Aerial view of burned down houses from the 2020 Almeda wildfire in Southern Oregon, USA

Equitable Risk Reduction

Address the social and economic vulnerabilities of people in the community.

Taking action for equitable risk reduction can affect susceptibility.

About Equitable Risk Reduction

The impacts of wildfire are too often borne disproportionately by historically marginalized communities and are compounded by systemic inequities. Research shows that neighborhoods that are majority Black, Native American or Hispanic are approximately 50% more vulnerable to wildland fire. Families in poverty, those over 65 years of age, people with access and functional needs, and those without transportation are more likely to experience the negative impacts of wildfire. People who lack access to resources, experience cultural and institutional barriers, have limited mobility, or have compromised physical health are more vulnerable to wildfire and other disasters. For example, wildfires may disproportionately affect those living in poverty because of factors such as inadequate housing, social exclusion, and a diminished ability to mitigate or relocate.

You can explore the Vulnerable Populations section of this website to identify neighborhoods where people may have disproportionate impacts from wildfire.

Explore your community’s risk.

Video courtesy Wenatchee, Washington and Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network.

Video courtesy Headwaters Economics.

Getting Started with Equitable Wildfire Risk Reduction

Start with the whole community

Successful community risk reduction includes whole communities. Understanding your community, its wildfire risks, and how wildfire impacts are distributed across the population can help create more widespread and equitable risk reduction. Explore data for your community.

Build Relationships

Taking the time to build relationships and trust with community partners is an essential step. Go to community-based organizations, faith-based groups, nonprofits, and others working across your community to listen and learn.

Adapt

By working together, partners can ensure that risk-reduction programs, materials, and supports are available and accessible to all. This may mean modifying existing programs or creating entirely new strategies to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.

Find additional tools, checklists, training modules, and more in this free, two-page handout.

Read the story of equitable risk reduction in Austin, Texas.

Explore your community’s risk.

Community Tools

Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network

The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network connects and supports people and communities who are striving to live more safely with wildfire. The purpose of FAC Net is to exchange information, collaborate to enhance the practice of fire adaptation, and work together and at multiple scales to help communities live safely with fire. This includes embracing resiliency concepts and taking action before, during and after wildfires. They offer a Fire Adapted Communities Self-Assessment Tool (FAC SAT) to help communities assess their level of fire adaptation and track their capacity to live safely with fire over time

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Hispanic Access Foundation Wildfire Toolkit

Latino communities are more vulnerable to experiencing the adverse effects of wildfires. The Hispanic Access Foundation Wildfire Toolkit provides resources about regulations and policies, public and mental health, and response and recovery issues to help communities address Latino considerations related to wildfire.

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Populations at Risk

Populations at Risk– a tool from Headwaters Economics–generates free, customized reports with socioeconomic information about populations more likely to experience adverse social, health, or economic outcomes due to their race, age, gender, poverty status, or other factors. Reports use data from the Census’ American Community Survey (ACS) and are available at multiple scales, from neighborhoods to states.

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Neighborhoods at Risk

Neighborhoods at Risk– a tool from Headwaters Economics–generates customized, interactive maps and reports that describe characteristics of potentially vulnerable neighborhoods (by census tract). See where impacts from climate change are likely to impact the most vulnerable people and view community-level climate projections for temperature and precipitation.

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Government Alliance on Race & Equity

The Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) is working to achieve racial equity throughout the nation. Tools and resources available through GARE include issue papers and toolkits, including a Racial Equity tool that provides a broad framework for communities seeking to better integrate racial equity into their work.

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