The active involvement and support of the public will be central to efforts to restore resilience and foster fire adapted landscapes. 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. Developing an accurate understanding of public views of fire and forest management will be important in designing policy and outreach that engages the public and ensures that limited resources are most effectively targeted at the issues that are of actual rather than perceived public concern. This presentation will present findings from recent research on social issues of fire management with particular emphasis on the accuracy of various accepted truths about the public and fire management and variables that actually influence approval of different fire management practices. Presented at the AFE SW Fire Ecology Conference, February 28, 2012 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.