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An increasing amount of Californias landscape has burned in wildfires in recent decades, in conjunction with increasing temperatures and vapor pressure deficit due to climate change. As the wildland-urban interface expands, more people are exposed to and harmed by these extensive wildfires, which are also eroding the resilience of terrestrial ecosystems. With future wildfire activity expected to increase, there is an urgent demand for solutions that sustain healthy ecosystems and wildfire-resilient human communities. Those who manage disaster response, landscapes, and biodiversity rely on mapped projections of how fire activity may respond to climate change and other human factors. California wildfire is complex, however, and climate-fire relationships vary across the state. Given known geographical variability in drivers of fire activity, we asked whether the geographical extent of fire models used to create these projections may alter the interpretation of predictions. We compared models of fire occurrence spanning the entire state of California to models developed for individual ecoregions and then projected end-of-century future fire patterns under climate change scenarios. We trained a Maximum Entropy model with fire records and hydroclimatological variables from recent decades (1981 to 2010) as well as topographic and human infrastructure predictors. Results showed substantial variation in predictors of fire probability and mapped future projections of fire depending upon geographical extents of model boundaries. Only the ecoregion models, accounting for the unique patterns of vegetation, climate, and human infrastructure, projected an increase in fire in most forested regions of the state, congruent with predictions from other studies.

One of Californias most pressing social and environmental challenges is the rapid expansion of the wildlands-urban interface (WUI). Multiple issues associated with WUI growth compared to more dense and compact urban form are of concern-including greatly increased fire risk, greenhouse gas emissions, and fragmentation of habitat. However, little is understood about the factors driving this growth in the first place and, specifically, its relationship to urban-regional housing dynamics. This paper connects work in urban social science, urban and regional planning, and natural sciences to highlight the potential role of housing crises in driving displacement from the urban core to relatively more affordable exurbs, and with this, WUI growth. We analyze this relationship in California, which leads the nation in lack of affordable housing, scale of WUI growth, and many associated WUI hazards, including wildfire. We offer three related arguments: first, that Californias affordable housing crisis, with its effect of driving migration to exurban areas, should be recognized as a significant urban form-related sustainability challenge; second, that to understand this challenge scholars must expand the spatial scale and analytic toolkit of both urban and WUI analysis through relational, mixed methods research; and third, that political and programmatic efforts to address Californias housing crisis should undergird efforts to address WUI growth and climate change. Ultimately, we argue that expanding access to affordable urban housing can produce a more sustainable and just urban form that mitigates WUI-related climate and environmental impacts and reduces the vulnerability of growing numbers of WUI residents living in harms way.

California faces several serious direct and indirect climate exposures that can adversely affect public health, some of which are already occurring. The public health burden now and in the future will depend on atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, underlying population vulnerabilities, and adaptation efforts. Here, we present a structured review of recent literature to examine the leading climate risks to public health in California, including extreme heat, extreme precipitation, wildfires, air pollution, and infectious diseases. Comparisons among different climate-health pathways are difficult due to inconsistencies in study design regarding spatial and temporal scales and health outcomes examined. We find, however, that the current public health burden likely affects thousands of Californians each year, depending on the exposure pathway and health outcome. Further, while more evidence exists for direct and indirect proximal health effects that are the focus of this review, distal pathways (e.g., impacts of drought on nutrition) are more uncertain but could add to this burden. We find that climate adaptation measures can provide significant health benefits, particularly in disadvantaged communities. We conclude with priority recommendations for future analyses and solution-driven policy actions.

As a result of climate change, wildfire frequency, duration, and severity are increasing in the United States. Exposure to wildfire-related air pollutants can lead to negative health outcomes, particularly among patients with preexisting respiratory diseases (e.g., asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and those who are at higher risk for developing these conditions. Underserved communities are disproportionately affected for multiple reasons, including lack of financial and social resources, increased exposure to air pollutants at home and at work, and impaired access to health care. To best serve clinically high-risk and underserved populations, health systems must leverage community public health data, develop and mobilize a wildfire preparedness action plan to identify populations at high risk, and implement interventions to mitigate the consequences of poor air quality. University of California, Davis Health, located at the epicenter of the largest wildfires in Californias history, has developed the 5 pillar Wildfire Population Health Approach: (1) identify clinically at-risk and underserved patient populations using well-validated, condition-targeted registries; (2) assemble multidisciplinary care teams to understand the needs of these communities and patients; (3) create custom analytics and wildfire-risk stratification; (4) develop care pathways based on wildfire-risk tiers by disease, risk of exposure, and health care access; and (5) identify outcome measures tailored to interventions with a commitment to continuous, iterative improvement efforts. The Wildfire Population Health Approach provides an action plan for health systems and care teams to meet the needs of clinically at-risk and underserved patients affected by the increasing health threat posed by climate change-related wildfires.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to climate change events like wildfires can lead to health and mental health problems. While conceptual frameworks have been hypothesized describing the potential relationship between disaster exposure and substance use, the association remains under-researched and unquantified. METHODS: We constructed a quantitative portrayal of one proposed conceptual framework that focuses on the intermediary role of anxiety. We used the Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the impact of wildfire exposure on opioid misuse outcomes through increased anxiety. We searched for and extracted prior empirical evidence on the associations between wildfire anxiety and anxiety-opioid misuse. Three scenarios were devised: in S1 the impact of wildfire on opioid misuse was limited to increasing anxiety incidence; in S2 we also considered the additive role of altered anxiety phenotype; and in S3 we further considered the role of increased opioid-related consequences of pre-existing anxiety due to wildfire exposure. RESULTS: Models show that the prevalence of opioid misuse post-wildfire may rise to 6.0%-7.2% from a baseline of 5.3%. In S1, the opioid misuse prevalence ratio was 1.12 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 1.00 - 1.27). The two exploratory scenarios, with less stringent assumptions, yielded prevalence ratios of 1.23 (95% UI: 1.00 - 1.51) and 1.34 (95% UI: 1.11 - 1.63). CONCLUSIONS: Our modeling study suggests that exposure to wildfires may elevate opioid misuse through increasing anxiety incidence and severity. This can lead to substantial health burdens, possibly beyond the duration of the wildfire event, which may offset recent gains in opioid misuse prevention.

