 42% of the respondents have already trimmed shrubs and branches and moved flammable materials; Nearly half claim to be likely to replace flammable building materials, and use less flammable landscape plants (see Table 5 ).

Program Topics

To gauge respondents' interest in potential program topics that could be offered by the county teams, we asked them to rate the following list for interest. Those topics with a strongly personal connection attracted more interest. See Table 6.

Discussion

This needs assessment provides some direction to the development of materials for the Fire Education Toolkit Program.

Knowledge

There is a somewhat schizophrenic perspective on fire in Florida. People know it is good for natural areas, they think nearby residents should tolerate smoke, and they know prescribed fire is "better" than wildfire for a variety of reasons, but they want stricter controls on burning and they value air quality more than burning. Thus, our materials should recognize what most people already know and emphasize the importance of more novel benefits. Air quality concerns should be acknowledged as well as the efforts that are being taken to mitigate problems. There may be some confusing about wildfire and prescribed fire, however, as only 63% of the population correctly identified the definition of prescribed fire, 25% answered incorrectly, and the remainder didn't know the answer. Although 37% is less than half the population, this is a large minority who don't know the definition of prescribed fire.

Attitudes

More residents are unconcerned (45%) or moderately concerned (27%) about the 1998 wildfires than are very concerned (28%), despite the barrage of news coverage. They believe the greatest benefit of prescribed fire is to prevent wildfires, and maintaining natural landscapes is the least important benefit of the four choices we provided. Respondents believe that prescribed fire involves large risks to wildlife and of the fire spreading to nearby land. Risks of car accidents, health concerns, and more regulations are perceived to be less important, though they exist. Thus, how wildlife responds to fire should be clarified and home landscaping measures could be introduced as a way to protect property from the risk of any kind of fire.

Experience

While only 3% of respondents were evacuated from last year's wildfires, more than half were exposed to smoke from the fires at their homes. Furthermore, 30% of the respondents said the natural area nearest to their home has burned since they've lived there. So rural Floridians have a reasonable exposure, though not universal experience with natural area fires. This may be the reason over 40% of the respondents claim to have already trimmed branches and moved their woodpile to reduce their risk of wildfire.

Fire Education Programs

Respondents are most interested in attending programs about how to protect their homes from wildfire and about air quality and health. They are not very interested in learning about fire-prone areas near their homes. Residents are likely to plant but have not already planted less flammable landscaping plants; similarly, they are likely to replace but have not already replaced fire-prone building materials; these could be valuable program topics. Programs should be advertised through TV and newspaper media; radio is not the source for information about fire. While residents did not express much interest in attending programs to see prescribed fire demonstration areas, we believe there will be value in the roadside signs alerting people to areas that are managed by prescribed fire near their homes.

Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind

Summary of the March 15, 1999 Workshop, by Martha Monroe and Susan Marynowski.

Introduction: Defining the Problem

From late May to mid July 1998, over 2,200 wildfires burned 500,000 acres and destroyed or damaged 330 homes and businesses in Florida. Losses totaled over $800 million dollars. The wildfires left many rural and suburban Floridians wondering how best to manage their yard and landscape to reduce the threat of wildfire to their homes. The lack of annual rainfall in early 1999 created dry conditions; a high number of wildfires have already occurred, and residents are justifiably concerned about the safety of their homes.

As a result of the long history of fire in the urban/wildland interface in the western U.S., many resources are available that direct residents to clear trees, brush, and combustible items from a 30' to 50' radius around their home. In this "defensible space," fire fighters could have access and flames could be more easily stalled or stopped, thus protecting the house. Homeowners are encouraged to water their yards regularly, plant less flammable species, and clear an even larger space if they live on a slope. Several publications have been prepared with similar defensible space recommendations for Florida homeowners. A list of available defensible space publications is attached at the end of this report.

