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What to Expect in the Wake of Wildfires

Available en Español

Wildfires destroy homes and communities, often leaving many people dead or injured. It can also take time for the wildfire to be controlled. Learn about common reactions and types of stress that can continue after a wildfire. There are tips for how to cope in the short- and long-term and consider when to get help.

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Wildfires have caused millions of acres to burn, leaving death, injury, loss of homes and community destruction in their wake. Such events can also cause financial hardship and ongoing stressors as people work to put their lives back together.

Wildfires are particularly stressful because they can be fast moving, unpredictable, and can cause massive damage. Evacuation orders may happen with very short notice, forcing people to make important decisions in very little time.

Because wildfires typically affect a large region, there is also social and community disruption. It can be difficult or impossible to obtain insurance reimbursements or to purchase materials needed for repairs, and skilled workers may have long waiting lists for their services. But there is also support that comes from going through a shared event.

Wildfires are experienced collectively and, therefore, people are connected and can help each other cope. During the event itself we often hear stories of heroes who put their lives at risk to help strangers. Following the event, fire survivors are surrounded by others who can understand what they experienced as everyone is moving through the event at the same time. Support can also come from the public through fundraising efforts, outsiders volunteering to find ways to help, and FEMA's practical assistance.

Given the damage and disruption that can occur after a major fire, it is not surprising that almost everyone has symptoms in the immediate aftermath. The initial relief to be alive may be followed by distress, fear, and anger.

Wildfire survivors may find it hard to stop thinking about what happened, have trouble sleeping, or feel keyed up or on edge. For most people those reactions will lessen over the first few weeks or months. For those who lost a loved one, were injured, or are homeless, those reactions may be more intense and longer-lasting.

Ongoing Stressors

In addition to the immediate problems fires cause, there are additional stressors that can make it difficult to get on with life:

Days or weeks may pass before evacuees can get back to their homes to even assess the damage.

Rebuilding takes money, time, materials, and workers-all of which can be in short supply.

Families may take in relatives while they look for other housing, which can be stressful for everyone.

People may be out of work if their employers are rebuilding or if they cannot make it to their jobs.

Parents may have to enroll children in new schools if the family was forced to relocate.

New physical health problems from injuries or air quality factors may need attention and pre-existing health problems can be made worse by stress.

Wildfires may also occur many times in a person's life, if they remain in a community that is prone to fires. A strong connection to place can be both a strength and a vulnerability in someone who lives in a community that is prone to disasters. And because fires are relatively common in some areas, fire trucks, sirens, or even high winds can serve as regular reminders of memories well after the event.

Coping After a Wildfire: Immediate Needs

After a severe wildfire, people's reactions, needs and priorities will vary depending on many factors. When the fire has caused injury, threat to life, evacuation or displacement, large-scale damage, separation from loved ones, extreme loss, or perception of ongoing health risks, people may require more psychosocial support because they are more likely to be significantly distressed.

In the immediate aftermath of any disaster, most people have a core set of priorities that are related to 5 key needs:

Reestablishing a sense of safety

Regaining control and calm

Connecting with loved ones and others

Getting through the crisis

Feeling hope, optimism, faith or the belief that things will work out

In general, anything you can do to help yourself or others move towards reestablishing a sense of safety, calm, connectedness and hope can support recovery. Keep in mind that feelings of distress in the aftermath of disasters cannot be resolved by a single act or a simple fix.

But there are some important principles to remember:

There's no "right way" to deal with these things. We each need to find the way that works for us, and be patient in applying simple, ongoing strategies.

Talk when you need to; listen when you can. It sometimes helps to hear the perspectives of other people who share your values and experiences. Take what helps and leave the rest.

You don't have to talk when you don't feel like it. Survivors sometimes do better when they are given space. If you are the loved one of a survivor, respect the survivor's desire not to talk if that is what they want. Give them space, and check back later.

Resilience-being able to adapt to what life presents-often means rolling with the punches. Disasters highlight the forces in life that are much bigger than we are, and remind us that there's only so much we can do.

Social support is key. Positive social support plays a crucial role in helping people recover from threat, trauma, and adversity. Reconnect with those you feel closest to or reach out to others who have had similar experiences or who are caring and wise.

Give it time. Resilience means that you bounce back in the time; it doesn't mean that you never feel the impact of traumatic events. Learning to accommodate the things you experience is a continual process.

Coping After a Wildfire: Long-Term Needs

Most people who experience a wildfire will recover. Having symptoms in the immediate aftermath does not mean that you will have symptoms forever. People who lost a loved one, were injured, or became homeless are more likely to have longer-term reactions.

Recovering can take time, and it may require you to learn how to adapt in new ways. What you need in the long term may be different from what helped you immediately after the event. Here are some strategies to help you continue to recover over time.

