Social drivers of vulnerability to wildfire disasters: A review of the literature

The increase of wildfire disasters globally has highlighted the need to understand and mitigate human vulner-ability to wildfire. In response, there has been a substantial uptick in efforts to characterize and quantify wildfire vulnerability. Such efforts have largely focused on quantifying potential wildfire exposure and frequently overlooked the individual and community vulnerability to wildfire. Here, we review the emergent literature on social vulnerability to wildfire by synthesizing factors related to exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity that contribute to a population's or community's overall vulnerability to wildfires. We identify how those factors subsequently affect an individual's or community's agency to enact change, and highlight that many of the current paradigms for reducing wildfire vulnerability fail to acknowledge and address the importance of in-equalities that create differential vulnerability. We suggest that paying attention to the systems and conditions that give rise to such vulnerability can ameliorate these shortcomings by centering solutions which address adaptation equity rather than landscape outcomes.

Automated summary

The increase of wildfire disasters globally has led to efforts to understand and mitigate human vulnerability. However, current approaches focus mainly on quantifying potential exposure and overlook individual and community vulnerability. This review highlights the need for addressing social vulnerability to wildfires by considering factors related to exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. It also emphasizes the importance of addressing inequalities in reducing wildfire vulnerability.