Other agencies and organizations, however, have very different landscaping recommendations for Florida homeowners. For example, Water Management Districts suggest xeriscaping--planting vegetation that requires little water--and for watering less often in hot spring and summer months. Energy conservation guidelines call for planting trees near the home to provide shade. Backyard wildlife programs ask homeowners to plant and maintain layered shrub habitats in their yards for birds and wildlife. The Native Plant Society prefers that homeowners landscape with native plants--even ones that may be quite flammable. All of these recommendations differ with defensible space guidelines to some extent. It is likely that homeowners experience a degree of confusion from the conflicting messages they receive about landscaping.

Goals of Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind

The differences in agency messages speak to the different values and priorities that many Florida residents hold for their home landscapes. If these values were mutually exclusive, it would be easy for residents to listen to their favorite message and exclude all others. But in this case, the values are overlapping. People who wish to attract wildlife soon discover that planting native species is a reasonable answer. The actions associated with these values complement each other. Similarly, almost everyone is interested in shade and reduced utility bills, and trees around a home can also attract wildlife and support a native plant community. No one, however, wishes to lose a home to flames. When it comes to defensible space, the actions are in conflict. So residents who listen to more than one message may easily find themselves uncertain about what is really important to do with their yard.

This is a case where agencies and organizations have an opportunity to reach a common understanding and develop a coordinated message on actions for fire prevention and defensible space in Florida. A message that acknowledges different landscaping values and offers suggestions for how to "do it all" will be more likely to be read, understood, and followed by individuals who feel strongly about any one value. Residents in high-risk areas who ignore wildfire protection guidelines are endangering their home and their neighborhood, should wildfire approach. Residents who are not at risk of wildfire may remove native plants from their yard, stop composting leaves, or waste water in unnecessary wildfire preparations. An appropriate message to Florida homeowners could address some of these problems.

Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind sought to involve as many agency and organizational representatives as possible to negotiate a common message about home landscaping and wildfire protection that can be used by the Florida Division of Forestry, UF's Cooperative Extension Service, and others. We invited 31 members of various organizations, agencies, and departments who inform the public about home landscaping to work together on an appropriate message. Each invitee was supplied with copies of three existing publications concerning homeowner wildfire protection and defensible space. Twenty(23) people attended, representing state agencies (Department of Transportation, Division of Forestry, Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, St. Johns River Water Management District); local government (County Fire and Rescue, City Fire, County Environmental Protection, Regional Utilities); Cooperative Extension Service (Forestry, Energy, Wildlife, Soils and Water, Environmental Horticulture, Flagler County); and private groups (Tall Timbers, Farm Bureau, The Nature Conservancy).

Exploring the Issues

The meeting began with a presentation by Matt Weinell of the Florida Division of Forestry about the 1998 wildfires and what was learned about home protection. The presentation led directly into a discussion of what works and what doesn't work to protect houses threatened by wildfires. Several representatives from fire fighting agencies contributed their experiences.

Fire Prevention Recommendations

It goes without saying that some of these recommendations are in conflict with the recommendations from other perspectives. Those perspectives fit three themes:

The following list of issues reflects these themes. Many of these issues take the form of what participants think needs to be done, so they are stated in the form of recommendations.

Wildlife and Native Communities Recommendations

Water Conservation Recommendations

Energy Conservation Recommendations

A variety of questions still exist that were not specifically discussed at the workshop. Some answers depend on the location of the home (both ecosystem and neighborhood), while others may be answered through on-going research and discussion.

Addressing the Audiences

While developing the recommendations, it became clear that not all recommendations apply to all people. Some people will be more or less risk than others, and there may be different situations where recommendations should be followed. Participants were asked to discuss in small groups the different messages that specific audiences might need about homeowner wildfire protection. The major audiences were:

Large Rural Landowners (>15 acres, "matrix")

Rural Residents (<15 acres, "intermix")

Subdivision Edge Residents ("interface")

Designers, Developers, Landscapers, Policy Makers

Message and Campaign Suggestions

Several discussions focused on how to communicate these ideas effectively to the target audiences. The following ideas were suggested for message delivery modes:

Summary of Consensus

Prescribed Fire

Participants agreed that prescribed fire is the best way to prevent wildfire, and that more acreage in Florida needs to be burned each year in order to prevent wildfires. Unfortunately, there is more forest than can be reasonable burned. Other fuel reduction techniques such as herbicides and mowing may help and may even be preferred in some cases. Regardless, wildfires will continue to occur in Florida in the near future.

