As residents of Paradise rake through the ashes and pick up the pieces after the devastation of the Camp fire that destroyed their Northern California town, you might say it’s a consolation to know that none of the 85 people who died there were children.
Might. Because the obverse of that fact — no teens or young adults died, either — is that most of the people who did die were elderly or disabled. As the San Francisco Chronicle reported this week: “The 46 named victims so far were, on average, 71 years old. The youngest was 39; the oldest 95. Many had physical disabilities and couldn’t flee. Some refused to leave, unable to see, hear or smell the impending danger, or lacking the cognitive abilities to acknowledge it.”
So, in the long list called What Californians Have Learned from the New Abnormal Permanent Fire Season, clearly we must include the fact that fast-moving fires are simply too fast for those who can’t run like the wind to escape from.
Their deaths, UC San Francisco physician Christine Ritchie told the Chronicle, are both “heart-wrenching and altogether not surprising.” And, yes, it has always been the case with natural disasters that older adults and those with disabilities are at a higher risk. In Hurricane Katrina, almost half of about 1,000 victims were 75 years or older. The average age was 69.
Since these are the facts, our society must find a way to use what we know to in the future save the lives of a group of people who make up an increasingly large segment of our population. It’s not entirely about the ability to flee. Very much also in the mix are modes of communication older Americans use so that they can be warned of impending disaster and pre-education about how and where to get to higher ground or fire-free places. Not everyone has Facebook Messenger on their smart phones. Some of this education can be instigated by traditional government agencies, from city councils to fire and police departments in charge of public safety. But government can’t be everywhere, which most of the time we should be thankful for.
Neighborhood organization can be key to saving lives. Younger singles and families on a block — or in rural areas, in a wider area — can be responsible for getting word to older residents. Even when someone in their 90s might not constantly be online, those who are can get warnings to those who aren’t.
Future fire safety in California is not all about massive programs of tree-chopping and controlled burns. It’s very much also about ensuring there is more than one or two ways out of a disaster-struck region. It’s about creating defensible space around homes. The California Chaparral Institute’s Richard Halsey wrote in the Los Angeles Times about ensuring every neighborhood has a wide-open paved area or grassy field where fires can’t get to. One such “fire park” was used by Paradise first responders to save the lives of 150 people who were trapped in gridlock trying to get out of town. And he says that community emergency response teams made up of volunteers need to be formed to help the stranded elderly and knock down ember-caused spot fires.
No one says it’s going to be easy to save the elderly and the infirm in coming disasters. But individuals working together are our best hope.
