Research on the psychological impact of wildfires reveals consistent and severe mental health consequences among affected populations. According to Bryant et al. (2014), between 10% and 30% of adults exposed to wildfire disasters meet criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with symptoms that can endure for decades in some cases. Similarly, depression affects over 30% of adults within three months after a wildfire, with prevalence remaining between 18% and 25% even three years later; adolescents are also significantly impacted, with up to one-third affected (McDermott et al., 2005; Bryant et al., 2014). Anxiety disorders are also widespread, with rates ranging from 15% to 27% among adults and youth (McDermott et al., 2010; Bryant et al., 2018). In addition to generalised anxiety, eco-anxiety is increasingly observed—characterised by distress about future disasters, ecological loss and uncertainty (Bryant et al., 2018). These emotional disruptions are frequently accompanied by substance use disorders: 17% to 22% of adults show problematic alcohol consumption for up to ten years post-fire, and over 15% of university students engage in risky alcohol or drug use within 18 months of exposure (McFarlane, 2010). The compounded impact of these mental health burdens is particularly severe when communities lack adequate support systems, experience institutional neglect or suffer the loss of homes and familiar environments, leading to solastalgia, a deep emotional grief tied to environmental loss (Alaca, 2023). As Eboreime and Agyapong (2021) emphasise, these psychological burdens intensify when communal ties and institutional presence are absent. Community engagement and active participation in territorial restoration and disaster prevention are essential for enhancing a sense of control, belonging, and psychological resilience. This is echoed in calls for greater community-based fire management, ecological restoration and the strengthening of social safety networks, which together act as buffers against despair, anxiety, and loss of identity (Eboreime and Agyapong, 2021). Therefore, as psychological and environmental studies suggest, fire prevention must go beyond suppression, incorporating emotional, social and ecological repair to ensure long-term wellbeing and climate resilience.
Alaca, C. (2023). Solastalgia and Environmental Loss: Understanding Emotional Responses to Changing Landscapes. [No further source info available from image].
Bryant, R.A., Gibbs, L., Gallagher, H.C., Pattison, P., MacDougall, C., Harms, L., Forbes, D., Lusher, D., Richardson, J. and Block, K. (2014). Longitudinal study of changing psychological outcomes following the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(7), pp.630–638. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867414534476
Bryant, R.A., Waters, E., Gibbs, L., Gallagher, H.C., Pattison, P., Lusher, D., Harms, L., Block, K., Snowdon, E., MacDougall, C., Richardson, J., Forbes, D. (2018). Mental health following the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires: Evidence from a longitudinal cohort study. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52(6), pp. 507–515. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867417714337
Eboreime, P., and Agyapong, V.I.O. (2021). The Impact of Wildfires on Mental Health: A Scoping Review. Behavioral Sciences, 11(9), p.126. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11090126
McDermott, B.M., Lee, E.M., Judd, M., and Gibbon, P. (2005). Posttraumatic stress disorder and general psychopathology in children and adolescents following a wildfire disaster. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(3), pp.137–143.
McDermott, B.M., Berry, H.L., and Cobham, V.E. (2010). Social connectedness: A potential aetiological factor in the development of child post-disaster mental health symptoms. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 44(12), pp.1091–1097. https://doi.org/10.3109/00048674.2010.512867
McFarlane, A.C. (2010). The long-term costs of traumatic stress: intertwined physical and psychological consequences. World Psychiatry, 9(1), pp.3–10.
