Building bridges to fight fire: the role of informal social interactions in six Colorado wildland–urban interface communities

Abstract

Property owners in fire-prone communities have been identified as key stakeholders in the wildfire dilemma. Although past research has examined stakeholder characteristics and their behaviours, less is known about how small-scale social processes among stakeholders might shape mitigation decision-making and related actions. This manuscript highlights the role informal social interactions play in building bridges among full-time and part-time residents that facilitate the spread of wildfire information and galvanise small-scale cooperative efforts to reduce wildfire risk. Data from in-depth interviews conducted with residents in six fire-prone Colorado communities indicate that these interactions create bridging capital that links those who are not likely to be the direct recipients of wildfire outreach efforts to those who are.