This webinar provides an overview of what has been learned to date in relation to different aspects of public response to wildfire management including risk perception, social acceptance of prescribed fire and thinning, what makes homeowners more or less willing to create defensible space, and communication dynamics. Developing an accurate understanding of public views of fire management is important in designing policy and outreach that effectively engages the public and ensures that resources are targeted at the issues that are of actual rather than perceived public concern. One barrier to effectively engaging the public may be that many of the accepted descriptions related to the public and wildfire are based primarily on conventional wisdoms that may or may not hold.