Wildfires have a devastating effect on the U.S. every year, resulting in loss of homes, property, and lives. Even those not in the direct path of the fire may suffer the strong negative health impacts of wildfire smoke.
The National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) has developed these resources to provide guidance on how to keep yourself and your home safe and healthy during wildfire smoke events and to encourage cross-sector collaboration that includes healthy housing in future work.
Before, During, and After the Fire Resource Library
NCHH has compiled this suite of resources to provide guidance for what to do before, during, and after a wildfire to keep yourself, your family, and your home healthy.
This resource library was made possible through a contract between the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) and the National Center for Healthy Housing, funded through cooperative agreement NU38OT000300-02-00 between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Environmental Health Association. The contents of this resource library are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Environmental Health Association or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Before the Fire
With a variety of topics ranging from protecting your physical health to protecting your home and property, this section will guide you through the necessary precautions to take before a wildfire or its smoke reaches you and your home.
- Background: Frequency/Geographic Impact
- Background: Indoor Air Quality
- Preparedness and Evacuation
During the Fire
This section is intended for people who are dealing with ongoing fires, including both those needing to protect themselves, their families, and their homes from exposure to smoke and ash, and those who have been ordered to evacuate their homes.
- Health Impacts
- Real-Time and Forecasting
- Smoke Mitigation in Homes
- Preparedness and Evacuation
After the Fire
Once a wildfire has subsided, there is often much to clean up and repair. This section will guide you through the considerations and steps that are necessary for those in areas impacted by wildfires.
- Reoccupying Homes
- Ash Exposure After Fires
- Repairing and Rebuilding Homes
Expert Audiences: Public Health and Home Repair
Geared toward professionals in the public health and home repair sectors, these comprehensive and technical resources provide guidance specific to each field about protecting the public and property during wildfires.
NCHH organized 13 interviews on the topics of wildfires, wildfire smoke, housing, and health with experts from various backgrounds, summarizing key findings in Wildfire Interviews: Summary and Key Takeaways. For both general audiences and stakeholders, Wildfire Interviews identifies opportunities for future cross-sector collaboration and the role of healthy housing in future work to ensure the health and safety of residents during wildfires and significant smoke events.
Read our report: Wildfire Interviews: Summary and Key Takeaways
Last page update: December 10, 2021.