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 emphasised 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. • Scenario-based workshops undertaken in three locations in Sweden acted as a catalyst for encouraging dialogue, sharing of local knowledge, and collective learning about wildfire mitigation. • Participants identified vegetation management, diversified forest structure, and improved building and garden practices as important wildfire mitigation measures. • Discussions revealed that wildfire mitigation is highly context-dependent, with regional cultural differences showing that “one-size-fits-all” approaches are unlikely to work across Sweden. • Participants in the workshops highlighted unclear responsibilities, limited regulation, and a need for better guidance and education from authorities.
Butler et al. (Fri,) studied this question.