What are the key challenges around wildfire coordination and communication (local and regional levels)?
Group A
- Communication/education
- social media - misinformation
- effective & efficient & quickly communication in mass What about T.V, radio? issues on evaluating hard to develop a "way" do respond. Communiating to Gov. State leaders very problematic because data or info is not there, or nothing has changed or confusion about jargon
- Terminology Jargon across professionals vs. public
- Weather apps could help reach to mass groups -Perceptions from professionals about fine size is not accurate or consistent
- Confusion about evacuation - who should or should not? -who should be the communication authority? Who do people want to get info from? - lag time in setting public up for communications "Ready, set, go" response categories
- Does reporting acres matter? what about percent contained?
- Media here one not informed enough do translate information or understand jargon
- Table top discussion - Scenario play out response can help professionals understand kinks and gaps
- Information clearing house can help track what is going out and to whom. State meteorologist is a good example
- 911 local dispatch -> County or local fire cap chief. DCNR decision if it’s within jurisdiction. Decide who is responsible. DCNR (20 districts) then recruits labor, but this is not standardized. County level staff would also be recruiting for a response. DEP could also respond, depending on context. Split districts create complications. It depends an relationship and local fire person
- PEMA and Game Commission also reliable resources
- Delegation of responsibilities (incident command)
- The frequency of fire issue confused with radio band frequency (overload)
- Reimbursement challenges & funding distribution can cause different response next time, but in fire world seems to be OK (with the public, use FEMA rates)
Group B
- Issues-
- Radio Frequency - is there a policy? do other states deal w/ it? county level decisions especially a concern for others
- coming in to support (local Knadedge needed)
- who should be the coordinating body? DCNR has "authority"
- Division Chief/State Fire Warden
- jurisdictional unit that event occurs WUI → Counties become more important
- structure protection, road closures
- Separate conversation evolved @Thompson Hollow
- Event type affects who is called in
- Scenario-based-coordination and planning district mgr & Counties emer. mgt
- if on private land or State land
- if beyond local mgt, then team
- evaluation, wellness checks
- frequency when are decisions to be made
- how to program channels/training
- include public communication -> how to talk about it
- template to update hazard Planning - PEMA
- Three Mile Island - no clear comm plan
- Most of the time, bad stuff happens because no comms
- who in the county has the agency to make decisions bifurcated chain of command early on
- PEMA/TH tabletop exercise
- tests of response time, etc. has not happened since
- Stress tests
- Post-recovery response - 96,000 trees planted
- Should we plant trees or burn again?
- Landslides
- SOP post-fire? Checklist
- already engrained in "regular" opps
- How to build resilience?
- EMTS Climate-health, smoke
- What info do emergency responders need?
- Policies re: smoke
- Where is the public awareness happening
- app on phone- like West-tracks the fire -GCSE works w/ school systems to adapt Curriculum in response to event
- Kid-parent education
- whats the message that should be already prepared
- Public educ on front end + messaging
- get ahead of rumor mill
- Send comms person out west for trainings / shadowing
- Take training
- how many qualified
- coordinate emer. response/coord SOP w/ neighboring State
Group C
- concurrent & competing jurisdictional responsibility
- local v. DCNR
- competing goals and objectives
- challenges in/with training & access to equipment
- paid v. volunteer
- structure v. wildland
- disparity in comms systems and training
- p25, 800mhz, cb, walkie talkie
- Terminology
- Resource ordering & logistics coordination
- tied to resource met overall during incidents
- ICS & NIMS structural understandings
- expanded across multiple operational periods
- tie to scope, scale & incident complexity
- challenge of constant turnover of firefighters at local level
- radio & digital comms (challenges)
- public County EOC as hubs
- challenges with receiving (public) warnings/evac's
- understanding the risk communicating fire risk
- ICW drought
- But it rained
- ground water replenish v. surface observations
- vegetative water retention
- burn ban metrics & wildfire potential
- Want/desire/ability to enforce burn bads
- Fire wise communities are better informed
- ready set go
- outreach to new communities & hoa's
- smoke air quality messaging
- AQI standards
- using extension & county conservation dist.
- already have a rain barrel program
- having the correct messaging
- right/appropriate agency & local
- tempering expectations up & down the responder/home owner/public/leaders during an event/incident
- public’s use of AI (ChatGPT) for info/messaging ↳ accurate & safe??
- what agency/organization has open access to fire information?
- coordinated messaging & resource alignment across platforms
- post event messaging & outreach how?
- social media reliant on capability & capacity(+) interest
