NFPA Journal - Summer 2021 - 64

Wildfire by Michele Steinberg

THE VIEW
FROM NFPA'S
WILDFIRE DIVISION

Emotional Rescue
DEVASTATING WILDFIRES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO A MENTAL-HEALTH CRISIS IN THE US.
WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE RESEARCH ABOUT THE PROBLEM?

hen it comes to

an
County Complex Fire had burned for
accounting of human sufmore than three weeks, destroying 1,700
fering and the impacts
homes, killing four people, and reducing
of wildfire disasters on
the Bastrop State Forest to a smoldering
public health, there is
ruin. " My daughter is afraid, " the woman
scant research to be found. This is in
told me. " Our route to her kindergarten
contrast to other areas of wildfire study
is through the state forest. She cries and
where research is plentiful. Spurred
ducks down to the floor of the car when
by the occurrence of fires that destroy
we pass through. She doesn't want to
hundreds or thousands of homes and
look at the dead trees and the ash. "
kill firefighters and residents, researchIt wasn't the first time I'd heard an
ers and reporters delve into topics as
emotional story from a wildfire survifar-ranging as detection, causes, firevor, but what struck me was that this
What little research
spread dynamics, evacuation routes,
family had not suffered direct losses in
does exist suggests
building materials, and insurance costs,
the fire-even so, the residual trauma
that trauma stays with
gathering and analyzing statistics on
of the event was palpable and real. The
property loss, response times, suppreswildfire survivors for
students we spoke to that summer had
sion costs, and more.
all experienced wildfire in their comyears. Even people not
It's time to pay more attention to the
munities within the previous two years,
directly impacted can
impact on public health, especially our
fires that had occurred during the school
experience guilt, fear,
psychological health. A recent investiyear. In almost every case, the impacts of
grief, and anger.
gative study in the California Health
those fires were not addressed in their
Report, prepared by the Center for Public
classrooms; one district went so far as
Integrity and Columbia Journalism
to forbid discussion of the fires in its
Investigations, declared that disasters
schools, believing it would re-traumatize
including wildfire are driving a mental-health crisis in the students who had lost homes or loved ones. Yet the people who
country. A recent article in Outside highlighted attempts by were ostensibly unharmed expressed feelings of guilt, grief,
researchers to quantify the toll on wildfire survivors. Both arti- fear, and anger about what had happened in their community
cles reinforce the idea that much more work needs to be done and to their neighbors.
to understand the impact and timescale of disaster-induced
Our work in Colorado and Texas produced two reports on
trauma and emotional recovery, and both demonstrate our soci- youth and wildfires, and there is much more work to be done.
ety's inability to adequately address post-wildfire public-health We wouldn't dream of dismissing wildfire's impacts on home
needs. Just as important as understanding what is happening destruction, and we would be remiss if we didn't track fire supto wildfire survivors is developing effective ways to help them pression costs. Yet our society ignores the very real and damaging
manage the post-traumatic effects of their experiences.
impacts of wildfires on the physical and mental health of tens
What little research does exist suggests that trauma stays of thousands of Americans. Supported by robust research, we
with wildfire survivors for years. I observed that phenomenon must strive for a much better and broader understanding of pubup close nearly a decade ago, when NFPA staff met with mid- lic-health impacts and needs. As we react to the rising costs of
dle-school students and their parents in Colorado and Texas wildfire disasters with more studies and more strategies, we need
to talk about their experiences with wildfire. I recall a woman to remember that not everything that counts can be counted.
who talked to me in the community room of a fire station
outside Austin, Texas. Less than a year earlier, the Bastrop MICHELE STEINBERG is director of the wildfire division at NFPA.

MICHAEL HOEWELER

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NFPA Journal - Summer 2021

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