In California, wildfire risk and severity have grown substantially in the last several decades. Research has characterized extensive adverse health impacts from exposure to wildfire-attributable fine particulate matter (PM2.5), but few studies have quantified long-term outcomes, and none have used a wildfire-specific chronic dose-response mortality coefficient. Here, we quantified the mortality burden for PM2.5 exposure from California fires from 2008 to 2018 using Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system wildland fire PM2.5 estimates. We used a concentration-response function for PM2.5, applying ZIP code-level mortality data and an estimated wildfire-specific dose-response coefficient accounting for the likely toxicity of wildfire smoke. We estimate a total of 52,480 to 55,710 premature deaths are attributable to wildland fire PM2.5 over the 11-year period with respect to two exposure scenarios, equating to an economic impact of $432 to $456 billion. These findings extend evidence on climate-related health impacts, suggesting that wildfires account for a greater mortality and economic burden than indicated by earlier studies.

When grapes are exposed to wildfire smoke, certain smoke-related volatile phenols (VPs) can be absorbed into the fruit, where they can be then converted into volatile-phenol (VP) glycosides through glycosylation. These volatile-phenol glycosides can be particularly problematic from a winemaking standpoint as they can be hydrolyzed, releasing volatile phenols, which can contribute to smoke-related off-flavors. Current methods for quantitating these volatile-phenol glycosides present several challenges, including the requirement of expensive capital equipment, limited accuracy due to the molecular complexity of the glycosides, and the utilization of harsh reagents. To address these challenges, we proposed an enzymatic hydrolysis method enabled by a tailored enzyme cocktail of novel glycosidases discovered through genome mining, and the generated VPs from VP glycosides can be quantitated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The enzyme cocktails displayed high activities and a broad substrate scope when using commercially available VP glycosides as the substrates for testing. When evaluated in an industrially relevant matrix of Cabernet Sauvignon wine and grapes, this enzymatic cocktail consistently achieved a comparable efficacy of acid hydrolysis. The proposed method offers a simple, safe, and affordable option for smoke taint analysis.

Wildfires are increasing in duration and intensity across the United States' Pacific West region, resulting in heightened particulate matter from smoke in the atmosphere. Levels of peak particulate matter are concurrent to peak visitor attendance at National Parks, given seasonal alignment with summer vacation travel and heightened forest fire conditions. Particulate matter threatens visitor health and safety and contributes to poor visibility and a deteriorated visitor experience. To assess visitation response to diminished air quality, we utilized wildfire-generated particulate matter (PM2.5) data in conjunction with monthly attendance records for three ecoregions containing eight national parks in Washington, Oregon, and California from 2009 to 2019. We analyzed daily PM2.5 levels from data gridded at the 10 km scale for National Park Service units by Level III forest ecoregions within the National Park Service's Pacific West Unit. Data were then compared to normalized monthly visitation trends for each of the ecoregions using two statistical methods Kendall's Tau and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc Tukey tests. Results demonstrate that attendance at these national parks does not decrease in response to increased PM2.5 levels. Instead, we see several statistically significant increases in attendance across these ecoregions during periods of reduced air quality. Of 115 shifts between air quality categories during the busy season of July to September, there are no significant decreases in attendance as air quality worsens. These findings suggest that visitors are willing to tolerate reduced air quality compared to other factors such as temperature or precipitation. Given that park units within each ecoregion feature diverse historical contexts, varied built environments, and unique ecological systems, our discussion specifically addresses managerial concerns associated with maintained high levels of visitation during suboptimal, and potentially dangerous, conditions. There is substantial need for specific, scalable approaches to mitigate adverse health and experiential impacts as visitors are exposed to increased risks during a range of exertional activities associated with diverse settings.

In the event of a wildfire, government agencies need to make quick, well-informed decisions to safely evacuate people. Small communities, such as in Marin County, with a mix of residences and flammable vegetation in Wildland-Urban Interface zones tend to lack resources to conduct evacuation studies. Consequently, this study uses a framework of wildfire and traffic simulations to test the performance of potential evacuation strategies, including reducing the volume of evacuating vehicles through car-pooling, phasing evacuations by staggering evacuation times by zone, and prohibiting street parking in four representative areas of Marin County. Results show that reducing vehicle numbers lowers the average travel time by 20%-70% and average exposure time to wildfire by 27%-60% from the baseline. Phased evacuations with suitable time intervals lower the average travel time by 13.5%-70%, but may expose more vehicles to fire in some situations. Prohibiting street parking yields varying results due to different numbers of exits and evacuees. In some cases, prohibiting street parking reduces the average travel time by over 50%, while in other cases it only reduces the average travel time by 9%, contributing little to evacuation efficiency. Altogether, Marin County may want to consider developing a communication and parking plan to reduce the number of evacuating vehicles in wildfire situations. Phased evacuation is also highly recommended, but the suitable phasing interval depends on the speed of fire spread and number of evacuees. Further, whether to establish street parking prohibition policies for a certain area depends on the number of exits and the number of vehicles on the streets.

Wildfires are a significant threat to human health, in part through degraded air quality. Prescribed burning can reduce wildfire severity but can also lead to an increase in air pollution. The complexities of fires and atmospheric processes lead to uncertainties when predicting the air quality impacts of fire and make it difficult to fully assess the costs and benefits of an expansion of prescribed fire. By modeling differences in emissions, surface conditions, and meteorology between wildfire and prescribed burns, we present a novel comparison of the air quality impacts of these fire types under specific scenarios. One wildfire and two prescribed burn scenarios were considered, with one prescribed burn scenario optimized for potential smoke exposure. We found that PM2.5 emissions were reduced by 52%, from 0.27 to 0.14 Tg, when fires burned under prescribed burn conditions, considerably reducing PM2.5 concentrations. Excess short-term mortality from PM2.5 exposure was 40 deaths for fires under wildfire conditions and 39 and 15 deaths for fires under the default and optimized prescribed burn scenarios, respectively. Our findings suggest prescribed burns, particularly when planned during conditions that minimize smoke exposure, could be a net benefit for the impacts of wildfires on air quality and health.