Risk Assessment

Participants agreed that residents should carefully assess their level of risk in order to decide which wildfire prevention measures are needed around their house. Brochures and materials should carefully explain who is at risk, describe what they can do well before fire season, and recommend what they can do if a wildfire emergency threatens. Residents should ask themselves a series of questions to assess their risk, and then balance the level of risk with the costs of wildfire prevention. Wildfire prevention measures may result in energy costs, water costs, loss of privacy, reduced aesthetic value, etc. There are several key risk assessment questions:

More exact risk assessment criteria should be developed for Florida, but it is clear that rural residents of Florida will almost surely want to enact wildfire prevention measures around their houses. Subdivision residents should more carefully assess their situations. People who live at the edge of a subdivision surrounded by natural vegetation, or in a subdivision with "hopscotch" development or interspersed with large undeveloped spaces, are at higher risk. This would apply to residents of neighborhoods similar to the Palm Coast subdivision in Flagler County, which has experienced devastating wildfires twice in the last 15 years. Expanded recommendations for planners and developers might help create defensible space for entire subdivisions.

Balancing Risks with Environmental Costs

Urban residents and those who are just two or three lots back from the suburban edge have a much lower risk, and so should balance their wildfire preparations with the costs involved. Most urban or interior suburban residents should manage their yards for energy and water conservation and for wildlife habitat, instead of for high wildfire risk. Only those living in or adjacent to fire-prone ecosystems (a small percentage of Floridians) will be at high risk for typical wildfire events. To help people identify their own level of risk and make better decisions about how much and what to change in their yard, it was suggested that publications include risk assessment guidelines and information about how fire behaves and moves across the landscape.

What is Needed? Who's Doing What?

Regions and ecosystems of Florida are being rated for their wildfire danger based on a number of criteria, including vegetation community, elevation, moisture, rainfall patterns, etc. The Division of Forestry has begun this effort with a pilot project in North Florida.

A wildfire risk assessment protocol should be established for Florida residents. Examples exist from the western U.S. that may be adapted to Florida. Risk assessment for homeowners should be included as the first step in any brochures or publications about defensible space and wildfire prevention. The risk assessment information will be included in a defensible space publication being developed for the Fire Education Toolkit.

Flammability and combustibility of plants in Florida should be investigated and a list of native plants developed which includes flammability ratings. Many lists of plants to date have recommended against planting the obvious flammable native plants (e.g., palmettos, gallberry, wax myrtle, pines), but have offered lists of nonnative plants in their stead. We ideally need a list of less-flammable native plants for the home landscape that provide multiple benefits, such as water conservation and wildlife food and habitat.

Florida needs more prescribed burning. The Division of Forestry and other agencies and companies are pursuing this practice to prevent wildfires in Florida. Those who get phone calls and requests need a list of agencies and companies that provide prescribed burning services. This list could be distributed as part of the Fire Education Toolkit.

Evaluation and Commitment to the Outcome

At the end of the meeting, participants were asked to provide any additional information that they felt was not heard, and to evaluate the meeting. Responses to the fire education comment forms distributed at the meeting revealed a set of key messages that participants felt were important for fire education in Florida. The public education messages cited by participants fell into several categories:

Below is a summary of participants' suggested public education messages about fire. The categories have been listed from the most frequently mentioned to the least frequently mentioned. (The number of participants who made suggestions in each category is included in parentheses at the end of each paragraph.)

