» Citizen ‘Sparkplugs’ Can Reduce Red-Zone Fire Danger

Study finds that busy government agencies get help from individuals who motivate neighbors to protect homes from wildfire

Deserai Crow’s “Wildfire Outreach and Citizen Entrepreneurs in the Wildland-Urban Interface: A Cross-Case Analysis in Colorado” was the subject of an article in the Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine, Citizen ‘sparkplugs’ can reduce red-zone fire danger by Clay Evans. The article noted a key finding was that “’certain people, the citizen entrepreneurs, don’t just take agency information and bring it to the community, … They go above and beyond, and take initiative on their own time, using their own resources, or grants or other resources, to do things like bring a (wood) chipper into a community. … They built a whole new level of trust with their neighbors.’ For many residents, that is a more effective vector of information and motivation than having a public agency telling them what to do.” CSTPR graduate students Elizabeth Koebele, Lydia Lawhon, and Rebecca Schild also participated in the study.