L.A. County Sends Mental Health Professionals to Evacuees Amid Wildfire Trauma

By Molly Castle Work

The day after the Eaton Fire, Fernando Ramirez was driving to work when the sky clouded with smoke, embers and ash poured into his windscreen, and the air smelt of plastic and rubber melting.

Along with other coworkers who had also been called up for emergency medical duty, the 49-year-old offered to work a 14-hour shift at the city's evacuation centre that evening. After spending the day seeking shelter for homeless individuals, Ramirez spent the night moving among over a thousand evacuees, providing wellness checks, company, and hope to those who appeared distressed. He was running on adrenaline and little sleep.

In reaction to wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather events—which scientists warn are becoming more intense and frequent due to climate change—local health departments, like Ramirez's, have emerged as a crucial component of governments' responses. According to health and climate experts, the psychological toll of escaping and maybe losing a house can contribute to or worsen mental health issues like anxiety, sadness, PTSD, substance abuse, and suicide thoughts.

Wildfires have become a recurring experience for many Angelenos, making it difficult for people to feel safe in their home or able to go about daily living, said Lisa Wong.

For instance, Wong said the county deployed a team of mental health workers trained to comfort evacuees without retraumatizing them, including by avoiding asking questions likely to bring up painful memories. The department has also learned to better track people’s health needs and redirect those who may find massive evacuation settings uncomfortable to other shelters or interim housing, Wong said.

The convention center in downtown Pasadena, which regularly holds home shows, comic cons, and trade exhibitions, was transformed into an evacuation zone with hundreds of cots. It was one of at least 13 shelters opened to assist more than 200,000 residents under evacuation orders.

Since they began on January 7, the January wildfires have destroyed at least 12,300 houses and burned an estimated 64 square miles, which is greater than the city of Paris. The region would probably suffer more than $250 billion in economic losses as a result of the fires, according to AccuWeather, which is higher than the forecasts from the state's historic 2020 wildfire season.

Lisa Patel, executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, said she’s most concerned about low-income residents, who are less likely to access mental health support.

Early research suggests exposure to large amounts of wildfire smoke can damage the brain and increase the risk of developing anxiety, she added.

Elaine Santiago sat on a cot in a hallway at the Pasadena Convention Centre while volunteers pushed waggons filled with sandwiches, soup, bottled water, and other essentials.

Santiago said she drew comfort from being at the Pasadena evacuation center, knowing that she wasn’t alone in the tragedy.

“It sort of gives me a sense of peace at times,” Santiago said. “Maybe that’s weird. We’re all experiencing this together.”

After a week, the wildfires had claimed the lives of at least two dozen individuals.

Disaster relief workers are also affected by the task. Many people were afraid of losing their houses in the fires, and some had already done so, according to Ramirez. He claims that going to therapy once a week helps him control his emotions.

At the evacuation center, Ramirez described being on autopilot.

“Some of us react differently. I tend to go into fight mode,” Ramirez said. “I react. I run towards the fire. I run towards personal service. Then once that passes, that’s when my trauma catches up with me.”

Need help? Los Angeles County residents in need of support can call the county’s mental health helpline at 1-800-854-7771. The national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 988, is also available for those who’d like to speak with someone confidentially, free of charge.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. 

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

(KFF/SD)