LA Fire Disaster: Protecting Children in Physical and Psychological Harm’s Way
The massive fire catastrophe in LA will be remembered as one of the most devastating disasters in modern U.S. history. Having worked on the prevention of, response to, and recovery from megadisasters for many years, I have watched how the devastation of such events impacts communities and people, especially people with important vulnerabilities like chronic illnesses, mobility challenges, and other conditions, including people who are economically fragile.
Wildfires are decimating the West and choking the East — it's time for solutions
In California there's an opportunity to lead the nation in building resilience
The scourge of wildfires yet again in California has the hallmarks of recurrent disaster nightmare for America’s most populous state. Last year’s fire season — in which the Camp Fire took more than 80 lives in the devastated town of Paradise alone — may have been the first glimpse into a future of almost dystopian threats to communities throughout the state, and the nation. However, from understanding the complexity of the causes of these events, there is an opportunity to re-write the way California approaches wildfires. In doing so, they can also provide a much needed roadmap for resilience for the rest of the nation.