Strategies for managing ongoing distress

As time moves on, if you still feel distressed or have trouble functioning, it is important to continue with general self-care activities. You may also want include some of the following strategies:

Safety. To lessen worries, it can help to stay focused on specific routines of day-to-day living.

Media Viewing. Turn off the television and take a break from social media if watching coverage of the event is increasing your distress.

Problem-solving. Take an active, problem-solving approach to ongoing challenges by breaking problems into smaller chunks, brainstorming solutions, and planning for simple, achievable steps towards solutions.

Positive Activities Scheduling. Try to engage in positive, healthy, or meaningful activities. Doing things that are enjoyable, even if you don't feel like it, can make you feel better.

Volunteering. Volunteer work may also be a way to find meaning in helping others and building relationships with people who share your interests and values.

Managing Emotions. Look for positive coping strategies that help you manage your emotions. Listening to music, exercising, practicing breathing routines, talking with others, spending time in nature or with pets, journaling, or reading inspirational texts are some simple ways to help manage overwhelming or distressing emotions.

Social Support. Spend time with people who give you a sense of security, calm, or happiness, or those who you feel you can support.

Helpful Thinking. Reframe or divert your attention by practicing acceptance, prayer, or mindfulness. You can also use humor or try to think through the costs and benefits of holding onto negative thoughts or behaviors and then practice more helpful ways of thinking or acting.

Meaning Making. Reflect positively on people or aspects of life that you may have lost. Try to find meaningful ways to honor that loss, either on your own or through contact with others. You can also shift your expectations about what is considered a "good day," and reconfirm the people, values, and goals in your life that you realize are most important to you.

There is no standard timeline for recovering from a wildfire. Depending on how much the fire impacted you, it may take a long time to feel better. If you can develop your own ways of adapting to ongoing events and situations, you may gain a stronger sense of being able to deal challenges, a greater sense of meaning or purpose, or an ability mentor and support others in similar situations.

When to Consider Professional Help

If you are distressed, or unable to function well, consider seeking help.

There are competent and caring professionals available who can effectively treat the most common responses to hurricanes, like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and complicated grief. The most effective treatments give you tools to problem-solve, mourn and make sense of what happened, deal with numbness or intense emotions, and foster resilience. It is a good idea to try meeting with a mental health professional at least once. The sooner you get help, the sooner you will feel better.

For those in need of more intensive services, research supports trauma-focused psychotherapy for PTSD as an effective treatment following disaster. "Trauma-focused" means that the treatment focuses on the memory of the traumatic event and its meaning. Trauma-focused psychotherapies use different techniques to help you process your traumatic experience. For example, some involve visualizing, talking, or thinking about the traumatic memory. Others focus on changing unhelpful beliefs about the trauma. They usually last about 8-16 sessions.

Learn more about Effective PTSD Treatments or compare treatments using the PTSD Treatment Decision Aid.

Tools and Resources to Help

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Apply for and manage the VA benefits and services you've earned as a Veteran, Servicemember, or family member-like health care, disability, education, and more.

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With brush and wildfires becoming more common in Southern California and many other parts of the world, it's understandable that children may experience emotional distress, even if their home is not physically affected.

Here are 11 tips from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network and CHOC experts that can help parents and caregivers support kids in coping with fires:

Know these responses are common

Children may feel additional fear and anxiety during a fire - and even long after it is extinguished. Separation anxiety is common, and children may show changes in appetite, school performance and mood. Older children may show an increased likelihood for self-harm and younger children may exhibit regressive behaviors, or showing behaviors they used when they were younger.

Limit media exposure

Monitor children's media consumption - on television, newspapers, radio and social media. Images of burning buildings or the aftermath of a fire could be frightening to children, as could reading or hearing accounts of the fire. Learn more about the importance of monitoring your child's news and social media intake.

Monitor adult chatter

Remember that children can overhear conversations between their parents and other adults. They might also misinterpret this information, or be afraid of something they don't understand. Keep conversations in front of children light and save heavier discussions for private.

Encourage open communication

Children may have questions about the fires - and they may ask them multiple times. Encourage kids of all ages to ask these questions as many times as they need. Use this time to address any misinformation your child might have picked up at school or elsewhere.

Provide age-appropriate information

Limit the information that you provide to your child to the questions that they ask you, to avoid overwhelming them with information that they may not already have been exposed to. Keep in mind their age and emotional maturity when answering.

Remind your children that they are safe

Share your family's plan to keep safe. Show them where your smoke detectors are located; teach and remind them what to do if those alarms go off. Also, remind children that firefighters and other emergency personnel are working hard to protect them and their homes.

