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This website explains the many physical effects of wildfires on a human. The website explains other parts of the effects of wildfires such as environmental impact and how they are caused. Both of these a wildfire.

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Wildfires threaten lives directly, and wildfire smoke can affect us all. They spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away, causing breathing difficulties in even healthy individu

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This article explains the effects of smoke to the brain. It describes the ways that the smoke enters, how it effects it, and what it does.

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This article describes what happens mentally to a person affected by a wildfire. It explains both the mental effects and to what extent they are.

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This article originally appeared in the spring 2024 issue of UC San Diego Magazine as "After the Fire."
"Natural disasters have always been part of human history, but the frequency and intensity of natural disasters have been accelerated by climate change, and in the wake of that, we're finding exaggerated mental health symptoms," says Jyoti Mishra, PhD '08, MBA '22, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Climate trauma is an emerging challenge. It is already well-documented that extreme climate events result in significant psychological impacts. Warming temperatures, for example, have even been linked to greater suicide rates. As planetary warming amplifies, more forest fires are expected in California and globally, with significant implications for mental health effects.

Mishra and colleagues from California State University, Chico studied the mental health impacts of the 2018 Camp Fire, California's deadliest and most destructive fire to date. They found that direct exposure to large-scale fires significantly increases people's risk for mental health disorders, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Further, even witnessing such a disaster within one's community can significantly affect people.

By quantifying the mental health impacts of large-scale disasters, the climate trauma experienced by a community can be better understood.

Using electroencephalography, the research revealed increased activity in the regions of the brain involved in cognitive control and interference processing, or the ability to cope with unwanted and often disturbing thoughts.

"To function well day to day, our brains need to process information and manage memories in ways that help achieve goals while ignoring or dispensing with irrelevant or harmful distractions," says Mishra.

PTSD was three times more prevalent in populations exposed to the fire than in the nonexposed, general population. "We see a very hyperaroused brain system, which tends to happen when one feels like they're in constant threat mode," she says. "In this traumatic state, it makes it very difficult to go about day-to-day things in an attentive and focused way."

"We're still observing these brain responses six months to a year after the wildfires, which means there are longer-term impacts on this population," she says.

While FEMA and other organizations serve the physical needs of those affected by natural disasters, Mishra and her colleagues are working with community partners on ways to help build mental health resilience in impacted areas.

The aim of interventions, including eco-mindfulness therapeutics, environmental stewardship and environmental restoration, is to help individuals restore a positive emotional connection with the environments where they live.
This article originally appeared in the spring 2024 issue of UC San Diego Magazine as "After the Fire."
Learn more about research and education at UC San Diego in: Climate Change

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Wildfires Have a Lasting Psychological Impact on Communities

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Climate trauma is an emerging challenge. It is already well documented that extreme climate events result in significant psychological impacts, even for those whose personal property and family are not directly impacted.

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In this video a man named Dr. Peter Silverstone, a psychiatric professor at the University of Alberta, gives possible solutions to keep the mental impact of wildfires to a minimum. He also explains what would happen and how people show know about someone who has been impacted by a wildfire mentally.

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Minimizing the psychological impact of wildfires

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In this website, a large amount of mental struggles caused by a wildfire are presented. It does not go into depth on these individual topics but goes into depth on the category in which they all would fit into.

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Wildfires are usually triggered by lightning or accidents and often go unnoticed at first. They can spread quickly and are especially destructive if they occur near forests, rural areas, remote mountain sites, and other woodland settings where people live. While not reported as often as floods or tornadoes and severe storms, they, too, can cause emotional distress in people living in affected areas.

Signs and Symptoms of Emotional Distress

Feelings such as overwhelming anxiety, constant worrying, trouble sleeping, and other depression-like symptoms are common responses before, during, and after wildfires. Other signs of emotional distress related to wildfires include:

Having thoughts, memories, or nightmares related to the wildfire that you can't seem to get out of your head

Worrying a lot of the time; feeling guilty but not sure why

Excessive absences from work or school

Learn more about warning signs and risk factors related to wildfires and other disasters.

Who is at Risk for Emotional Distress?

People living in areas where wildfires often occur, particularly in communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, and other states, may be vulnerable to emotional distress. People who have struggled to recover from experiences with past wildfires also may experience distress. Other people at risk for emotional distress due to wildfires include:

Children and teens. After a wildfire, young people may worry that another one will happen again, especially if they witnessed the fire and the loss of their home. Some children may become withdrawn, while others may become agitated and irritable and display outbursts of anger.