Fire plays a natural role in Florida:

Participants want people to know that "Florida burns," that lightning is prevalent here, that our ecosystems are adapted to regular fire, that fire is beneficial for Florida's native plants and animals, that fire plays a natural role in Florida's ecosystems, and that fire helps to maintain healthy landscapes and watersheds. Because fire is natural and inevitable in Florida, fire suppression leads to adverse consequences such as overgrown landscapes and wildfires. (10)

We need more prescribed fire:

Participants want Floridians to know that prescribed fire is our best wildfire prevention insurance, that prescribed fire is good and necessary, that prescribed fire "keeps Florida beautiful," that we need much more prescribed burning in Florida, and that prescribed fire is much more cost and energy efficient than other fuel reduction tactics, such as mowing or herbicides. (8)

Be aware of your fire risk:

Participants say that Floridians should be careful to assess who is at risk: people who live in urban areas generally are not at risk, while those surrounded by woods in rural areas generally are at risk. Other factors, such as the type of ecosystem ("Does it have pine trees?" "Is it prone to fire?") and thickness of underbrush, as well as drought and fire danger indexes, are good indicators of risk in a given place and time. It is important that we be clear as to what property is truly at risk, to ensure we don't cause energy loss in homes by overpreparing for wildfire. (8)

If you are at risk, be prepared for fire:

Participants want Floridians to build and landscape their homes with fire in mind if they are in a high-risk area. Fire-safe practices would include using less-combustible building materials and landscape plants, while recognizing that low-energy landscaping and fire-safe landscaping can go hand in hand. Floridians at risk should be prepared to take emergency actions in the case wildfire or evacuation. (7)

Everyone is responsible for preventing wildfires:

Participants say that everyone has the responsibility to avoid causing wildfires, and Floridians should avoid starting fires (e.g., yard trash) where they might escape and cause wildfires. (3)

Available Publications

Carree, Y., C. Schnepf, and W.M. Colt. March 1998. Landscaping for wildfire prevention. Protecting homes on the wildland/urban interface. A publication for the northern Rocky Mountains. Station Bulletin 67. Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station, University of Idaho, Moscow.

Includes information on fire ecology and homeowner wildfire protection, plus a home wildfire risk rating chart and list of fire resistant plant materials, all geared toward the Rocky Mountains. Available for $3 (includes shipping) from Extension Forestry, Room 211, UI College of FWR, Moscow, ID 83844-1140

Christman, A., M. Minno, and S. Miller. Winter 1998. Facts about fire in the native landscape: Part I. The Palmetto 18:4.

Includes an introduction to fire ecology and a discussion of how development patterns and drainage of wetlands may contribute to risk from wildfires. Magazine of the Florida Native Plant Society, 407-951-2210. Copy was included in workshop folder.

Florida Department of Community Affairs. 1998. Save your home from Florida wildfires. Florida Department of Community Affairs in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida Division of Forestry.

Booklet contains an in-depth discussion of homeowner wildfire protection practices and emergency procedures. Available from the Department of Community Affairs, Bureau of Recovery and Mitigation, 2555 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100, 850-413-9884.

Florida Division of Forestry. No date. Prescribed fire in the wildland/urban interface. Florida Division of Forestry.

Brochure gives very basic introduction to the wildfire risk in the wildland/urban interface and to the benefits of prescribed fire. Available from the Florida Division of Forestry, 3125 Conner Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1650.

Lippi, C. and M. Kuypers. July 1998. Flagler horticulture: Making your landscape more resistant to wildfires. Flagler County Extension Service, IFAS, UF.

Discusses homeowner wildfire protection practices and includes lists of fire resistant plants. Available from Chuck Lippi or Mike Kuypers. Copy was included in workshop folder.

Monroe, M. and A. Long. February 1999. Protecting your home from forest fires. Extension Publication FOR59, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, IFAS, UF.

Discusses homeowner wildfire protection practices and the role of controlled burns in creating a fire-resistant landscape. Available at http://hammock.ifas.ufl.edu or http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/Extension/firehome.htm. Copy was included in workshop folder.

USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management. 1995. It could happen to you! How to protect your home when wildfire strikes. US Government Printing Office #1995-0-657-754.

Includes homeowner wildfire protection practices oriented toward the western U.S. Copy was included in workshop folder.

Wildland Fire Education Toolkit Partners

Geoffrey Babb is the Southeast Division fire manager for The Nature Conservancy and brings more than 20 years of fire experience to the project. In his current position, Geoff plans, organizes, and conducts prescribed burns and fire management workshops for The Nature Conservancy's southeastern division. Either as a coordinator or instructor, Geoff has led fire management workshops for more than a decade in Florida and throughout the country. He coordinated the Volusia County demonstration burn for this project.

