Abstract
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The ability of landowners to respond to and recover from a wildfire
event depends to a large degree on their preparation. Despite the
attention and resources directed to this goal many people generally
remain underprepared (AFAC, 2010; Eriksen & Gill, 2010; Prior,
2010). This information-to-action gap is by no means Australia-specific,
having been recognised as an important public policy issue internationally
(Jakes, 2002; McCaffrey, 2006; Stetler, Venn & Calkin, 2010).
If being "well prepared" is a key objective of wildfire risk communication,
then this begs the question: what is "well prepared"? The
term "well prepared" is widely used but poorly defined. Pursuing this
objective thus requires examining what well prepared actually means
to risk communicators and at-risk residents respectively. This analysis
is based on the distinct, but complementary aspects of preparation:
practical and psychological preparedness.