Risk perceptions after wildfires: insights from Bijie, China and comparisons with other countries

Meng Duo; Jun Hu; Xiaoyong Ni; Xuecai Xie

doi:10.1071/WF24226

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Risk perceptions after wildfires: insights from Bijie, China and comparisons with other countries

Meng Duo ^A ^B , Jun Hu ^A ^B ^* , Xiaoyong Ni ^A ^B and Xuecai Xie ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Joint International Research Laboratory of Catastrophe Simulation and Systemic Risk Governance, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China.

^B School of National Safety and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Yanhua Building, Room 115, Zhuhai 519087, China.

^C School of Engineering and Technology, China University of Geosciences Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.

^* Correspondence to: hujun0214@bnu.edu.cn

International Journal of Wildland Fire 34, WF24226 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF24226

Submitted: 23 December 2024 Accepted: 2 September 2025 Published: 18 September 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of IAWF. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Wildfires are increasingly frequent and intense due to climate change and human activities. Public risk perceptions after wildfires play a critical role in wildfire management, but there is a lack of specific studies in China.

Aims

This study focused on Bijie, China, to analyze local perceptions and compare them with global cases. It investigated how factors such as information about fire situations and economic losses, trust in government and confidence in tackling wildfires influenced risk perceptions after wildfires, and explored how risk perceptions differed across cultural contexts in China and in other countries.

Methods

Using the ‘information-trust-confidence’ framework, a survey of 408 residents in Bijie was conducted. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to assess the relationships between risk perceptions and factors. A comparative analysis with the United States (US), Australia, Canada, Europe and other regions was also performed.

Results

There is a negative correlation between risk perception and each of trust, information and confidence. Older people and males showed lower risk perceptions, while ethnic minorities have lower perceptions compared to the Han ethnic group in China. International research on risk perceptions after wildfires has highlighted diverse methodologies and yielded valuable insights, with comparisons revealing distinct differences across countries and regions.

Keywords: ‘information-trust-confidence’ framework, comparative study, KMO, natural disaster management, PCA, Pearson correlation coefficient, risk perceptions, wildfires.

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