May 22 - July 30
Identifying the Information Preferences of Emergency Managers During Fire Weather Events
Atticus Jolley, Elizabeth Meister, Anna Wanless, and Sam Stormer
What is already known:
- Emergency managers (EMs) primarily use forecast information from the National Weather Service (NWS) during hazardous weather events, including wildfires
- There is a knowledge gap on how EMs use fire weather forecast information once they receive it
What this study adds:
- The location and timing of a potential fire weather event are overall the most important information to EMs, as well as fire weather conditions that could affect those factors (such as wind speed and direction)
- Provides insight into EM forecast information preferences over time, including how information about fire weather conditions becomes increasingly important in the hours leading up to a potential fire weather event.
Abstract:
As growth of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) places more communities at risk of wildfires in the United States, affected communities must know how to prepare and respond to them. Emergency Managers (EMs) are one of the key figures in community resilience to extreme weather events such as wildfires. As the primary source of weather information for EMs, the National Weather Service (NWS) is working to develop effective methods for communicating accurate weather forecast information to EMs through impact-based decision support services (IDSS). However, there is a current knowledge gap on what forecast information EMs want leading up to fire weather events and how they use it. A mixed methods approach was used in this study to identify the information preferences of EMs during fire weather operations. Quantitative data was collected from a nationwide panel survey of EMs, and qualitative data was collected from interviews with EMs about workflows during hazardous weather. This study found that overall, EMs are most interested in information related to location and timing of a potential wildfire, as well as weather conditions that can affect fire behavior. Additionally, information about fire weather conditions is increasingly important in the hours leading up to elevated fire weather conditions. These findings highlight the type of weather information forecasters should prioritize when communicating with EMs.