Agropastoral practices that historically reduced the flammability of Mediterranean landscapes are poorly understood due to state prohibitions and lack of scientific interest. Oral histories, analysis of agronomical writings, transect walks, and ethnographic study of fire managers and community members in the Monte Pisano of Italy, find legacies of traditional agropastoral practices in present-day landscapes. Forest leaf litter raking, largely carried out by women, combined with fire wood cutting and burning to greatly reduce fire risk. Historic stigmatization of traditional burning and ignoring gendered peasant labor have reduced contemporary scientists' and fire managers' understandings of ecological processes and of options for reducing fire risk. Fire managers in the Mediterranean, and in areas around the world affected by rural depopulation, would benefit from a better understanding of traditional agropastoral and fire management practices. Litter raking has been understudied outside Central Europe, is often gendered, and may have important ecological consequences around the world.

As the climate warms, extended drought and heat events in the United States are driving an increase in acres burned and homes lost to wildfire. The most devastating wildfires happen when dry winds carry embers long distances, start spot fires and ignite homes. Burning homes then become the fuel that ignites other nearby homes, causing mass conflagrations. Today wildfire is largely approached as a problem that can be controlled through vegetation treatments and firefighting, but that strategy has not stopped the loss of homes and even entire communities. However, new observational and analytical tools have given firefighters, governments, and the public a better understanding of wildfire and how to prepare for it. By redefining the wildfire problem as a home ignition problem, communities can survive even extreme fires and can safely reintroduce fire to the land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfires have become more frequent and intense due to climate change and outdoor wildfire fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations differ from relatively smoothly varying total PM2.5. Thus, we introduced a conceptual model for computing long-term wildfire PM2.5 and assessed disproportionate exposures among marginalized communities. We used monitoring data and statistical techniques to characterize annual wildfire PM2.5 exposure based on intermittent and extreme daily wildfire PM2.5 concentrations in California census tracts (2006 to 2020). Metrics included: 1) weeks with wildfire PM2.5 < 5 μg/m3; 2) days with non-zero wildfire PM2.5; 3) mean wildfire PM2.5 during peak exposure week; 4) smoke waves (≥2 consecutive days with

Extreme heat and wildfire smoke events are increasingly co-occurring in the context of climate change, especially in California. Extreme heat and wildfire smoke may have synergistic effects on population health that vary over space. We leveraged high-resolution satellite and monitoring data to quantify spatially varying compound exposures to extreme heat and wildfire smoke in California (2006-2019) at ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level. We found synergistic effects between extreme heat and wildfire smoke on daily cardiorespiratory hospitalizations at the state level. We also found spatial heterogeneity in such synergistic effects across ZCTAs. Communities with lower education attainment, lower health insurance coverage, lower income, lower proportion of automobile ownership, lower tree canopy coverage, higher population density, and higher proportions of racial/ethnic minorities experienced higher synergistic effects. This study highlights the need to incorporate compound hazards and environmental justice considerations into evidence-based policy development to protect populations from increasingly prevalent compound hazards.

The possibility that the Amazon forest system could soon reach a tipping point, inducing large-scale collapse, has raised global concern1-3. For 65 million years, Amazonian forests remained relatively resilient to climatic variability. Now, the region is increasingly exposed to unprecedented stress from warming temperatures, extreme droughts, deforestation and fires, even in central and remote parts of the system1. Long existing feedbacks between the forest and environmental conditions are being replaced by novel feedbacks that modify ecosystem resilience, increasing the risk of critical transition. Here we analyse existing evidence for five major drivers of water stress on Amazonian forests, as well as potential critical thresholds of those drivers that, if crossed, could trigger local, regional or even biome-wide forest collapse. By combining spatial information on various disturbances, we estimate that by 2050, 10% to 47% of Amazonian forests will be exposed to compounding disturbances that may trigger unexpected ecosystem transitions and potentially exacerbate regional climate change. Using examples of disturbed forests across the Amazon, we identify the three most plausible ecosystem trajectories, involving different feedbacks and environmental conditions. We discuss how the inherent complexity of the Amazon adds uncertainty about future dynamics, but also reveals opportunities for action. Keeping the Amazon forest resilient in the Anthropocene will depend on a combination of local efforts to end deforestation and degradation and to expand restoration, with global efforts to stop greenhouse gas emissions.

BACKGROUND: Wildfire smoke exposure has become a growing public health concern, as megafires and fires at the wildland urban interface increase in incidence and severity. Smoke contains many pollutants that negatively impact health and is linked to a number of health complications and chronic diseases. Communicating effectively with the public, especially at-risk populations, to reduce their exposure to this environmental pollutant has become a public health priority. Although wildfire smoke risk communication research has also increased in the past decade, best practice guidance is limited, and most health communications do not adhere to health literacy principles: readability, accessibility, and actionability. This scoping review identifies peer-reviewed studies about wildfire smoke risk communications to identify gaps in research and evaluation of communications and programs that seek to educate the public. METHODS: Four hundred fifty-one articles were identified from Web of Science and PubMed databases. After screening, 21 articles were included in the final sample for the abstraction process and qualitative thematic analysis. Ten articles were based in the US, with the other half in Australia, Canada, Italy, and other countries. Fifteen articles examined communication materials and messaging recommendations. Eight papers described communication delivery strategies. Eleven articles discussed behavior change. Six articles touched on risk communications for vulnerable populations; findings were limited and called for increasing awareness and prioritizing risk communications for at-risk populations. RESULTS: This scoping review found limited studies describing behavior change to reduce wildfire smoke exposure, characteristics of effective communication materials and messaging, and communication delivery strategies. Literature on risk communications, dissemination, and behavior change for vulnerable populations was even more limited. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations include providing risk communications that are easy-to-understand and adapted to specific needs of at-risk groups. Communications should provide a limited number of messages that include specific actions for avoiding smoke exposure. Effective communications should use mixed media formats and a wide variety of dissemination strategies. There is a pressing need for more intervention research and effectiveness evaluation of risk communications about wildfire smoke exposure, and more development and dissemination of risk communications for both the general public and vulnerable populations.

