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“It won't happen to me”: Exploring perceptions of wildfire mitigation in Sweden through scenario workshops
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Department of Urban and Rural Development, Ultuna, 75007, Sweden.
RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Safety and Transport, Fire and Safety.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5420-164x
Mid-Sweden University, Risk and Crisis Research Center (RCR), Östersund, 83125, Sweden; Øian Onn B., Mid-Sweden University, Risk and Crisis Research Center (RCR), Östersund, 83125, Sweden.
Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), Gothenburg, 41258, Sweden.
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2026 (English)In: International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, E-ISSN 2212-4209, Vol. 142Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Wildfire risk at the Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) emerges through everyday landscape features; features cut across areas of responsibility and impact on diverse land-uses. In Sweden, wildfire hazard is shaped primarily by human activity and rapidly drying vegetation, yet public awareness remains low in part due to the historical rarity of large fires. Recent extreme fire events in 2014 and 2018 have however exposed a growing vulnerability, particularly within dispersed settlements embedded in forested terrain. In this paper we examine perceptions of wildfire mitigation and adaptation through three scenario-based workshops conducted in Oskarshamn, Sundsvall, and Gothenburg. The scenario narratives, grounded in real fire events, were used to facilitate discussion, draw out local knowledge, and examine assumptions of fire risk, responsibility, and mitigation actions. Analysis of the workshop discussions has been structured around five mitigation strategies: vegetation management, structure and garden hardening, community hardening, education, and enforcement and incentives. The analysis reveals both shared concerns and need to recognise context across regions. Participants emphasized the importance of vegetation management, diversified forest structure, improved building and garden practices, and place-specific education, while highlighting persistent challenges linked to unclear responsibilities, economic constraints, and limited regulatory support. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of scenario workshops for collective learning and realising local capacities, for living with fire risk in the Swedish WUI

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2026. Vol. 142
Keywords [en]
Mitigation, Scenario workshop, Wildfire, Wildland-urban interface
National Category
Other Civil Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-81731DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2026.106198Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105039781172OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-81731DiVA, id: diva2:2068438
Note

QC 20260609

Available from: 2026-06-09 Created: 2026-06-09 Last updated: 2026-06-09Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
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