Forest fire is characterized by unexpectedness, severe damage and tough management. The existing forest fire grassroots governance highly relies on the functioning of administrative governance characteristic of command-and-control. Township governments as well as those who is in charge of governing the issue bear so heavy administrative burdens that sporadic forest fires are hardly to be prevented and wearily to be put out. Based on the governmental idea of social governance as well as making reference to the theoretical advances on the frontline of international public governance change, this paper build up an analytical framework of administratively led community governance, so as to explore the way of more nimble, adaptive and resilient governing forest fires at the grassroots. Conducting a case study of Qinglin Township, a model township of forest fire prevention in S province, this paper finds that through engagement, delegation and supervision the township government creates community public issues, forest community-based social capital, integrating community norms and institutions, and stimulating public participation among community members, so that administrative and community mechanisms are complementarily embedded, and the good community governance of forest fire prevention is achieved. This paper displays the theoretical logic and practical experience administratively led community governance, so as to go beyond Elinor Ostrom’s theory of polycentric governance, practice the idea of social governance, and explore the possibilities of administrative forces empowering the communities and activating community mechanism in the circumstance that community governance is hardly shaped through spontaneous evolution.