The intensity and frequency of wildfires in California (CA) have increased in recent years, causing significant damage to human health and property. In October 2007, a number of small fire events, collectively referred to as the Witch Creek Fire or Witch Fire started in Southern CA and intensified under strong Santa Ana winds. As a test of current mesoscale modeling capabilities, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to simulate the 2007 wildfire event in terms of meteorological conditions. The main objectives of the present study are to investigate the impact of horizontal grid resolution and planetary boundary layer (PBL) scheme on the model simulation of meteorological conditions associated with a Mega fire. We evaluate the predictive capability of the WRF model to simulate key meteorological and fire-weather forecast parameters such as wind, moisture, and temperature. Results of this study suggest that more accurate predictions of temperature and wind speed relevant for better prediction of wildfire spread can be achieved by downscaling regional numerical weather prediction products to 1 km resolution. Furthermore, accurate prediction of near-surface conditions depends on the choice of the planetary boundary layer parameterization. The MYNN parameterization yields more accurate prediction as compared to the YSU parameterization. WRF simulations at 1 km resolution result in better predictions of temperature and wind speed than relative humidity during the 2007 Witch Fire. In summary, the MYNN PBL parameterization scheme with finer grid resolution simulations improves the prediction of near-surface meteorological conditions during a wildfire event.

IntroductionThe rise in global temperatures due to climate change has escalated the frequency and intensity of wildfires worldwide. Beyond their direct impact on physical health, these wildfires can significantly impact mental health. Conventional mental health studies predominantly rely on surveys, often constrained by limited sample sizes, high costs, and time constraints. As a result, there is an increasing interest in accessing social media data to study the effects of wildfires on mental health.MethodsIn this study, we focused on Twitter users affected by the California Tubbs Fire in 2017 to extract data signals related to emotional well-being and mental health. Our analysis aimed to investigate tweets posted during the Tubbs Fire disaster to gain deeper insights into their impact on individuals. Data were collected from October 8 to October 31, 2017, encompassing the peak activity period. Various analytical methods were employed to explore word usage, sentiment, temporal patterns of word occurrence, and emerging topics associated with the unfolding crisis.ResultsThe findings show increased user engagement on wildfire-related Tweets, particularly during nighttime and early morning, especially at the onset of wildfire incidents. Subsequent exploration of emotional categories using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) revealed a substantial presence of negative emotions at 43.0%, juxtaposed with simultaneous positivity in 23.1% of tweets. This dual emotional expression suggests a nuanced and complex landscape, unveiling concerns and community support within conversations. Stress concerns were notably expressed in 36.3% of the tweets. The main discussion topics were air quality, emotional exhaustion, and criticism of the president's response to the wildfire emergency.DiscussionSocial media data, particularly the data collected from Twitter during wildfires, provides an opportunity to evaluate the psychological impact on affected communities immediately. This data can be used by public health authorities to launch targeted media campaigns in areas and hours where users are more active. Such campaigns can raise awareness about mental health during disasters and connect individuals with relevant resources. The effectiveness of these campaigns can be enhanced by tailoring outreach efforts based on prevalent issues highlighted by users. This ensures that individuals receive prompt support and mitigates the psychological impacts of wildfire disasters.

Across the Western United States, human development into the wildland urban interface (WUI) is contributing to increasing wildfire damage. Given that natural disasters often cause greater harm within socio-economically vulnerable groups, research is needed to explore the potential for disproportionate impacts associated with wildfire. Using Zillow Transaction and Assessment Database (ZTRAX), hereafter Zillow, real estate data, we explored whether lower-priced structures were more likely to be damaged during the most destructive, recent wildfires in Southern California. Within fire perimeters occurring from 2000-2019, we matched property price data to burned and unburned structures. To be included in the final dataset, fire perimeters had to surround at least 25 burned and 25 unburned structures and have been sold at most seven years before the fire; five fires fit these criteria. We found evidence to support our hypothesis that lower-priced properties were more likely to be damaged, however, the likelihood of damage and the influence of property value significantly varied across individual fire perimeters. When considering fires individually, properties within two 2003 fires-the Cedar and Grand Prix-Old Fires-had statistically significantly decreasing burn damage with increasing property value. Occurring in 2007 and later, the other three fires (Witch-Poomacha, Thomas, and Woolsey) showed no significant relationship between price and damage. Consistent with other studies, topographic position, slope, elevation, and vegetation were also significantly associated with the likelihood of a structure being damaged during the wildfire. Driving time to the nearest fire station and previously identified fire hazard were also significant. Our results suggest that further studies on the extent and reason for disproportionate impacts of wildfire are needed. In the meantime, decision makers should consider allocating wildfire risk mitigation resources-such as fire-fighting and wildfire structural preparedness resources-to more socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods.

Extreme wildfire events, such as the Pantanal 2020 megafires, are expected to become more common. Assessing the impacts of such extreme events on wildlife is imperative for conservation planning. Direct observation of carcasses can provide valuable information on how these impacts relate to spatial heterogeneity.Here, we use double‐observer carcass surveys to assess the numbers and spatial patterns of direct mortalities of medium‐ to large‐sized mammals resulting from the Pantanal 2020 megafires in a large reserve (1080 km2) in the northern Pantanal wetland. Accounting for imperfect detection, we model the spatial variation in mortality occurrence and abundance, testing the effects of habitat‐related variables and wildfire severity using multi‐species N‐mixture models.We found that 26 out of 27 species of medium and large‐sized mammals died from the fires with a mean estimate of around 49 thousand individuals. The most affected species included capuchin monkeys, agoutis, peccaries, tapirs, brocket deer, tamanduas, coatis and capybaras.Direct mortality of mammals by wildfires was affected by landscape factors related to species habitats, species traits (probably related to escape or refuge strategies), and the intensity of the wildfires. Mortalities presented a general positive relationship with non‐flooded forests (a fire‐sensitive habitat in Pantanal) and with the severity of wildfires. Artificial water bodies, a common landscape structure in Pantanal, had 7.5 times more deaths than other areas.Synthesis and applications: With the approach used, we were able to: (i) identify mortality hotspots associated with landscape features; (ii) simultaneously identify the most affected species and assess the average relationships for all the assemblage of medium‐ and large‐sized mammals. We discuss conservation and management actions in two contexts: species prioritization for rescuing and monitoring; and territory prioritization for fire prevention and fighting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A real-time air quality forecasting system was developed using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) to provide support for flight planning activities during the NOAA Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA) and NASA Synergistic TEMPO Air Quality Science (STAQS) 2023 field campaigns. The forecasting system operated on two separate domains centered on Chicago, IL, and New York City, NY, and provided 72-hour predictions of atmospheric composition, aerosols, and clouds. This study evaluates the Chicago-centered forecasting system's 1-, 2-, and 3-day ozone (O3) forecast skill for Chiwaukee Prairie, WI, a rural area downwind of Chicago that often experiences high levels of O3 pollution. Comparisons to vertical O3 profiles collected by a Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) instrument revealed that forecast skill decreases as forecast lead time increases. When compared to surface measurements, the forecasting system tended to underestimate O3 concentrations on high O3 days and overestimate on low O3 days at Chiwaukee Prairie regardless of forecast lead time. Using July 25, 2023, as a case study, analyses show that the forecasts underestimated peak O3 levels at Chiwaukee Prairie during this regionwide bad air quality day. Wind speed and direction data indicates that this underestimation can partially be attributed to lake breeze simulation errors. Surface fine particulate matter (PM2.5) measurements, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-16 (GOES-16) aerosol optical depth (AOD) data, and back trajectories from the NOAA Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model show that transported Canadian wildfire smoke impacted the Lake Michigan region on this day. Errors in the forecasted chemical composition and transport of the smoke plumes also contributed to underpredictions of O3 levels at Chiwaukee Prairie on July 25, 2023. The results of this work help identify improvements that can be made for future iterations of the WRF-Chem forecasting system. Implications: Air quality forecasting is an important tool that can be used to inform the public about upcoming high pollution days so that individuals may plan accordingly to limit their exposure to health-damaging air pollutants. Forecasting also helps scientists make decisions about where to make observations during air quality field campaigns. A variety of observational datasets were used to evaluate the accuracy of an air quality forecasting system that was developed for NOAA and NASA field campaigns that occurred in the summer of 2023. These evaluations inform areas of improvement for future development of this air quality forecasting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the mental health implications of climate-related relocation from the 2023 Maui wildfires. Topics include overlooked tolls of climate-related relocation, cultural and trauma-informed care for vulnerable groups, and the need of future disaster recovery and predisaster prevention initiatives to incorporate comprehensive mental health support, counseling, and community resilience programs to address individuals' mental and emotional needs.

