Impacts of Wildfire on Children

Our world is increasingly experiencing wildfires that are both more frequent and intense. This is exacerbating the risk of wildfire disasters, particularly on the wildland-urban interface where ongoing development and population growth is exposing greater numbers of people to potential damage and loss. There is also increasing evidence that children are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of wildfires. While the earliest studies can be traced back to southeastern Australia in the mid-1980s, the last decade has seen a surge of child-focused research in fire-affected communities. This contribution synthesizes the key findings of that research to provide an overview of the known impacts of wildfire on children - from fatalities and injuries to adverse effects on physical and mental health, educational achievement, family functioning, and social connectedness. It also highlights how a shift toward participatory research methodologies is providing increased understanding of how children are impacted by and cope with wildfires. While knowledge gaps remain, the existing research provides a strong foundation for the ongoing development of evidence-informed policy and practice that serves the specific needs of children before, during, and after wildfire events.