Wildfires are a threat to mental health that can linger even years later

With unprecedented wildfires sweeping the Los Angeles area, people may face threats not just their physical safety but also their mental health – and not just immediately after the fire passes.

Dr. Jyoti Mishra personally knows how much stress can come with a wildfire. The associate director of the UC Climate Change and Mental Health Council and associate professor of psychiatry works at the University of California, San Diego. Her city isn’t currently experiencing wildfires, but her LA-based family has fled to her home. “All our family from LA is here with us, and we’re happy they’ve made it,” Mishra said Thursday. “We’re hoping their home is safe up there, but we don’t know yet.” Uncertainty about losing a home or a neighborhood is one factor, studies have showed, that can contribute to an increase in mental health problems among people who experience wildfires. Mishra’s research on the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California showed that people who were personally affected by wildfires were significantly more likely to have anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress than members of communities that had not been exposed to a fire. “It can also make you feel cognitively impacted, as well,” Mishra said. “Our work has shown that it’s hard to pay attention to a singular thing when everything around you feels like it’s threatening you.” That means the hundreds of thousands of people who are under evacuation orders or warnings amid some of the worst wildfires in the history of the Los Angeles area face threats not just their physical safety but also their mental health – and not just immediately after the fire passes. Mishra’s studies have also showed that some people experienced problems months, or even years, after wildfires.