Wildfires pose an immense and escalating threat to national forests. In addition to rising temperatures and accumulating fuels, rapid development of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) has exacerbated wildfire risk by putting more people and property in harm’s way and increasing the likelihood of human-caused fires. While restrictions on WUI development would reduce wildfire risk, varying political and economic pressures have caused substantial variation in how local governments regulate the WUI. Some governments have implemented stringent regulations, while others have permitted unbridled expansion. Such disjointed regulation acutely impacts national forests because WUI homes and communities are often clustered around them. Thus, to effectively protect the nation’s forests from wildfire, a more uniform approach to WUI regulation is necessary. This Comment contends that the Property Clause provides Congress authority to take such an approach. Specifically, this Comment argues the Property Clause grants Congress authority to regulate WUI development on state and private land adjacent to national forests because-by increasing wildfire risk-such development interferes with the purposes for which Congress established those forests. Most importantly, WUI development and the concurrent rise in wildfire risk interfere with national forests’ timber supply and watershed protection functions-the forests’ original and primary purposes. While the Property Clause grants Congress immense authority to regulate federal land-and in some cases, nonfederal land-how far that power goes is an open question. The Supreme Court has yet to define the “furthest reaches” of the Property Clause, but its cases suggest useful principles that may help discern those limits. Building on these cases, this Comment proposes a rule to clarify the limits of the Property Clause as it relates to Congress’s ability to regulate activities on nonfederal land. Specifically, the rule proposed here provides that Congress may use its Property Clause authority to regulate activities on state and private land if the regulated land is adjacent to the federal land Congress seeks to protect, and the regulated activity substantially interferes with the federal land’s primary purpose. If so, then the regulation should be considered a “needful rule respecting public lands” and therefore a lawful exercise of Congress’s Property Clause power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildfire events have increased in frequency and severity across the United States in recent decades. While a growing literature has documented the effects of wildfire smoke exposure on a wide range of health and socioeconomic outcomes, little is known about its impact on consumer behavior and household demand for adaptation in healthcare. We combine a newly developed and digitized dataset on daily wildfire smoke PM2.5 concentrations across the contiguous United States from 2006 to 2019 with weekly NielsenIQ retail scanner data to quantify how wildfire smoke exposure affects retail sales of air purifiers, bottled water, cold remedies, nasal products, cough products, and nutritional products. We find a positive and statistically significant impact of wildfire smoke exposure on the retail sales of these products. Dynamic effects are evident as wildfire smoke exposure in previous weeks also increases current sales. Nonlinear effects arising from the varying intensity of wildfire smoke exposure also reveal distinct patterns of demand for adaptation. We further explore how the effects of wildfire smoke exposure vary with socio-demographic characteristics, focusing on social vulnerability and highlighting the implications of environmental justice. Our results underscore the need for proactive policies to address the increased demand for emergency supplies and healthcare products as household adaptive measures during the wildfire season, particularly targeting socioeconomically vulnerable populations who may be prone to limited access to preventive measures against wildfire smoke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing frequency and size of wildfires across the US necessitates accurate quantitative assessment of evolving wildfire behavior to predict risk from future extreme wildfires. We build a joint model of wildfire counts and burned areas, regressing key model parameters on climate and demographic covariates. We use extended generalized Pareto distributions to model the full distribution of burned areas, capturing both moderate and extreme sizes, while leveraging extreme value theory to focus particularly on the right tail. We model wildfire counts with a zero‐inflated negative binomial model, and join the wildfire counts and burned areas sub‐models using a temporally‐varying shared random effect. Our model successfully captures the trends of wildfire counts and burned areas. By investigating the predictive power of different sets of covariates, we find that fire indices are better predictors of wildfire burned area behavior than individual climate covariates, whereas climate covariates are influential drivers of wildfire occurrence behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to determine the presence of asbestos in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) areas of Attica, Greece affected by wildfires between 2018 and 2021. It concerns the first major campaign that took place in Greece. The samples tested in this work were collected from prespecified buildings of the burned area. The samples included different types of building materials such as bricks, wall coatings, insulation plates etc. Soil samples nearby the buildings were also collected to examine dispersion of the fibers. The identification of asbestos was based on the optical properties of the fibrous particles and was performed with stereo microscope and Polarized Light Microscopy according to P401 provided by BOHS (Health and Safety Executive (HSE) 2021). Scanning Electron Microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy was also used to validate the presence of asbestos and determine its chemical composition. In this work, 2 different types of asbestos were determined, chrysotile and crocidolite. In some cases, fragments of asbestos containing materials were also detected in the afore-mentioned soil samples indicating dispersion of asbestos containing debris in an area around the burned spots. The presence of asbestos that was identified in this preliminary study could raise concerns to humans in the urban areas. For that reason, a risk assessment for the identified asbestos containing materials (ACMs) was conducted according to the guidelines on management and abatement of ACMs of Health and Safety Authority and the Asbestos: Survey guide, Appendix 4: Material assessment algorithm of Health and Safety Executive (HSE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatories (OCO‐2 and OCO‐3) provide measurements of column‐averaged carbon dioxide concentrations (XCO2) with sufficient spatial resolution and precision to constrain bottom‐up estimates of CO2 fluxes at regional scales. We use Bayesian inversion methods assimilating satellite retrievals to improve estimates of CO2 fluxes in the South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) which surrounds Los Angeles, and in the San Francisco Bay Area Air Basin (SFBA). We study 2020 to understand the impact of the COVID‐19 lockdowns and an active wildfire season. Our results indicated that a 50% (30%) reduction in CO2 emissions relative to 2015 during the COVID‐19 lockdown period was consistent with OCO measurements for SFBA (SoCAB). We find