Alison Bowers helped coordinate the Wildland Fire Education Toolkit project. She recently graduated with a Masters in Forest Resources and Conservation with a specialization in environmental education and communication. She has worked on other projects involving 4-H forestry curriculum, a needs assessment for Crown Region Environmental Education Service Project, and a qualitative study of perceptions of forests.

Patricia Garner administers all aspects of forest environmental education statewide for the Florida Division of Forestry. Ms Garner joined the DOF in November 1996 with a master's degree in landscape architecture and over 15 years experience in environmental consulting and planning in both the public and private sectors. She was a principal contributor to The Interpretative Guide and Management Guidelines for Apalachicola National Forest. Ms. Garner serves as a member of the Project Learning Tree Statewide Steering Committee and the Board of the Florida State Envirothon. She is actively involved in a variety of forest environmental education efforts and public information campaigns for the DOF.

Susan Jacobson, a professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida, has expertise in natural resources communications. She assisted in the needs assessment, evaluation activities, public messages, and trainings associated with the project. Over 10 years of research activities at the University of Florida have given Dr. Jacobson a rich background of experience and wisdom for sharing conservation messages with the public. She has designed and evaluated educational materials on ecosystem management with a special emphasis on the use of prescribed fire for Eglin Air Force Base.

Alan Long has 25 years of professional experience with a wide range of forestry research, teaching, and extension responsibilities. He has conducted prescribed burning in the Pacific Northwest, Indonesia, and Florida, and currently teaches courses in fire ecology at UF's School of Forest Resources and Conservation. Since 1994 he has designed, organized, and conducted over 30 workshops for landowners and in-service training sessions for extension personnel and professional foresters.

Susan Marynowski helped coordinate the Wildland Fire Education Toolkit project, and previously coordinated several public conservation education campaigns in Florida. Most recently, she has worked to develop a recreation and natural resources management plan for the Econfina Creek Water Management Area and she produced/evaluated educational materials on ecosystem management for Eglin Air Force Base. She holds an M.S. in ecology and combines experience in educational program design and evaluation, project coordination, public communications, conservation science, and graphic design.

Martha Monroe coordinated the development of the Wildland Fire Education Toolkit. As an assistant professor at the University of Florida's School of Forest Resources and Conservation, she develops materials for educators in formal and non-formal settings. She has worked in environmental education for over 20 years, developing curricula, training staff and teachers, and evaluating programs. She has developed educational and training programs for a variety of organizations and agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, World Wildlife Fund, 4-H, and the Office of Environmental Education at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Frances Nevill serves The Nature Conservancy as the public relations manager for its Florida Chapter. She promotes and develops public awareness of the chapter's prescribed fire program. She works with fire and communications staff members to develop print and video tools that relate to prescribed burning. Frances developed the press kit included in the Wildland Fire Education Toolkit.

Matt Weinell has been a certified prescribed burner for over 11 years. He also has over 12 years experience in forest and fire management. He administers the Florida Division of Forestry's prevention and mitigation program and conducts training sessions and workshops for DOF employees on wildfire prevention. Matt coordinated fire-fighting efforts in the planning section of the Unified Area Command at the State Emergency Operations Center during the Summer Fire Campaign of 1998.

Acknowledgements

This handbook and the accompanying toolkit were assembled with the assistance of a great many people. Technical reviewers and cooperators include:

Richard Ashley, Florida Division of Forestry

Anne P. Birch, Brevard County

Jeff Bielling, Department of Community AffairsBielling, Department of Community Affairs

Robert J. Black, University of Florida, Department of Environmental Horticulture

Jim Brenner, Florida Division of Forestry

Jeff Caster, Florida Department of Transportation

Pete Colverson, The Nature Conservancy

David Drylie, Landscape Architect

Mary Duryea, University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation

Janice Easton, University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation

Megan Gajdos, Florida Alliance for Safe Homes

Larry George, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Lane Green, Tall Timbers Research Station