Older adults. Older adults are more likely to need social support to reduce the effects of stress and move forward on the path of recovery. They also may have limited physical mobility and lack independence.

First responders and recovery workers. These individuals may experience prolonged separation from loved ones (depending on the severity of the wildfire) and show signs of mental fatigue.

Once warnings and evacuation orders are issued, the risk for emotional distress becomes greater:

You or your loved ones may feel unprepared, isolated, overwhelmed, or confused. Uncertainty about where to go during a wildfire, how to keep you and your loved ones safe, how to care for your pets, or whether you will be able to continue taking any medications can cause emotional distress.

You may lose contact with a loved one in an impacted area.

If you are relocated or lost your house to a wildfire, being in an unfamiliar environment can be difficult, especially for people with limited physical mobility, economic means, or knowledge of the English language.

Emotional Distress After the Event

Returning to a home, business, school, or place of worship impacted by a wildfire may cause additional distress, especially if there is structural damage. A temporary or permanent loss of employment may also occur.

Remember, too, that the anniversary of a disaster or tragic event can renew feelings of fear, anxiety, and sadness in disaster survivors. Certain sounds such as sirens can also trigger emotional distress. These and other environmental sensations can take people right back to the event, or cause them to fear that it's about to happen again. These " trigger events " can happen at any time.

People can experience a wide range of emotions before and after a disaster or traumatic event. There's no right or wrong way to feel. However, it's important to find healthy ways to cope when these events happen. Learn about coping tips for dealing with wildfires and other types of disasters.

Additional Resources

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Learn about who is most at risk for emotional distress from wildfires and where to find disaster-related resources.

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This article covers a mass amount of topics and has almost any information needed about wildfires. The article is not great for getting large amounts of information on individual topics because it does not go into much depth on many of the topics.

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What Are Wildfires? | Wildfires Explained | WPI Experts on Wildfires

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Are you curious about what wildfires are and how they start? Learn about the causes, impacts, and current status of wildfires in this latest explainer piece called Wildfire Explained.

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This website explains the many physical effects of wildfires on a human. The website explains other parts of the effects of wildfires such as environmental impact and how they are caused. Both of these a wildfire.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wildfires threaten lives directly, and wildfire smoke can affect us all. They spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away, causing breathing difficulties in even healthy individu

# data[].attributes.body
This website explains the many physical effects of wildfires on a human. The website explains other parts of the effects of wildfires such as environmental impact and how they are caused. Both of these a wildfire.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Wildfires threaten lives directly, and wildfire smoke can affect us all. They spread air pollution not only nearby, but thousands of miles away, causing breathing difficulties in even healthy individu

# data[].attributes.body
This article covers a mass amount of topics and has almost any information needed about wildfires. The article is not great for getting large amounts of information on individual topics because it does not go into much depth on many of the topics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Are Wildfires? | Wildfires Explained | WPI Experts on Wildfires

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you curious about what wildfires are and how they start? Learn about the causes, impacts, and current status of wildfires in this latest explainer piece called Wildfire Explained.

# data[].attributes.body
This article covers a mass amount of topics and has almost any information needed about wildfires. The article is not great for getting large amounts of information on individual topics because it does not go into much depth on many of the topics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Are Wildfires? | Wildfires Explained | WPI Experts on Wildfires

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you curious about what wildfires are and how they start? Learn about the causes, impacts, and current status of wildfires in this latest explainer piece called Wildfire Explained.

# data[].attributes.body
This article covers a mass amount of topics and has almost any information needed about wildfires. The article is not great for getting large amounts of information on individual topics because it does not go into much depth on many of the topics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What Are Wildfires? | Wildfires Explained | WPI Experts on Wildfires

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you curious about what wildfires are and how they start? Learn about the causes, impacts, and current status of wildfires in this latest explainer piece called Wildfire Explained.

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This article describes how a wildfire could be started. It also explains how the reasons a wildfire starts could happen.

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Updated: May 14

In this article:

Through this exploration, we hope to answer critical questions about wildfire causes: How and why do these fires start? What can we learn from them? And how can we better protect our planet and communities from their destructive power?

To learn more about the often overlooked consequences of forest fires and explore effective solutions to mitigate their devastating impact, we invite you to download our whitepaper , 'What Lies Beneath: the hidden truth about wildfire.'