that posterior wildfire emissions differed significantly from the prior at the scale of individual wildfires, though with large uncertainties, and that wildfire emissions in SFBA are significant, attributing 72% of the region's CO2 emissions during August 2020 to wildfires. Plain Language Summary: Satellites can measure variations in carbon dioxide concentrations over urban areas. These measurements can be combined with models of the atmosphere to validate estimates of carbon dioxide emissions. We use this approach to better understand emissions in and around San Francisco and Los Angeles, the two major cities in California. We study the year 2020 to see how emissions changed in response to COVID‐19 lockdowns and to observe emissions from wildfires. The satellite measurements combined with the atmospheric model provide us with updated emission estimates that more closely match the measurements and provide greater certainty than our initial estimate of emissions. We also observe reduced emissions during lockdowns in both cities, updated emissions at the scale of individual wildfires, and large emissions from wildfires during peak wildfire season in the San Francisco Bay Area. Key Points: Satellite measurements can be used to validate emission inventories of CO2 within urban areas of CaliforniaChanges in CO2 emissions due to COVID‐19 lockdowns and wildfires in 2020 are captured by satellitesDuring August 2020, wildfires were responsible for 72% of CO2 emissions in the Bay Area [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting environmental disturbances and evaluating their potential impacts on the habitats of various plant and animal species is a suitable strategy for guiding conservation efforts. Wildfires are a type of disturbance that can affect many aspects of an ecosystem and its species. Therefore, through the integration of spatial models and species distribution models (SDMs), we can make informed predictions of the occurrence of such phenomena and their potential impacts. This study focused on five focal species, namely, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), wild goat (Capra aegagrus), wild sheep (Ovis orientalis), wildcat (Felis silvestris), and striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena). This study used MODIS active fire data and ensemble machine learning methods to model the risk of wildfire occurrence in 2023 for spring, summer, and autumn separately. This study also investigated the suitability of habitats for focal species via SDMs. The predicted probability maps for wildfire risk and habitat suitability were converted to binary values via the true skill statistic (TSS) threshold. The overlap of the habitat suitability map and wildfire occurrence areas was analyzed via GAP analysis. The area prone to fire in spring, summer and winter is equal to 9077.32; 10,199.83 and 13,723.49 KM2 were calculated, which indicates an increase in wildfire risk. Proximity to roads is one of the most important factors affecting the possible effects of wildfires in all seasons. Most fire occurrences are concentrated on agricultural lands, which, when integrated with other land use types, have wildfire potential in all seasons. The use of fire to destroy agricultural residues is a critical factor in the occurrence of wildfires. The distribution range of each focal species is considered the most important component of fire susceptibility. Hence, the suitable habitat for Hyaena hyaena in spring, summer, and autumn, with areas of 5.257, 5.856, and 6.889 km2 respectively, is the most affected by the possibility of fire. In contrast, these areas have the lowest values for Ovis orientalis, with 162, 127, and 396 km2 respectively. Therefore, species that are dependent on human-based ecosystems have the highest vulnerability to wildfire. Conservation efforts should focus on familiarizing farmers with methods of destroying agricultural residues as well as the consequences of intentional fires. The findings of this study can be used to mitigate the negative impacts of wildfire and protect the habitat of focal species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most destructive and deadly wildfires in US history were also fast. Using satellite data, we analyzed the daily growth rates of more than 60,000 fires from 2001 to 2020 across the contiguous US. Nearly half of the ecoregions experienced destructive fast fires that grew more than 1620 hectares in 1 day. These fires accounted for 78% of structures destroyed and 61% of suppression costs ($18.9 billion). From 2001 to 2020, the average peak daily growth rate for these fires more than doubled (+249% relative to 2001) in the Western US. Nearly 3 million structures were within 4 kilometers of a fast fire during this period across the US. Given recent devastating wildfires, understanding fast fires is crucial for improving firefighting strategies and community preparedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Southeastern Siberia (SES) region has recently experienced increasingly extensive wildfires in spring, which have threatened its large carbon sequestration capacity from vast forests and peatlands. However, the underlying mechanisms propelling the increased fires and their potential responses to future climate change remain unclear. Here, by using reanalysis data and climate model output together with a deep learning model, we explore the relationship between positive-phase North Atlantic Tripole (NAT) sea-surface temperature anomalies and SES wildfire increases and project the future trend in SES wildfire intensities under climate change. We found that the positive-phase April NAT enhances the Siberian anticyclone, causing increased temperatures and snowmelt via strengthened transport of warm-air advection into the SES region. The latter process heightens the exposure of local high-density peatlands to favorable conditions for fire ignition and leads to more intensive wildfire incidents. We further demonstrate that the projected NAT variations can drive interdecadal changes in future April SES wildfires. With future phase shifting of NAT modes under global warming, the regionally averaged burned area in SES could be increased by 47–62% under different warming scenarios from 1982–2014 to 2015–2100. Our findings reveal the climate-driven escalation of future wildfires in SES in the context of global warming and call for active and urgent fire management strategies to mitigate the fire risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape fragmentation is statistically correlated with both increases and decreases in wildfire burned area (BA). These different directions-of-impact are not mechanistically understood. Here, road density, a land fragmentation proxy, is implemented in a CMIP6 coupled land-fire model, to represent fragmentation edge effects on fire-relevant environmental variables. Fragmentation caused modelled BA changes of over ±10% in 16% of [0.5°] grid-cells. On average, more fragmentation decreased net BA globally (−1.5%), as estimated empirically. However, in recently-deforested tropical areas, fragmentation drove observationally-consistent BA increases of over 20%. Globally, fragmentation-driven fire BA decreased with increasing population density, but was a hump-shaped function of it in forests. In some areas, fragmentation-driven decreases in BA occurred alongside higher-intensity fires, suggesting the decoupling of fire severity traits. This mechanistic model provides a starting point for quantifying policy-relevant fragmentation-fire impacts, whose results suggest future forest degradation may shift fragmentation from net global fire