Diverging rationalities between forest fire management services and the general public after the 21st-century mega-fires in Greece

Wildfire risk related to hazards on people and assets is expected to increase in the face of climate change, especially in fire-prone environments such as the Mediterranean Basin. Distinguishing rationalities, i.e., the complex profile of multi-thematic, wildfire-related perceptions that collectively characterize and quantify all of a society’s responses, its interrelations, and influence on its insights, are of primary importance to understand the degree of preparedness and the direction that wildfire management policies are moving. Greece is a country that suffered mega-wildfire events during the first years of the twenty-first century. This paper presents a scheme of advanced multivariate statistical procedures applied on standard social survey questionnaires to uncover different or similar rationalities between fire management services and the general public. Profession-centered versus message-oriented rationalities is defined. They differ mainly on the priorities attributed to strengthening personnel and equipment capacities versus the need for public education and awareness. Both are evaluated against the needs of long-term risk assessment and forest management policies in Greece. The main conclusion is that Greek society, although traumatized by recent fire disasters, is not yet prepared for long-term strategic forestry adaptation and planning.