The number of wildfires, the amount of land they burn, and the number of people they displace are all increasing. This is due to a number of factors, including climate change , drought, and human activity .

Wildfires can occur in various parts of the world, but they are most commonly associated with regions that have a combination of dry climates, abundant vegetation, and a history of fire activity. Some of the areas where wildfires are most common include:

Western United States: States such as California, Oregon, Washington, and parts of Nevada and Arizona are prone to wildland fires due to their dry summers, strong winds, and extensive forests.

Australia: The southern and eastern parts of Australia experience severe bushfires , especially during the hot and dry summer months. The country has a long history of devastating bushfires.

Mediterranean Europe: Countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece have a Mediterranean climate characterized by hot, dry summers, which often lead to significant forest fires.

Amazon Rainforest: Portions of the Amazon basin, primarily in Brazil, experience wildfires, often caused by human activities like deforestation and land clearance.

Siberia and Russia: Siberia and parts of Russia witness large-scale wildfires, particularly in remote forested regions, during the summer months when the vegetation is dry.

Southeast Asia: Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and parts of Thailand and Vietnam experience wildfires, often associated with land clearing practices like slash-and-burn agriculture.

According to the BBC , more than 12,000 dry-lightning strikes started over 650 wildfires across California in August 2020, burning more than 1.5 million acres of land, with hundreds of thousands of people evacuated.

Decomposing organic materials, such as piles of dry leaves or compost, can produce heat over time. If the heat accumulates and reaches a critical point, it can ignite a fire. With increasing incidences of extreme weather events and therefore higher wildfire risk, this phenomenon is set to increase.

As mentioned, people are to blame for the vast majority of wildfire instances around the world. What's worse is that research suggests that human ignition is to blame for a staggering 97% of wildfires that threaten homes in the US.

Quoted in Science.org , Stijn Hantson, a fire ecologist at the University of California, said that human-caused wildfires spread twice as fast as naturally-caused ones, burn more intensely, and kill "double or triple" the amount of trees.

According to a report by the National Fire Protection Association , there were 52,260 intentional fires started between 2014 and 2018 in the US. These resulted in an estimated 400 civilian deaths, 950 civilian injuries, and $815 million in direct property damage each year.

One of the devastating forest fires caused by unattended campfires was the Ham Lake fire in 2007 . As well as hundreds of properties, this fire burned down 75,000 acres of forest along the Gunflint Trail in northeast Minnesota.

For example, Zaca Fire (2007) , the fifth biggest California wildfire on record, was caused by sparks from a metal grinder. The Carr Fire (2018) was ignited by sparks from a trailer's broken wheel rim and is the seventh-most destructive fire in California's history.

In 2017 in the US alone , forest fires caused by discarded cigarette butts were responsible for $6 billion in property damage.

In this article:

Through this exploration, we hope to answer critical questions about wildfire causes: How and why do these fires start? What can we learn from them? And how can we better protect our planet and communities from their destructive power?

The devastation caused by wildfires extends far beyond immediate destruction. These catastrophic events result in the emission of billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide , significantly contributing to global greenhouse gas levels. The ecological impact is profound, with a staggering number of wildlife fatalities estimated in the billions, disrupting delicate ecosystems.

To learn more about the often overlooked consequences of forest fires and explore effective solutions to mitigate their devastating impact, we invite you to download our whitepaper , 'What Lies Beneath: the hidden truth about wildfire.'

The number of wildfires, the amount of land they burn, and the number of people they displace are all increasing. This is due to a number of factors, including climate change , drought, and human activity .

Wildfires can occur in various parts of the world, but they are most commonly associated with regions that have a combination of dry climates, abundant vegetation, and a history of fire activity. Some of the areas where wildfires are most common include:

Western United States: States such as California, Oregon, Washington, and parts of Nevada and Arizona are prone to wildland fires due to their dry summers, strong winds, and extensive forests.

Mediterranean Europe: Countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece have a Mediterranean climate characterized by hot, dry summers, which often lead to significant forest fires.

Amazon Rainforest: Portions of the Amazon basin, primarily in Brazil, experience wildfires, often caused by human activities like deforestation and land clearance.

Siberia and Russia: Siberia and parts of Russia witness large-scale wildfires, particularly in remote forested regions, during the summer months when the vegetation is dry.

Southeast Asia: Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and parts of Thailand and Vietnam experience wildfires, often associated with land clearing practices like slash-and-burn agriculture.

