Key topics: 

• The danger faced by a significant portion of Nevada's population during disasters due to challenges and limitations
• Disparities in outcomes between individuals with disabilities and those without during disasters
• Necessity to incorporate accessibility from the outset in designing emergency programs and systems
• Collaborative efforts in Nevada to address disparities for individuals with disabilities and access needs post-disasters

In the Episode:
In the latest episode of the Living With Fire Podcast titled "Wildfire & the Whole Community," host Megan Kay and Living With Fire Manager Jamie Roice-Gomes delve into the critical need for inclusivity and accessibility in disaster preparedness. Expert guests Heather Lafferty and Kimberly Palma-Ortega shed light on the challenges faced by individuals with Access and Functional Needs (AFN) during emergencies and the necessary steps to ensure their safety and well-being.

Drawing from real-world examples, Lafferty and Palma-Ortega describe the complex challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and those who have AFN during disasters. They also underscore the substantial disparity in outcomes between those with disabilities and those without. For example, Lafferty explains that 70% of deaf people who are evacuated during a disaster reported living in unsanitary conditions a month after the disaster as opposed to just 7% of individuals who are not deaf. 

Lafferty, the Coordinator for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as AFN at the Nevada Division of Emergency Management, points out that even though only 28% of Nevadans identify themselves as having a disability, a considerably broader demographic – roughly 67-70% of the state's population – have varying levels of AFN. Lafferty emphasizes that as a result, "a significant portion of Nevada's population is in danger of facing these challenges, limitations, and hurdles during a disaster."

Palma-Ortega serves as a Public Health Liaison at the Nevada Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. She emphasizes that in order to improve outcomes for people with disabilities and access and functional needs, emergency managers must incorporate accessibility from the outset when designing programs and systems, rather than treating accessibility as an afterthought. “Instead of making [accessibility] an add-on, put it as a build-on,” Palma-Ortega explains. 

In Nevada, collaborative efforts are addressing disparities in outcomes for those with disabilities and access needs after disasters. Among the initiatives recently launched is the Nevada Access and Functional Needs Disaster Coalition, a comprehensive workgroup encompassing government organizations, NGOs, private industry, and disability community partners. Their efforts focus on inclusive planning alongside the disability community, shifting from designing for them to designing with them.

Resources:

• Emergency Response for People Who Have Access and Functional Needs: A Guide for First Responders
• Health Information Binders
• Living With Fire Evacuation Checklist

With a winter characterized by substantial precipitation and robust vegetation growth in the Great Basin, many are curious about the implications for the upcoming fire year.

On Episode 13 of the Living With Fire Podcast, Christina Restaino, Assistant Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, engaged in a discussion with Joe Smith, a research scientist at the University of Montana, and Jeremy Maestas from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, about the connection between rain, snow, and fire risk in the Great Basin.

Smith and Maestas are part of a team of researchers who have developed a new tool to predict wildfire probability in the Great Basin. This tool incorporates historical data and current conditions to provide fire probability maps, offering valuable insights for Land Managers in the region.

Maestas highlighted the impact of the increased vegetation growth, explaining, “All this growing vegetation production is going to build up out there and there's no amount of livestock and insects in the world that are going to eat it all. So, it'll build up on the landscape and probably show up next year in the fire probability maps."

Discussing the natural wet and dry cycles that characterize the Great Basin, Maestas and Smith shared their findings. Smith's research, based on 32 years of data, shed light on the implications of these patterns for potential fires. "We should be particularly concerned when transitioning from a wet cycle to a dry one," Smith advised.

What does all this mean for Great Basin residents? Restaino suggested a proactive approach, emphasizing the importance of creating defensible spaces around homes and collaborating with the community. This preparation will help residents stay vigilant in the face of potential fire risks in the coming year.

Resources:

·       Great Basin rangeland fire probability tool

·       A Homeowner’s Guide to Cheatgrass

·       Be Careful! Cheatgrass is extremely flammable!

·       Fire Adapted Communities: The Next Step in Wildfire Preparedness

Wildfire is a vital ecological process, but it can be dangerous. It’s also a tangible reminder of how our climate is changing around us. Therefore, living in areas impacted by wildfire can be stressful on many levels, and individuals may experience eco-anxiety –  or even eco-grief –  in response.  

On the latest episode of the Living With Fire Podcast, guest Caitlyn Wallace, LCSW, unpacks these terms and talks about ways to address feelings about wildfire and climate change. According to Wallace, “Eco-anxiety is the anxiousness and the worry about the changing climate and what might happen. And eco-grief is the sadness and grief at the loss of life – human, animal and plant life – that you anticipate to come.”

Wallace, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in Northern Nevada, specializes in perinatal mental health and the emerging field of climate-informed therapy. She treats patients experiencing pregnancy, postpartum depression and anxiety, infertility, grief and loss. Wallace explained that some of her clients were also experiencing eco-anxiety and eco-grief. 

“I started noticing in some of my clients this grief and guilt around – I work so hard for this baby, I tried so hard for this baby. The baby is here. And now I am guilty and ashamed because there’s a pandemic, there’s smoke, there’s this warming climate and we’re in a huge drought. What did I do? Why did I bring a baby into this world?” said Wallace. 

On the podcast, Wallace explained that anxiety and grief show up differently for everyone. Therefore, there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for dealing with eco-anxiety and grief. However, she emphasized the importance of acknowledging feelings and experiences. 

“I think that a big thing is being able to name it and being able to talk about it. Yeah, we know enough to know that for a lot of these things. Specifically, depression, anxiety, that being able to talk about your feelings around them gets you out of a fight-or-flight reactive place and into a place where you can be more responsive.”

Wallace speaks about the benefits of finding a space to talk about the feelings of eco-anxiety, such as a Climate Café modeled after Death Cafés. According to the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America, a Climate Café is “an informal, open, respectful, confidential space to safely share emotional responses and reactions related to the climate and environmental emergency.”

Wallace is one of the only climate-informed therapists in Northern Nevada and has started hosting free Climate Cafés in Reno, which you can read about in Our Town Reno. And, to learn more about eco-anxiety, check out Wallace’s suggested reading list below:

• A Guide to Eco-Anxiety: How to Protect the Planet and Your Mental Health, by Anouchka Grose 
• Generation Dread, by Britt Wray
• Turn the Tide on Climate Anxiety: Sustainable Action for Your Mental Health and the Planet, by Megan Kennedy-Woodard and Dr. Patrick Kennedy-Williams
• Earth Emotions: New Words for a New World, by Glenn A. Albrecht