The below blog was written by a California-China China Climate Institute Travel and Fieldwork Grant Receipient Student, Erica Anjum, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley. It serves as one of the culminating outcomes of the student fieldwork project, "Marginalized Community Resilience to Wildfires."

This summer, I conducted site visits, interviews, and focus groups with decision-makers and planners involved in local wildfire recovery and preparedness efforts, as well as impacted residents. Although many sites were rural, my research prioritizes understanding the vulnerabilities of urban minorities, particularly migrants in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and adjacent counties, who frequently face evacuation. I focused on middle-income Asian American households in suburban areas, where relative wealth can obscure adaptive capacity. Their ability to prepare for and recover from disasters often depends on resources shared across multiple generations and mixed-citizenship households: in my research, I investigated what strategies they are deploying to mitigate risks. 

Several cross-cutting themes emerged from my fieldwork. 

One significant issue echoed by several planning offices is the lack of direct communication pathways between recipients of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Local planning offices prepare questions and concerns, which are sent to state agencies and then forwarded to HUD, leading to delays and frustration among local officials and impacted individuals. There is a strong desire and opportunity to share power and knowledge between local, state, and federal agencies; for instance, by scheduling quarterly or semi-annual check-ins with HUD and all key stakeholders at the table. 

There are also opportunities for local planners to collaborate more closely with Homeowners Associations (HOAs), which have become crucial in supporting fire preparedness and evacuation efforts. In Riverside County, an HOA board member noted the shared challenges faced by households with younger children who come home from school early, elderly members who do not speak English, and parents working far from home. After several stressful evacuations, residents activated the HOA to coordinate door-to-door checks, ensuring assistance for evacuation preparation, which included packing essentials and providing translation services. Such initiatives illustrate how local planners can leverage HOAs for effective evacuation planning. 

Another theme is the necessity of rebuilding a sense of home rather than just physical structures. Residents emphasized the importance of landscaping and noted that funding for rebuilding is often delayed and insufficient to rebuild homes, and leaves a major gap in resources for planting trees and vegetation in public and private spaces. Many interviewees also expressed feelings of community loss and social fragmentation following disasters and highlighted the importance of social and cultural spaces. While local recovery plans prioritize climate resilience, they often overlook cultural infrastructure, which is vital for fostering community ties. 

Lastly, the role of women in recovery and resilience efforts is significant but not well understood. Women made up the majority of interview participants and often held key positions in local planning offices and community organizations. Their informal roles as central nodes connecting social and physical infrastructure are crucial for post-disaster recovery. Understanding their contributions and challenges is essential for developing more effective support systems in these contexts.

Photo information: Love Locks at Lookout Point in Paradise, California five years after the devastating Camp Fire.