David Halsey, Florida Department of Community Affairs

Sharon Hermann, Tall Timbers Research Station

Jim Karels, Florida Division of Forestry

Jerry Kidder, University of Florida Department of Soil and Water Science

Mike Kuypers, Florida Division of Forestry

Jerrie Lindsey, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Martin Main, University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

Cheryl Mall, The Nature Conservancy

Will G. May, Alachua County Fire and Rescue Service

Steven "Torch" Miller, St. Johns River Water Management District

Gary Mullins, Ohio State University, School of Natural Resources

Kathleen Ruppert, University of Florida Energy Extension Service

Kathleen Weaver, Volusia County Fire Services

These materials represent ideas from a variety of sources drawn together to meet the needs expressed by extension agents and public outreach specialists working to educate Florida's citizens about wildland fire. We thank them all for the opportunity to convert their ideas into a product, for their comprehensive and keen suggestions for improvement, and for their support throughout the process.

Florida Division of Forestry Center and District Field Units

Table 7 contains the addresses and phone numbers for the Florida Division of Forestry District field offices. Personnel in these offices can answer questions about wildlife, prescribed fire, and forest management, and can work with extension agents to conduct public education programs.

Florida Daily and Weekly Newspapers

Newspapers may be interested in sanding a reporter to cover a story on a prescribed fire or printing information from your news release. Table 8 lists the contact information for weekly and daily papers in Florida.

Tables

Table 1. Percentage of respondents answering knowledge-questions about fire.

Question


 Correct


 Incorrect


 DK*


 NA**
Fire helps to renew forests.


 79
16
5
<1
Periodic fire is a natural process in Florida.


 76
19
5
<1
Human carelessness causes more fires in Florida than lightning.


 75
16
8
1
Florida's natural areas will remain the same without fire.


 70
24
6
<1
Natural areas that are burned every few years are useless as wildlife habitat.


 67
27
6
<1
Prescribed fire is when land managers purposefully set a fire.


 63
24
12
1
* Don't Know




** Not Available



Table 2. Percentage of respondents who agree and disagree with statements about fire (n=662).

Question


 Agree


 Disagree


 Neutral


 DK


 NA
Fire is beneficial to Florida's native plants


 60
28
6
5
1
The natural areas in my county should be burned periodically.


 56
31
8
4
1
Protecting air quality is more important than burning natural areas.


 53
31
10
5
1
People who live near natural areas may have to tolerate some smoke from fires.


 79
17
3
1
<1
Stricter regulations should be placed on burning.


 76
17
5
2
<1

Table 3. Percentage of respondents rating the risks of prescribed fire.

Question


 Large


 Medium


 Small


 DK


 NA
Harm to wild animals


 47
24
27
1
0
Spread of fire to nearby property


 44
25
28
3
<1
Unattractive landscape right after


 39
26
32
2
1
Health problems from smoke and ash


 33
29
35
3
<1
More regulations for landowners


 29
32
26
12
1
Car accidents due to smoke


 19
28
49
2
1

Table 4. Percentage of respondents rating the benefits of prescribed fire.

Question


 Large


 Medium


 Small


 DK


 NA
Prevention of wildfires


 73
18
5
3
<1
Improved forestry and grazing land


 59
25
12.5
3
<1
Better wildlife habitat


 48
32
14
5
<1
Fewer insect pests


 49
26
19
6
<1
Maintenance of natural landscape


 46
35
15
2
<1

Table 5. Percentage of respondents stating the likelihood of taking actions to protect their home from wildfire by...

Question


 Likely


 Unlikely


 Already


 DK


 NA
Removing shrubs and branches near your home


 31
20
44
1
4
Moving flammable materials such as wood piles away from the home.


 40
10
42
<1
7
Using landscape plants less likely to burn.


 48
21
19
6
6
Replacing flammable building materials.


 47
29
17
3
5

Table 6. Percentage of respondents rating their interest in attending a program to learn more about...