Maintain routines and expectations

Routines are essential to helping children feel safe and secure. Stick to regular schedules, mealtimes and bedtimes as best as possible and ensure children get enough rest, nutrition and exercise. Try to stick to family rules around practicing good behavior, respect and kindness, as well as other family norms, to keep a sense of normalcy.

Increase your patience

Even with routines and rules still in place, practicing flexibility and patience will be key. Distressed or distracted children might need help or additional reminders about chores and responsibilities.

Provide additional support at bedtime

Fears and anxiety could be heightened at bedtime. To avoid your child developing separation anxiety, try to spend more time with them doing light, peaceful activities like reading a book or singing songs. If a child needs to sleep with their caregiver, it's OK. Just be clear that typical sleeping arrangements will resume in the future.

Model behavior

A parent's crisis response will significantly influence how children respond. Remember to take care of yourself as well by eating well, sleeping well and exercising. Support your partner or other adults in your life, and, if possible, delay making any hasty decisions during a stressful time.

Read a book

Your child may feel more comfortable opening up about their feelings over the fire by reading a book where the characters experience a fire as well. "Trinka and Sam: The Big Fire" is available for download in English and also available for download in Spanish from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Many of the above reactions are normal after children are exposed to something traumatic like a fire. Parents may wonder at what point their child needs further support from their pediatrician or mental health provider. Generally if these responses continue more often than not for over two weeks and interfere with normal activities -such as school - or with sleeping or eating, then it may be time to reach out to your child's doctor or a therapist.

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11 ways parents can help children cope with fires

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With brush and wildfires becoming more common in Southern California and many other parts of the world, it's understandable that children may experience emotional distress, even if their home is not physically affected.

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Talking to Children About the Fires — The Center for Connection

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To our community, our hearts and thoughts are with you during this time. Many of us have been impacted by the recent fires and we hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe. Below are some tips and scripting to help you navigate this situation as a caregiver. 1.     &

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Preparing Children after a Wildfire Damages Your Community

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Preparing Children after a Wildfire Damages Your Community

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Wildfires are not uncommon when you live in California-and that's a scary thing for some children to grasp. We spoke to two experts at Children's Hospital Los Angeles-pulmonologist Shirleen Loloyan Kohn, MD , and psychologist Stephanie Marcy, PhD -to get tips on keeping your whole family safe and sound in the event of a wildfire.

For those close to an affected fire area, how should they keep their family safe from the smoke?

Dr. Loloyan Kohn: Stay indoors as much as possible with the windows closed, use a HEPA filter if you have one, and leave your air conditioning turned off.

If you need to go outdoors, wear an n95 mask and make sure it fits properly. Kids sizes are available and you can find the masks at a hardware store; the Red Cross or local hospitals may carry them as well.

If you can, go to areas with good air quality, even if for a few hours, to give your lungs a break.

Please don't play in the ash or try to clean it up (such as with a leaf blower) as this stirs up pollutants. Contact your local for instructions on cleaning up after a fire.

Also, it is recommended to look up the air-quality index in your region. While ash is visible, there are likely more pollutants in the air you cannot see. Visit to check.

What about those with breathing issues such as asthma?

Dr. Loloyan Kohn: If possible, get out of town to an area with good air quality. If not, stay indoors with the same measures as above. Those with asthma should make sure to have extra rescue inhalers or nebulized medication (such as albuterol) on hand.

Who would be most affected by smoke?

Dr. Loloyan Kohn: Those with chronic disease (such as chronic lung or heart disease); younger children and babies, as their airways are smaller and lungs are developing; and older adults will be most affected.

Are there are any products that a family should look into getting for their home?

Dr. Loloyan Kohn: A HEPA filter or air purifier can help, but if these are unavailable to you, stay indoors with the windows shut and air conditioning turned off.

What is the best way to explain these natural disasters to your child?

Dr. Marcy: As is true with most explanations for children, the best way will vary depending on their age. Also, take into account whether these events are things that your child is directly affected by.

The commonalities when talking to children of all ages, though, are:

Remain calm and in control, and avoid being dramatic or overly emotional.

Reassure them that you will protect them and keep them safe.

Try to let the discussion be child-led.

Encourage them to share what they know, think or fear so that you can properly correct misconceptions or inaccuracies.

Avoid watching upsetting or scary news footage repeatedly, or at all, as this will add to the anxiety and fear for your child, as well as yourself.

Sometimes it may be best not to expose your young child to scary and dangerous events at all if it is unlikely that they will learn about them otherwise. If you do feel it important or necessary to discuss these events with your child, keep his or her developmental level in mind.

For preschoolers or kindergarteners:

Very young children tend to think in very concrete ways, and do not have a good understanding of time, distance, cause or space. So, keep your explanations simple, avoid speculation, appeal to their curiosity to aid in distraction, and focus on reassuring their safety and that of others by emphasizing those people or things that are helping.

