Share on Social Media

Wildfires are long, drawn-out events that often require localities to ask for state assistance to get key messages out to the public, manage and monitor social media and keep up with the demands of local media. Use these tips from subject matter experts in Washington and California, who frequently deal with wildfires, to think through frequently overlooked aspects of creating a communications plan specifically for wildfires.

Focus on messaging before the wildfire season.

• Explore the U.S. Fire Administration’s public outreach materials to develop your own public safety announcements and awareness campaigns.
• Encourage residents to get their homes and property ready, and to take ownership of being prepared and having a plan.

Develop pre-scripted messages and store them in the cloud to be accessed anywhere, anytime.

• Organize and label messages clearly so you can quickly pull specific messages during an emergency. Dropping successful social media messages and scripts used in the past into a Google Drive document is an easy way to start.

Create an operational organization chart for communications roles.

• Develop and assign clearly defined roles; know who will take the lead, take care of the media, work with the public on trap lines and fill other relevant roles throughout the duration of a wildfire. Include a staffing plan for 24/7 operations.
• Practice the plan during training exercises, and review the plan periodically.

Coordinate with local amateur radio organizations to create a radio communications plan.

• Invite local amateur radio organizations into your training exercises and build a relationship before a disaster hits.
• Integrate their emergency operations plan (EOP) into yours and consider giving them space in your emergency operations center (EOC). Amateur Radio organizations exist across the country, find yours in the American Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) membership database.

Don’t forget about non-English speaking populations.

• Have a plan for communicating with limited English populations (LEPs); consider developing a guide that identifies where LEP’s are located in your community, what critical information will need to reach them and who will help you communicate with them. If nothing else, have a list of contact numbers for nearby translators of different languages.

Prepare yourself and your staff mentally.

• Wildfires are long-term, high-risk events; know how you will work through the physical and mental exhaustion that comes with working 12-hour shifts for months on-end. The risk of losing fire fighters or the residents you’re working to keep safe in the fire is always a possibility – have a coping strategy to ensure personal emotions don’t get in the way of continuing your duties.

Consider purchasing or contracting mobile cellphone tower equipment.

• Cells on Wheels (COWS) can be a valuable tool if local cell service goes down or if a disaster occurs in a rural area with limited reception. These can also be useful in high-profile or large-scale events, when an increase in cell phone usage can disrupt service.

Explore Virtual Operations Support Group (VOSG) options.

• A VOSG can be activated to provide virtual social media monitoring and management, or perform other specific functions during an incident. Recruit social media-savvy local volunteers, develop protocols and train them before a disaster.
• Assign a VOSG team leader who can serve as your point of contact and lead VOSG operations.

Build a strong social media presence.

• Keep your agency’s social media accounts active even when a wildfire is not burning by posting reminders, tips, weather updates and alerts.
• Encourage local media to follow you on all platforms; they can embed your posts and help spread key messages during a wildfire.
• Direct residents to post questions on Facebook or Twitter and ensure a staff member monitors to provide timely responses.
• See more tips from IBTS on building a social media following.