inhibitor to net fire driver. Widespread global occurrence of roads break up the landscape and may be a powerful driver of increasing fire activity and intensity in less populated and less frequently burned regions, such as tropical forests, while decreasing fire on average at global scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Capturing how tree growth and survival vary through space and time is critical to understanding the structure and dynamics of tree‐dominated ecosystems. However, characterising demographic processes at scale is inherently challenging, as trees are slow‐growing, long‐lived and cover vast expanses of land. We used repeat airborne laser scanning data acquired across 25 km2 of semi‐arid, old‐growth temperate woodland in Western Australia to track the height growth, crown expansion and mortality of 42 213 individual trees over 9 yr. We found that demographic rates are constrained by a combination of tree size, competition and topography. After initially investing in height growth, trees progressively shifted to crown expansion as they grew larger, while mortality risk decreased considerably with size. Across the landscape, both tree growth and survival increased with topographic wetness, resulting in vegetation patterns that are strongly spatially structured. Moreover, biomass gains from woody growth generally outpaced losses from mortality, suggesting these old‐growth woodlands remain a net carbon sink in the absence of wildfires. Our study sheds new light on the processes that shape the dynamics and spatial structure of semi‐arid woody ecosystems and provides a roadmap for using emerging remote sensing technologies to track tree demography at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Extreme wildfires have devastating impacts on multiple fronts, and associated carbon greatly heats the earth's climate. Whether and how to predict wildfires becomes a critical question. In this study, we find that the preceding-winter "warm Arctic-cold Eurasia" (WACE) pattern significantly enlarges the spring burned area in West Siberia. The winter WACE and accompanying snow reduction result in dryness and vegetation exposure in West Siberia in spring, increasing fire risks. A multiple linear regression model is constructed that successfully predicts the spring burned area in West Siberia one season in advance (R-squared coefficient=0.64). The same predictors also well predict the corresponding fire carbon emissions. Independent predictions for spring burned area in 2019 and 2020 are very close to observations, with a mean absolute percentage error of only 3.0%. The findings of this study provide a possibility for guarding humans against extreme wildfires and predicting sharp rises in carbon emissions. The authors show that the winter "warm Arctic-cold Eurasia" pattern significantly enhances spring fire activity in West Siberia, contributing to the prediction of wildfire burned area, and resulting CO2 emissions, one season in advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real estate sector is significantly impacted by climate change, with effects ranging from increasing risks of flooding and wildfires to shifting demand for certain types of property. These impacts influence insurance prices, property maintenance procedures, and the overall desirability of specific homes. While climate risk is acknowledged in the financial industry, its implications for the commercial and residential real estate sector are mostly studied in developed countries, with limited research in developing countries like Nigeria. This study attempts to fill this gap by exploring the potential impacts of climate change on residential properties in Lagos State, Nigeria, using Wemabod properties as a case study. The methodology involved analyzing primary data collected from residents of Wemabod Estate, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, with purposive sampling used to recruit 100 participants due to absence of reliable census data. Data analysis was conducted using mean rank, t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Findings showed that most respondents demonstrated a good level of awareness about climate change. Analysis revealed that residential characteristics such as age, gender, level of education, and knowledge level of climate risk significantly influenced residents' climate change coping and adaptation strategies, with notable mean differences in knowledge and perception based on these factors. The major perceived effects of climate change included extreme heat and flooding, followed by strong winds and irregular rainfall, leading to property impacts such as peeling paint, wall cracks, roof leakage, foundation shake, and burst pipes. These findings indicate that extreme heat and flooding are the primary climate change manifestations affecting residential properties in Lagos State. Property owners should implement measures to protect against these effects, regularly inspect and maintain their properties, consider climate risk in their insurance and maintenance plans, and stay informed about climate change impacts. This study underscores the need for further research on climate change's impact on real estate in developing countries to better understand and mitigate these risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New approaches are needed to resolve persistent geographic gaps and biases in paleofire research. Most sedimentary paleofire research relies on lake and peat sediments. We present an unconventional sedimentary charcoal record preserved in a modern, post‐bomb bat guano deposit and compare its accumulation to historical fire data. We find strong correlations between charcoal accumulation rates (CHAR) and non‐winter prescribed burns. CHAR in bat guano is more strongly correlated with prescribed fire than wildfire or total area burned, likely due to bats seeking out areas burned by prescribed fire for better foraging opportunities and/or bats avoiding wildfire. We attribute the CHAR in guano being a better recorder of area burned during non‐winter months to winter bat hibernation. Our analyses show that charcoal preserved in bat guano is a reliable paleofire proxy system, which has important implications for the paleofire field and encourages future research using bat guano as a viable archive. Plain Language Summary: Charcoal preserved in sediments can be used to reconstruct fire history. The bulk of these studies focus on traditional sediments (e.g., lakes, peats). We try this out with bat guano, a very unconventional sediment system. By comparing charcoal preserved in guano with historical fire maps, we show that guano charcoal reliably reconstructs fire history. But, it is even better at reconstructing non‐winter fire (due to bat hibernation during the winter) and prescribed fire (due to bats avoiding wildfire and seeking out prescribed fire areas). Our work is an important first step to show that charcoal in bat guano is a reliable method. It also opens new doors for understanding fire history more broadly, due to the seasonal and behavioral uniqueness of bats. Key Points: Fire history is recorded by charcoal in bat guanoBat guano can differentiate human‐set fires from wildfiresBat behavior governs seasonal lens of guano as fire recorder [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds (pyroCbs) generated by intense wildfires can serve as a direct pathway for the injection of aerosols and gaseous pollutants into the lower stratosphere, resulting in significant chemical, radiative, and dynamical changes. Canada experienced an extremely severe wildfire season in 2023, with a total area burned that