Question


 Very


 Moderately


 Not


 DK


 NA
Fire prone areas near your home


 13
26
58
2
1
How to protect your home from fire


 28
26
43
1
1
How fire affects air quality & health


 24
30
44
1
1
Seeing land managed with prescribed fire


 17
32
47
2
2
How to support more prescribed fire


 18
30
50
2
1

Table 7. Florida Division of Forestry Center and District Field Units

Center or District Name


 Counties Covered


 Contact Information
Blackwater Forestry Center
Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa
(850) 957-6140

11650 Munson Highway Milton, FL 32570
Chipola River District


 Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Liberty, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Jackson
(850) 872-4175

715 West 15 Street

Panama City, FL 32401
Tallahassee District


 Leon, Jefferson, Wakulla, Gadsen, Franklin


 (850) 488-1871

865 Geddie Road

Tallahassee, FL 32304
Perry District


 Dixie, Lafayette, Madison, Taylor


 (850) 838-2298

618 Plantation Road

Perry, FL 32347
Suwannee District


 Baker, Columbia, Hamilton, Suwannee, Bradford, Union


 (904) 758-5700

Route 7, Box 369

Lake City, FL 32055
Jacksonville District


 Duval, Clay, Nassau


 (904) 693-5055

8719 W. Beaver Street

Jacksonville, FL 32220
Waccasassa Forestry Center


 Alachua, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Putnam


 (352) 955-2005

1600 N.E. 23rd Avenue

Gainesville, FL 32609
Bunnell District


Flagler, St. Johns, Volusia


 (904) 446-6785

Route 1, Box 20F

Bunnell, FL 32110
Withlacoochee Forestry Center


 Hernando, Citrus, Pasco, Sumter, Lake


 (352) 754-6777

15019 Broad Street

Brooksville, FL 34601
Orlando District


 Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard


 (407) 856-6512

8431 S. Orange Blossom Tr.

Orlando, FL 32809
Lakeland District


 Polk, Hillsborough, Pinellas


 (941) 648-3163

5745 S. Florida Avenue

Lakeland, FL 33813
Myakka River District


 Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee


 (813) 751-7629

4723 53rd Street

Bradenton, FL 34203
Okeechobee District
Okeechobee, Highlands, Indian River, Glades, St.Lucie, Martin


 (941) 462-5160

5200 Hwy. 441 N.

Okeechobee, FL 34972
Caloosahatchee District


 Lee, Hendry, Collier


 (941) 694-2181

10941 State Road 80

Ft. Myers, FL 33905
Everglades District


 Broward, Palm Beach, Dade, Monroe


 (954) 475-4120

3315 S.W. College Avenue

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314

Table 8. Florida Daily and Weekly Newspapers

Alachua


 Gainesville


 Gainesville Sun


 56000
352-374-5000
Baker (2)


 Macclenny


 The Baker County Press
5300


 904-259-2400
Bay


 Panama City


 New Herald


 36058
805-763-7621
Bradford


 Starke


 Bradford County Telegraph
6000


 904-964-6305
Brevard


 Melbourne


 Florida Today


 85000
407-242-3500
Calhoun


 Blountstown


 The County Record
3000


 850-674-5041
Charlotte


 Port Charlotte


 Sun Herald


 30771
941-629-2855
Citrus


 Crystal River


 Citrus County Chronicle


 23387
352-563-6363
Clay (2)


 Keystone Heights


 The Lake Region Monitor
2250


 352-473-2210
Colombia


 Lake City


 Lake City Reporter


 10500
904-752-1293
DeSoto


 Arcadia


 DeSoto Sun Herald


 2500
941-494-7600
Dixie


 Cross City


 Dixie County Advocate
3000


 352-498-3312
Duval


 Jacksonville


 Florida Times Union


 200501
904-359-4111
Escambia (2)


 Pensacola


 Pensacola News Journal


 65000
850-435-8500
Flagler




Franklin


 Apalachicola


 Apalachicola Times
5000


 850-653-8868
Gadsden (2)


