9 Wildfires

Health Impacts:

People all around the world observed the chaos and devastation of the California fires through news outlets and social media. It is easy to distance ourselves from tragedies when we have the privilege of watching from a distance. It is necessary to remind ourselves that these tragedies impact very real people. Lucie R., 20, is a woman born and raised in Pasadena, California. She is currently studying at the University of California Los Angeles earning a degree in Political Science. She experienced horrific losses due to these fires. Her childhood home reduced to ash and the town she grew up in is nothing but roads with empty lots. While in Los Angeles for school, she was forced to evacuate due to the poor air quality caused by the wildfires which raised health concerns. Thankfully her student housing was untouched by the fires.

Lucie described the stress this event put on her, her family, and her community. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common diagnosis for victims of natural disasters with cases as high as 30-40% of survivors experiencing symptoms (Kelley). Firefighters and other first responders are also at risk of developing PTSD. Some symptoms of PTSD include intrusive thoughts, nightmares and other sleep disturbances, avoidance,

Beyond mental health, wildfires pose a great health risk. Smoke inhalation, which encouraged Lucie’s evacuation, can lead to both long term and short term health impacts. On a short term scale, smoke can cause coughing, trouble breathing, asthma attacks, headaches, and chest pain among other things. While the long term impacts can be hard to trace, smoke has been linked to cancer (Kelley). Children, pregnant women,the elderly and people with preexisting conditions are most at risk for the adverse health effects of wildfires.