See How Wildfires Endanger Older Californians — And It’s Getting Worse

From CalMatters:

By Lo Bénichou, Molly Peterson and Lisa Pickoff-White

The investigation: Nursing homes weren’t ready for a pandemic. They’re not ready for wildfire, either

The interactive: See how wildfires endanger older Californians — and it’s getting worseThe guide: Disaster planning in nursing homes: The questions to ask your loved one’s facility

The methodology: How we analyzed where older Californians are at increased risk for wildfire

By Lo Bénichou; Molly Peterson; Lisa Pickoff-White

California is aging faster than the rest of the country. In 10 years, the state projects the
number
of people over 65 will grow to 8.6 million.“There is absolutely a colliding of the
events of
both population aging and climate change,” said University of South Florida gerontologist
Kathryn
Hyer.

During the Camp Fire, the average age of those who died in Butte County was 72. Because of this
and
other disasters, the state says taking care of vulnerable people is a priority.

Most of the town of Paradise is in a state-designated High-Risk Fire Zone. These zones are meant
to
focus resources on protecting people in harm’s way.“We need to know what parts of this
state
are most at risk for wildfires,“ Gov. Gavin Newsom said last year. “Seniors don’t have the
mobility
many others have.“

We mapped the state’s moderate, high and very high
risk
fire zones. Cal Fire used vegetation, fire history and topography to create these maps.
They’re being updated to better account for risk.

So, we added scientific maps that show where sprawl and building increase risk: in the
wildland-urban
interface where development is near open lands, and the
intermix where houses and wildlands commingle. Rural
areas
also burn: some are mainly vegetation, and
others are sparsely inhabited.

Combined, these zones show how fire is a daunting hazard across much of California.

In 2017, the North Bay fires ate up swaths of Santa Rosa, where grass and oak woodlands meet
urban
sprawl. Managers at two assisted living centers abandoned about 100 people, who were rescued by
first responders and family members. Those facilities are on probation, but remain open.

There are more than 10,000 long-term care facilities in California, from six-bed assisted living
homes to large nursing centers.

Our analysis found that 35% of these facilities are in risky areas. With as many as 105,000
residents
to safeguard if fire comes, these care home operators must now consider how to evacuate during a
pandemic, a more complicated and difficult task.

Since new federal emergency preparedness rules took effect in 2017, regulators have caught most
of
the nursing homes in the state violating them, according to public records.

One of those facilities is Riverside Heights Healthcare Center. In 2019, a fast-moving brush fire
in
nearby Jurupa Valley forced a sudden evacuation, with patients gathered out along the Pomona
Freeway.“There was one moment when I could see nothing but dark smoke and I was like,
‘We’re
going to die,’“ one staffer told the AP.

Most Californians 65 and older don’t live in care homes though, and are especially vulnerable to
fires physically, mentally, economically and socially.In 23 counties, older Californians
overwhelmingly choose to live in fire-prone areas. Including in San Luis Obispo County, where
82%
do.

That means nearly 2 million older Californians live in the red areas where wildfire is a
formidable
threat.

© Mapbox © OpenStreetMap Improve this map

Sources: Cal Fire’s Fire Hazard Severity
Zones, SILVIS lab at the University of Wisconsin Wildland Urban InterfaceCalifornia
Department of Social Services (CDSS) regulated facilitiesCalifornia
Department of Public Health (CDPH) regulated long-term-care facilitiesIPUMS American Community Survey, 5-Year ACSTo analyze how care
facilities are prepared to handle fires or other emergencies we requested data for fire and emergency
violations over a two year period from CDPH and CDSS.Photo: A burned neighborhood in
Paradise
seen on Nov. 15, 2018. (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

We want to hear from you

Want to submit a guest commentary or reaction to an article we wrote? You can find our submission guidelines here. Please contact Gary Reed with any commentary questions: gary@calmatters.org, (916) 234-3081.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. Sign up for our newsletters and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.