 Chattahoochee


 Twin City News
1800


 850-663-2255
Gilchrist


 Trenton


 Gilchrist County Journal
4000


 352-463-7135
Glades




Gulf


 Port St. Joe


 The Star
4200


 850-227-1278
Hamilton


 Jasper


 The Jasper News
2200


 904-792-2487
Hardee


 Wauchula


 The Herald-Advocate
5750


 941-773-3255
Hernando


 Brooksville


 Hernando Today


 20000
352-544-5200
Highlands


 Sebring


 Highlands Today


 17000
941-382-1164
Hillsborough (3)


 Tampa


 Poracle


 15000
813-974-2619
Holmes


 Bonifay


 Holmes County Advertiser
4200


 850-547-4585
Indian River


 Vero Beach


 Vero Beach Press-Journal

561-562-2315
Jackson


 Marianna


 Jackson County Floridan


 5600
850-526-3614
Jefferson


 Monticello


 Monticello News
3000


 850-997-3568
Lafayette


 Mayo


 The Mayo Free Press
1700


 904-294-1210
Lake


 Leesburg


 Daily Commercial


 32625
352-365-8200
Levy (2)


 Cedar Key


 Cedar Key Beacon
1900


 352-543-5701
Leon (3)


 Tallahassee


 Florida Flambeau


 21000
850-681-6692
Liberty


 Bristol


 Calhoun-Liberty Journal
5000


 904-879-2727
Madison


 Madison


 Madison County Carrier
3500


 850-973-4141
Manatee


 Bradenton


 Bradenton Herald


 43723
941-748-0411
Marion


 Ocala


 Star-Banner


 51542
352-867-4010
Martin


 Stuart


 The Stuart News


 36000
561-287-1550
Nassau


 Fernandina Beach


 Fernandina Beach News-Leader
11000


 904-261-3696
Okaloosa


 Ft. Walton Beach


 NW Florida Daily News


 39000
850-863-1111
Okeechobee


 Okeechobee


 Okeechobee News


 5500
941-763-3134
Orange


 Orlando


 Orlando Sentinal


 265187
407-420-5000
Osceola


 Kissimee


 Osceola News-Gazette
29000


 407-846-7600
Pasco (3)


 Port Richey


 Pasco Times


 53179
818-862-7622
Pinellas


 St. Petersburg


 St. Petersburg Times


 362920
813-893-8111
Polk (2)


 Lakeland


 The Ledger


 79379
941-687-7000
Putnam


 Palatka


 Palatka Daily News


 13900
904-312-5200
St. Johns


 St. Augustine


 St. Augustine News


 18000
904-829-6562
St. Lucie


 Fort Pierce


 The Tribune


 28123
561-461-2050
Santa Rosa (2)


 Gulf Breeze


 Islander Newspaper
3500


 850-934-3417
Sarasota (2)


 Englewood


 Englewood Sun Herald

941-474-5521
Seminole (2)


 North Port


 N. Port Sun Herald

941-426-9544
Sumter


 Lake Panasoffkee


 The Sumter Journal
8000


 352-793-6222
Suwanee


 Branford


 Branford News
2000


 904-935-1427
Taylor


 Perry


 Perry Newspapers, Inc.
20000


 850-584-5513
Union


 Lake Butler


 Union County Times
2150


 904-496-2261
Volusia (3)


 Daytona Beach


 Daytona Beach News-Journal


 99556
904-252-1511
Wakulla


 Crawfordville


 Wakulla News
5000


 850-926-7102
Walton


 Defuniak Springs


 Defuniak Springs Herald-Breeze
6000
850-892-3232
Washington


 Chipley


 Washington County News
4000
850-638-0212
Total

2339765


 269650
Source: Florida News Media Directory, Copyright 1997, Betty Highberger, Mount Dora, Florida

Footnotes

1. This document is FOR 78, a chapter in the Wildland Fire Education Handbook, Circular 1245, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published in January 2000; revised in March 2000. Reviewed August 2006. Part of this publication may be reproduced for educational use, please provide credit to the School of Forest Resources and Conservation. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2. Martha C. Monroe, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Susan K. Jacobson, Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Susan Marynowski, Program Coordinator, Alison Bowers, Program Coordinator, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.


Copyright Information

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