For older children:

Older children are better able to digest information, ask insightful questions, and are increasingly able to discriminate between imminent risk for themselves and general concern for others. Thus, you can give them more information without fearing that they will relate it all to their own situation and become fearful.

You can also appeal to your child's developing capacity for empathy by engaging them in a project to aid either the victims or the helpers. For example, model that you are donating money to the cause, bring food or baked goods to the local fire department to thank them, go through the closet to find items to donate to a local relief center, or have your child draw a picture and write a note to someone in need.

What advice do you have for keeping children calm and helping take their mind off things?

Dr. Marcy: Children take their cues from the trusted adults around them. The first thing for parents to keep in mind is that they need to model calm and in-control behavior for their children in order to help keep them calm. Part of maintaining one's sense of control and, thus, decreasing anxiety is familiarity. Thus, parents should try to maintain as much of the typical routine as possible.

If a family is affected by a disaster and must leave home, try to give your child some sense of control if there is time to prepare. Ask them to pack their own bag with the things that are most important to them (this will also aid as a distraction while you focus on what you need to do). Make sure that you grab their favorite toy, trusted stuffed animal and comfortable blanket, so that even if they are not in their own bed, there are familiar items to aid in their comfort.

Distraction is often an adaptive coping strategy for people of any age. If you do not have to evacuate but are still close enough to be impacted, try to stay out of view of the direct reminders (e.g., smoke, ash) as much as possible. Find fun projects to do indoors at home, go to a movie theatre or indoor playground, or pick a new recipe to make together.

How can you reassure your child that everything will be OK?

Dr. Marcy: The first thing to keep in mind is that it is difficult to effectively reassure someone if you don't truly know what they are afraid of. Start by asking your child what they are afraid of, or what they fear happening, so that you can reassure their actual fears and not provide empty reassurance that everything will be OK.

For younger children, you may wish to update them on a need-to-know basis regarding potential loss or damage to their home or property. Focus on reassuring them of their safety, letting them know that you are prepared and in control and will make sure that everyone (including pets) are safe.

For older children, particularly teens, it is more appropriate to provide greater details, as they can participate in planning and response to the possible threat, increasing their sense of control and decreasing terror and anxiety.

If you are in an area that is at high risk for natural disasters, it is always a good idea to have a family plan in place long before the disaster hits. Involve the whole family in ensuring that you are all prepared and have secured-or at least thought about-what is most important for each of you. Get a fireproof box that has irreplaceable or important items in it (birth certificates, passports, grandmother's ring, video's, backup hard drive, etc.), prepare a disaster kit with necessary supplies including several doses of prescription medications, test your smoke alarms, make a list of extras to grab, etc.

What if your family needs to evacuate?

Dr. Marcy: Depending on how much warning and time you have to get out, do a quick triage of the situation. If you can, calmly divide up tasks among family members, encouraging your child to grab items that are most important to them. As previously discussed, try to include things that will communicate "comfort" and "familiarity" to your child and to you, so that even though you will not be at home, you will have clothing, blankets, stuffed animals, favorite toys and a pillow that will enhance your comfort wherever you are.

How would you explain when your child is seeing other people losing their homes, or even worse, loss of lives?

Dr. Marcy: Again, depending on how old your child is, and what their past traumatic experiences have been, you will need to decide how much to expose your child to. If you are directly involved in a natural disaster and witnessing loss of life and home directly, focus on establishing safety, first and foremost. Keep them physically close, and steer them away from danger and exposure to terrifying scenes as much as you can.

Once you and your child are in a safe place and imminent danger has passed, you can start to take emotional inventory and process the event with your child.

Do not push them to speak about it if they are not ready, but demonstrate open communication, willingness to talk about whatever they need to discuss, and that no questions or topics are off limits.

Do not feel that you have to be "strong" and hide your emotions entirely. It is appropriate to show your child that you are upset and that we are all entitled to our feelings.

Try not to correct how they are feeling (e.g., "Don't be mad, it's nobody's fault" or "Stop crying, you're my brave little girl").

Prompt them for their understanding of what has happened and why so that you can give them accurate information and help them process adaptively.

While distraction can be a very effective coping strategy, be careful to not to communicate to your child that you are avoiding talking about the traumatic experience or that it isn't safe to discuss it with you.

Reassure them that even if you cry when discussing it, it's not their fault that you are crying, and that it is healthy and appropriate to talk about what happened together in order to begin healing.

Finally, engage them in being part of the "help" process if possible.

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CHLA pulmonologist and psychologist share advice on caring for your family's physical and emotional well being in the event of a wildfire