Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities

Residents living within the Wildland-Urban Interface who fail to immediately evacuate during wildfire emergencies may not only increase the risk of injury or death to themselves but also to firefighters and rescuers tasked to protect them. In the coastal mountains of Santa Barbara County, CA, data o...

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Main Authors: Roberson, B., Peterson, D., Parsons, Richard
Format: Journal Article
Published: Weston Medical Publishing, LLC 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5511
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author Roberson, B.
Peterson, D.
Parsons, Richard
author_facet Roberson, B.
Peterson, D.
Parsons, Richard
author_sort Roberson, B.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Residents living within the Wildland-Urban Interface who fail to immediately evacuate during wildfire emergencies may not only increase the risk of injury or death to themselves but also to firefighters and rescuers tasked to protect them. In the coastal mountains of Santa Barbara County, CA, data on intended resident wildfire evacuation behavior does not exist. This research study used self-administered mail surveys to collect data on attitudes toward wildfire evacuation from more than 200 residents living within the High Fire Hazard Area of the Carpinteria Summerland Fire District (CA). Data derived from completed surveys indicate that although most residents intend to evacuate when given either voluntary or mandatory orders, 10 percent do not. A multivariate analysis performed on these residents indicates that men are less likely to evacuate than women, and long-term residents are less likely to evacuate than short-term residents. Further analysis of these residents indicates a wide variety of reasons for evacuation noncompliance, which are discussed in this study. Based on the results of these analyses, this research study provides recommendations to local public safety officials so they may better prepare for future wildfire evacuation events.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-55112017-09-13T14:42:51Z Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities Roberson, B. Peterson, D. Parsons, Richard wildfire evacuation fire department confidence multivariate analysis Santa Barbara County firefighter safety Wildland-Urban Interface Residents living within the Wildland-Urban Interface who fail to immediately evacuate during wildfire emergencies may not only increase the risk of injury or death to themselves but also to firefighters and rescuers tasked to protect them. In the coastal mountains of Santa Barbara County, CA, data on intended resident wildfire evacuation behavior does not exist. This research study used self-administered mail surveys to collect data on attitudes toward wildfire evacuation from more than 200 residents living within the High Fire Hazard Area of the Carpinteria Summerland Fire District (CA). Data derived from completed surveys indicate that although most residents intend to evacuate when given either voluntary or mandatory orders, 10 percent do not. A multivariate analysis performed on these residents indicates that men are less likely to evacuate than women, and long-term residents are less likely to evacuate than short-term residents. Further analysis of these residents indicates a wide variety of reasons for evacuation noncompliance, which are discussed in this study. Based on the results of these analyses, this research study provides recommendations to local public safety officials so they may better prepare for future wildfire evacuation events. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5511 10.5055/jem.2012.0111 Weston Medical Publishing, LLC restricted
spellingShingle wildfire evacuation
fire department confidence
multivariate analysis
Santa Barbara County
firefighter safety
Wildland-Urban Interface
Roberson, B.
Peterson, D.
Parsons, Richard
Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities
title Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities
title_full Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities
title_fullStr Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities
title_full_unstemmed Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities
title_short Attitudes on wildfire evacuation: Exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two Southern California communities
title_sort attitudes on wildfire evacuation: exploring the intended evacuation behavior of residents living in two southern california communities
topic wildfire evacuation
fire department confidence
multivariate analysis
Santa Barbara County
firefighter safety
Wildland-Urban Interface
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5511