An international team of researchers at the University of Freiburg and Stanford University investigated how social and economic disparities impact the ability of communities in California to protect themselves against wildfires. The study focused on roof renewals, one of the most effective but also most cost-intensive measures for making homes more resistant to fire. The researchers published their study on significant disparities in wildfire protection in the journal Nature Communications.
The researchers investigated the relationship between economic weakness and wildfire protection in communities by analyzing building permits from 16 counties in California with 2.9 million buildings in the years 2013 to 2021. The results show that structurally disadvantaged communities implement essential measures like roof renewals less frequently and could thus be much more exposed to the consequences of wildfires in the future.
For example, the risk of homes being destroyed by wildfires within 30 years is 29% greater in communities designated by the US government as disadvantaged than it is in less disadvantaged communities. At the same time, the rate of roof renewals is 28% lower. This also has an impact on future risks, because a new roof can reduce the risk of a residential building being destroyed by fire by up to 27 percentage points.
“This research makes it clear how important targeted support and educational programs are for improving the resilience of these disadvantaged communities against wildfires,” explains Sebastian Reining from the University of Freiburg’s Climate Action Research Lab (CARL).
The results cannot be transferred one-to-one to Europe, says Reining, because the settlement structures and building stock differ, but European countries could learn from the research and should investigate to what extent disparities affect the implementation of climate adaptation measures.
More information:
Sebastian Reining et al, Roof renewal disparities widen the equity gap in residential wildfire protection, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55705-w
Provided by
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau
Citation:
Social and economic disparities impact wildfire protection in California (2025, January 9)