According to the BBC , more than 12,000 dry-lightning strikes started over 650 wildfires across California in August 2020, burning more than 1.5 million acres of land, with hundreds of thousands of people evacuated.

Decomposing organic materials, such as piles of dry leaves or compost, can produce heat over time. If the heat accumulates and reaches a critical point, it can ignite a fire. With increasing incidences of extreme weather events and therefore higher wildfire risk, this phenomenon is set to increase.

As mentioned, people are to blame for the vast majority of wildfire instances around the world. What's worse is that research suggests that human ignition is to blame for a staggering 97% of wildfires that threaten homes in the US.

Quoted in Science.org , Stijn Hantson, a fire ecologist at the University of California, said that human-caused wildfires spread twice as fast as naturally-caused ones, burn more intensely, and kill "double or triple" the amount of trees.

According to a report by the National Fire Protection Association , there were 52,260 intentional fires started between 2014 and 2018 in the US. These resulted in an estimated 400 civilian deaths, 950 civilian injuries, and $815 million in direct property damage each year.

One of the devastating forest fires caused by unattended campfires was the Ham Lake fire in 2007 . As well as hundreds of properties, this fire burned down 75,000 acres of forest along the Gunflint Trail in northeast Minnesota.

For example, Zaca Fire (2007) , the fifth biggest California wildfire on record, was caused by sparks from a metal grinder. The Carr Fire (2018) was ignited by sparks from a trailer's broken wheel rim and is the seventh-most destructive fire in California's history.

In 2017 in the US alone , forest fires caused by discarded cigarette butts were responsible for $6 billion in property damage.

Yes, climate change plays a critical role in increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires. It contributes to longer drought periods, higher temperatures, and drier vegetation, all of which create ideal conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread more rapidly.

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Understanding How Wildfires Start: Natural and Human Causes

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Discover how wildfires start and the impact of human actions on these devastating phenomena. Learn about the natural and human causes in our blog post.

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This article explains how a wildfire starts and how the contributing factors could happen. Although this is not directly saying how to slow the effects of it after it is instead explaining how to prevent them from happening.

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Updated: May 14

In this article:

Through this exploration, we hope to answer critical questions about wildfire causes: How and why do these fires start? What can we learn from them? And how can we better protect our planet and communities from their destructive power?

To learn more about the often overlooked consequences of forest fires and explore effective solutions to mitigate their devastating impact, we invite you to download our whitepaper , 'What Lies Beneath: the hidden truth about wildfire.'

The number of wildfires, the amount of land they burn, and the number of people they displace are all increasing. This is due to a number of factors, including climate change , drought, and human activity .

Wildfires can occur in various parts of the world, but they are most commonly associated with regions that have a combination of dry climates, abundant vegetation, and a history of fire activity. Some of the areas where wildfires are most common include:

Western United States: States such as California, Oregon, Washington, and parts of Nevada and Arizona are prone to wildland fires due to their dry summers, strong winds, and extensive forests.

Australia: The southern and eastern parts of Australia experience severe bushfires , especially during the hot and dry summer months. The country has a long history of devastating bushfires.

Mediterranean Europe: Countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece have a Mediterranean climate characterized by hot, dry summers, which often lead to significant forest fires.

Amazon Rainforest: Portions of the Amazon basin, primarily in Brazil, experience wildfires, often caused by human activities like deforestation and land clearance.

Siberia and Russia: Siberia and parts of Russia witness large-scale wildfires, particularly in remote forested regions, during the summer months when the vegetation is dry.

Southeast Asia: Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and parts of Thailand and Vietnam experience wildfires, often associated with land clearing practices like slash-and-burn agriculture.

According to the BBC , more than 12,000 dry-lightning strikes started over 650 wildfires across California in August 2020, burning more than 1.5 million acres of land, with hundreds of thousands of people evacuated.

Decomposing organic materials, such as piles of dry leaves or compost, can produce heat over time. If the heat accumulates and reaches a critical point, it can ignite a fire. With increasing incidences of extreme weather events and therefore higher wildfire risk, this phenomenon is set to increase.

As mentioned, people are to blame for the vast majority of wildfire instances around the world. What's worse is that research suggests that human ignition is to blame for a staggering 97% of wildfires that threaten homes in the US.

Quoted in Science.org , Stijn Hantson, a fire ecologist at the University of California, said that human-caused wildfires spread twice as fast as naturally-caused ones, burn more intensely, and kill "double or triple" the amount of trees.