substantially exceeded those of previous events known to have impacted the stratosphere (such as the 2020 Australian fires). This season also had record-high pyroCb activity, which raises the question of whether the 2023 Canadian event resulted in significant stratospheric perturbations. Here, we investigate this anomalous wildfire season using retrievals from multiple satellite instruments, ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment – Fourier transform spectrometer), OMPS LP (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite Limb Profiler), and MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder), to determine the vertical extents of the wildfire smoke along with chemical signatures of biomass burning. These data show that smoke primarily reached the upper troposphere, and only a nominal amount managed to penetrate the tropopause. Only a few ACE-FTS occultations captured elevated abundances of biomass-burning products in the lowermost stratosphere. OMPS LP aerosol measurements also indicate that any smoke that made it past the tropopause did not last long enough or reach high enough to significantly perturb stratospheric composition. While this work focuses on Canadian wildfires given the extensive burned area, pyroCbs at other longitudes (e.g., Siberia) are also captured in the compositional analysis. These results highlight that despite the formation of many pyroCbs in major wildfires, those capable of penetrating the tropopause are extremely rare; this in turn means that even a massive area burned is not necessarily an indicator of stratospheric effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted in the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon and aimed to assess the effects of human activities on woody vegetation in gallery forests, based on floristic inventories and observations made by the government. Firstly, the inventories were carried out in 150 plots of 1000 m2 each, installed on the banks of watercourses following the band of plant formations. In each plot, woody species were counted and those showing at least one sign of degradation were noted. Secondly, the survey was conducted in 18 administrative structures made up of delegations (MINFOF, MINADER, MINEPDED, and MINEPIA) and town halls. One hundred woody species, grouped into 63 genera and 30 families, have been inventoried, in which 45 species showed at least one sign of damage caused by human being. The species most affected are Anogeissus leiocarpus (67 stems), Azadirachta indica (46 stems), Diospyros mespiliformis (43 stems), Acacia albida (42 stems), Andira inermis (30 stems), Acacia sieberiana (23 stems), Khaya senegalensis (19 stems), Ficus sycomorus (13 stems), and Acacia polyacantha (10 stems). The most recurrent activity in the gallery forests is pruning (212 stems), followed by cutting (93 stumps), then picking (71 individuals). However, there are fewer debarked trees (11) and trees with fire trail (6). According to the responses provided, logging (77.78%), agriculture (72.22%), population growth (44.44%), grazing (33.33%), and bush fires (33.33%) are the main causes of the degradation of plant formations in the Mandara Mountains. These main factors could have a negative impact on biodiversity if appropriate integrated management measures are not taken. To maintain these vital ecosystems, an integrated management plan must be put in place, limiting human activities to a minimum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is the primary driver of wildfires in humid regions, and the main drought drivers for wildfire occurrence and spread vary across different humid climatic areas. This study explores the suitability of different drought descriptions for wildfires under various humid temperate climates in Japan. Based on wildfire data from 1995 to 2012, statistical and correlation analyses were conducted to examine the performance of effective humidity (EH) and soil moisture (SM) as indicators of atmospheric and soil drought. EH is used for nationwide wildfire and drought warnings in Japan. The results show that EH is significantly influenced by seasonal and regional factors, with its ability to assess drought for wildfire varying accordingly, whereas SM demonstrates a more consistent ability to assess drought across different seasons and regions. Correlation analysis revealed that atmospheric drought better explains the drought conditions for wildfire ignition in 11 prefectures, mainly concentrated in the northern regions along the Sea of Japan. In contrast, the correlation coefficients for SM were higher in 33 prefectures, particularly along the Pacific coast, indicating that soil drought better explains the drought conditions for burned areas in these prefectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been limited research on the health impacts of extreme bushfire exposure among emergency responders (ER) involved in suppressing extreme bushfires. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between extreme bushfires and ER's compensated injury and illness in Victoria, Australia. State-wide ER compensation claims from January 2005 to April 2023 were analysed. Logistic regression modelling was used to identify factors associated with compensation claims during the extreme bushfire periods in 2009 and 2019/20, compared to all other claims, adjusting for seasonality (summer). Of the 44,164 included claims, 1105 (2.5%) had recorded injury/disease onset dates within extreme bushfire periods, and 11,642 (26.4%) occurred in summer months. Over half of claims were made by police (52.4%), followed by ambulance officers/paramedics (27.2%) and firefighters (20.5%). Extreme bushfire period claims were associated with older workers (odds ratio/OR = 1.58,95%CI = 1.30–1.92, ages ≥ 55 vs. 35–44 years). Mental disorders (OR = 1.61,95%CI = 1.25–2.07), intracranial injuries (OR = 3.04,95%CI = 1.69–5.48) and infections/parasites (OR = 3.11,95%CI = 1.61–5.98) vs. wounds were associated with extreme bushfire period claims. Given the expected increase in extreme bushfire events and the ageing workforce, study findings underscore the importance of primary and secondary prevention in ER. This can include periodic health surveillance for older workers, access to early treatment, and ongoing support for mental health conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe rise in natural disasters and climate-induced events, such as wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding, has significantly affected urban life. These events can disrupt daily activity and flows of individuals and goods on road and transit networks. To enhance urban resilience against disasters, it’s crucial to study and understand road network vulnerability, utilizing data-driven insights to inform planning and preparedness efforts. The aim of this paper is to develop a data-driven exploratory approach to assess vulnerability in road networks in response to a disruption. To accomplish this, we compare the centrality of road segments before, during, and after disaster, considering the network topological structure and movement activity as it is observed through large tracking data of cellphone traces on the network. The novelty of our approach lies in inferring the impact from movement data, instead of manually removing links from the network. The results obtained from this study suggest that incorporating movement data into the assessment of network functionality provides a more realistic estimation of the road network vulnerability in response to a disruption, compared to solely using network topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]