Ecologist: Black communities more vulnerable to wildfires

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The report, titled “The unequal vulnerability of communities of color to wildfire,” assessed wildfire vulnerability by identifying which Census tracts were disproportionately impacted by factors such as demographics, housing, transportation, language, education, and socioeconomic status.

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“Communities that are mostly Black, Latinx, Native American experience 50% greater vulnerability to wildfire than other communities. Meaning that they will have much more difficulty both responding to and recovering from a disturbance like fire,” said Huago.

Local, state, and federal wildfire responses should keep that in mind, Huago said.

“[Minority communities] are particularly vulnerable. They need to be central to our society’s planning and response to the fire disasters. I think too often we look at only the fire side of the equation. We need to be looking at the community side of the equation just as much,” said Huago, who currently lives in Portland, Ore., where the air quality became hazardous as a result of wildfires sweeping across the state.

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