North Carolina Wildfire Risks and Public Trust (2020-2021)

Human development of wilderness areas has generated important physical frontiers in the wildland-urban interface: areas in which human-built structures intermingle with undeveloped wildland, forest or vegetative fuels. North Carolina has a greater number of acres designated as wildland-urban interface than any other state. Residents of counties that are high in these areas must make decisions about which information sources to trust regarding natural disasters, hazards and extreme weather. Understanding how residents choose and use their sources could offer a foundation for crucial future public engagement efforts.

This project team surveyed residents of Ashe, Watauga, and Rockingham counties in North Carolina to understand where people turn for information regarding natural disasters, hazards and extreme weather. The team found that the most cited sources of information were primarily local: local online sources, local television news, a local newspaper, neighbors or family members (through face-to-face or phone conversations) and social media. Sources that were most often cited as being trusted almost completely or completely also were largely local. Based on their results, the team recommended to various local, state, and federal partners that warning and preparation communication efforts should partner with local organizations as message sources as well as highlight shared values and interests with audiences.

Timing

Fall 2020 – Spring 2021

Team Outputs

Trust in the Face of Natural Disaster (2021 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Dimensions of Trust and Information Seeking on Natural Disasters, Hazards and Extreme Weather in North Carolina (Virtual conference and online presentation at European Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, September 2021)

Mountain Living and the Importance of Local Information Outlets for Severe Weather

This Team in the News

Graduate Students Deanna Carter-Corin and Montana Eck Publish Article in Carolina Mountain Life Magazine with Duke Bass Connections Team

Local Farmers: Share Your Climate Change Observations With Duke University Researchers

Duke Law Faculty, Students Tackling Diverse Interdisciplinary Research Projects through Bass Connections

 

Image: Whipping Creek wildfire, by U.S. Forest Service/U.S. Department of Agriculture, licensed under CC BY 2.0

Fire.

Team Leaders

  • Brian Southwell, Social Science Research Institute
  • Shane Stansbury, Duke Law

/graduate Team Members

  • Angela Hessenius, Master of Environmental Management, Environmental Economics/Policy
  • Joanna Parkman, Master of Environmental Management, Coastal Environmental Management
  • Rebecca Sauer, Master of Environmental Management, Environmental Economics/Policy

/undergraduate Team Members

  • Simon Brown, Public Policy Studies (AB)
  • Yunfei Li, Political Science (AB)
  • Audrey Magnuson, Public Policy Studies (AB)
  • Callie Turner, Psychology (AB)

/yfaculty/staff Team Members

  • Mary Clare Hano, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Andrew Olson, School of Medicine-Duke Clinical Research Institute

/zcommunity Team Members

  • Alana Baker, Rockingham Community College
  • Deanna Corin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-Ph.D Student
  • Montana Eck, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill-Graduate Student