We recommend starting with our Communication Guidance section as it lays the foundation for the toolkit.
- This section begins with a discussion of why the work of prescribed burn risk communication is so important in our current landscape.
- In providing this guidance, we share barriers identified during our key informant interviews and from our literature review that stakeholders may deal with when communicating with the public and provide strategies for ways to overcome or minimize those barriers.
- Collaborating with community partners can help amplify and expand the reach of messages. Therefore, this section also includes some recommendations for engaging community partners.
- Communicating about prescribed burns can take additional time and resources. We discuss how prescribed burn risk communication can fit within existing organizational processes (e.g., fire plans) to reduce the additional effort of communication planning and implementation.
After this section, we recommend reviewing our Communication Planning section.
- This section includes a communication matrix we developed as a decision support tool. This matrix outlines key messages that can be shared with target audiences about prescribed burns and suggests when to share specific messages. While this matrix was designed to be comprehensive, we understand it may not cover every scenario that is relevant for a particular organization.
- This section also includes a stakeholder map that highlights the different types of organizations that are involved in the planning and conducting of prescribed burns, along with organizations that may be involved as agency and community partners to help share communications about prescribed burns with the public.
Finally, we recommend reviewing our final two sections (Prescribed Burn Key Points and Communication Templates) that include messaging and communications materials that can be shared with the public when organizations are ready to do so.
- For organizations that want developed messaging that can be combined to create customizable materials or announcements, we have a Prescribed Burn Key Points section with drafted language on four prescribed burn topics: 1) what are prescribed burns, 2) what are the benefits of prescribed burns, 3) what are the possible health risks of prescribed burn smoke exposure, and 4) what are protective actions individuals can take to reduce the impacts of prescribed burn smoke exposure.
For organizations that are interested in developed templates that are ready for use but can also be modified to better suit the information needs of residents in the communities they serve, we have a Communication Templates section with various materials. This section also highlights helpful resources we found during our literature review and environmental scan.