Wildfires in the Western United States have dramatically increased in size, frequency, and intensity, and climate change projections indicate wildfire risk will continue to grow in the region. Wildfires have a large economic and social impact on rural communities; however, these impacts are not borne equally, especially across rural communities. Rural communities in particular can bear disproportionate impacts to their economies, health, and well-being during the recovery period after a wildfire, especially for vulnerable groups such as low-income households, elderly, young, and socially disadvantaged groups. Further, many of the social impacts remain invisible to both the wildfire planning and research communities.

This project works with social services and public health professionals, who are a critical part of the social infrastructure in community recovery, as well as rural community partners to understand the often overlooked community impacts of wildfire. WWA is partnering with CLIMAS, the Arizona and New Mexico CAP team, to explore these questions in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Project goals include:

1) Identify long-term wildfire recovery needs of rural communities through engagement with social workers and public health providers in the communities recovering from the impacts of wildfire in Colorado and New Mexico

2) Build relationships and foster knowledge exchange between social workers, public health professionals, and wildfire recovery professionals to identify lessons learned in wildfire community recovery

We will plan rural wildfire recovery workshops based on research findings that will bring together the wildfire and social services communities that are often siloed and working separately in these impacted communities. Workshops will enable participants to learn from each other and jointly identify lessons learned and best practices that promote long-term recovery of rural communities. This project was funded by NOAA through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Project Personnel:

Katie Clifford, WWA

Christina Greene, CLIMAS

Postdoctoral Research Fellow