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Natural Resources

Household-level Social Vulnerabilities’ Influence on Rural Community Resilience to Wildfire Shahrin Shahab*, Shahrin Shahab, Lori Cramer,

Wildfires are an escalating environmental challenge for rural communities in the western United States. These wildfire events often exacerbate preexisting unequal conditions among rural communities by severely affecting their ability to withstand and recover from these disasters.  Research shows that rural and historically underrepresented populations disproportionately experience wildfire impacts due to differences in community resilience shaped by cultural, economic, institutional, political, and social factors.  Despite this, wildfire resilience planning remains largely biophysically driven and frequently overlooks household-level social vulnerability, particularly among non-homeowners (e.g., renters), resulting in inequitable resilience. This study addresses this gap by examining whether household-level social vulnerabilities influence wildfire preparedness and community resilience in rural Oregon. Specifically, it (1) measures wildfire preparedness among renters and homeowners, (2) identifies social vulnerability factors affecting preparedness, and (3) integrates preparedness and vulnerability data to generate community-level resilience scores. Using a quantitative, survey-based design grounded in the hazards-of-place framework, this study represents the first household-level, survey-based assessment of wildfire preparedness disparities between homeowners and renters in rural Oregon. Comparative analyses reveal disparities within and across rural communities, while resilience scores highlight variation in communities’ capacity to withstand and recover from wildfire events. Overall, the findings inform place-based wildfire resilience planning that integrates social, cultural, and economic realities to reduce vulnerabilities, improve preparedness, and strengthen recovery capacity in rural communities.