Studying Wildfires and Mental Health
Evacuations Can Calm Some Doubts, Raise Others
In July 2008 the Gap Fire roared out of the foothills to consume nearly 10,000 acres of the Goleta Valley; four months later the Tea Fire hit the Santa Barbara area, gobbling another 2,000 acres of some of the South Coast’s priciest real estate.
A person might think that two such conflagrations would be enough to make everyone extremely cautious when dealing with dry brush and spark-creating equipment. Instead, in May 2009 locals confronted the human-caused, 8,700-acre-plus Jesusita Fire.
While the three wildfires together destroyed more than 300 structures, fatalities and injuries were low: One man died of a heart attack and 55 people were treated for injuries. Approximately 50,000 people were reported evacuated from their homes and residences, some more than once, during this roughly 10-month period.
