Xtreme Smoke

To help decision-makers develop strategies to protect people from extreme smoke, we need to understand the conditions that motivate people to protect themselves, when policy interventions are needed, and what needs and capacities policy interventions must address. Theories regarding cognitive biases suggest that people may be less inclined to take the initiative to protect themselves from natural hazards that occur infrequently, come on slowly, last for short periods of time, and that impose little immediately observable damage. Little research has investigated the influence of these spatiotemporal characteristics on people's risk perceptions and responses to wildfire smoke events. Wildfire smoke is an ideal case to explore concepts about the role of spatiotemporal hazard attributes in risk perception and smoke because it varies widely across many of these dimensions. 

• Increase understanding of the specific measures people may be willing to undertake to reduce their exposure risk

• Pinpoint research needs for informing wildland fire smoke decision-making and policy

• Improved understanding of how people and communities could learn to live in expected altered fire environments in the future