According to a report by the National Fire Protection Association , there were 52,260 intentional fires started between 2014 and 2018 in the US. These resulted in an estimated 400 civilian deaths, 950 civilian injuries, and $815 million in direct property damage each year.

One of the devastating forest fires caused by unattended campfires was the Ham Lake fire in 2007 . As well as hundreds of properties, this fire burned down 75,000 acres of forest along the Gunflint Trail in northeast Minnesota.

For example, Zaca Fire (2007) , the fifth biggest California wildfire on record, was caused by sparks from a metal grinder. The Carr Fire (2018) was ignited by sparks from a trailer's broken wheel rim and is the seventh-most destructive fire in California's history.

In 2017 in the US alone , forest fires caused by discarded cigarette butts were responsible for $6 billion in property damage.

In this article:

Through this exploration, we hope to answer critical questions about wildfire causes: How and why do these fires start? What can we learn from them? And how can we better protect our planet and communities from their destructive power?

The devastation caused by wildfires extends far beyond immediate destruction. These catastrophic events result in the emission of billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide , significantly contributing to global greenhouse gas levels. The ecological impact is profound, with a staggering number of wildlife fatalities estimated in the billions, disrupting delicate ecosystems.

To learn more about the often overlooked consequences of forest fires and explore effective solutions to mitigate their devastating impact, we invite you to download our whitepaper , 'What Lies Beneath: the hidden truth about wildfire.'

The number of wildfires, the amount of land they burn, and the number of people they displace are all increasing. This is due to a number of factors, including climate change , drought, and human activity .

Wildfires can occur in various parts of the world, but they are most commonly associated with regions that have a combination of dry climates, abundant vegetation, and a history of fire activity. Some of the areas where wildfires are most common include:

Western United States: States such as California, Oregon, Washington, and parts of Nevada and Arizona are prone to wildland fires due to their dry summers, strong winds, and extensive forests.

Mediterranean Europe: Countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece have a Mediterranean climate characterized by hot, dry summers, which often lead to significant forest fires.

Amazon Rainforest: Portions of the Amazon basin, primarily in Brazil, experience wildfires, often caused by human activities like deforestation and land clearance.

Siberia and Russia: Siberia and parts of Russia witness large-scale wildfires, particularly in remote forested regions, during the summer months when the vegetation is dry.

Southeast Asia: Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and parts of Thailand and Vietnam experience wildfires, often associated with land clearing practices like slash-and-burn agriculture.

According to the BBC , more than 12,000 dry-lightning strikes started over 650 wildfires across California in August 2020, burning more than 1.5 million acres of land, with hundreds of thousands of people evacuated.

Decomposing organic materials, such as piles of dry leaves or compost, can produce heat over time. If the heat accumulates and reaches a critical point, it can ignite a fire. With increasing incidences of extreme weather events and therefore higher wildfire risk, this phenomenon is set to increase.

As mentioned, people are to blame for the vast majority of wildfire instances around the world. What's worse is that research suggests that human ignition is to blame for a staggering 97% of wildfires that threaten homes in the US.

Quoted in Science.org , Stijn Hantson, a fire ecologist at the University of California, said that human-caused wildfires spread twice as fast as naturally-caused ones, burn more intensely, and kill "double or triple" the amount of trees.

According to a report by the National Fire Protection Association , there were 52,260 intentional fires started between 2014 and 2018 in the US. These resulted in an estimated 400 civilian deaths, 950 civilian injuries, and $815 million in direct property damage each year.

One of the devastating forest fires caused by unattended campfires was the Ham Lake fire in 2007 . As well as hundreds of properties, this fire burned down 75,000 acres of forest along the Gunflint Trail in northeast Minnesota.

For example, Zaca Fire (2007) , the fifth biggest California wildfire on record, was caused by sparks from a metal grinder. The Carr Fire (2018) was ignited by sparks from a trailer's broken wheel rim and is the seventh-most destructive fire in California's history.

In 2017 in the US alone , forest fires caused by discarded cigarette butts were responsible for $6 billion in property damage.

Yes, climate change plays a critical role in increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires. It contributes to longer drought periods, higher temperatures, and drier vegetation, all of which create ideal conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread more rapidly.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Understanding How Wildfires Start: Natural and Human Causes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Discover how wildfires start and the impact of human actions on these devastating phenomena. Learn about the natural and human causes in our blog post.