Researchers at the University of Michigan and Michigan Technological University are performing an in-depth analysis of smoke and other air pollutants produced by extreme wildfires in the Western United States over the past three decades. They’re coupling that with interviews and surveys of residents of these fire-prone areas to better understand how people perceive and respond to the risks associated with wildfire smoke and other threats to air quality.

The work, which is supported by NASA, will include a special focus on populations that are particularly vulnerable to wildfire smoke, including children, outdoor workers and rural communities. These communities tend to be closer to forests than urban areas, and people in rural communities tend to have lifestyles connected to outdoor activities—vocations and recreation—more than in urban populations.

WHY IT MATTERS: Although researchers have been studying wildfire smoke for decades, there remains much to learn about how well people understand its risks and what they can do to mitigate those risks. With wildfires becoming more intense and frequent, this project aims to build a base of evidence that individuals and policymakers can use to make decisions that protect themselves and their communities.

HOW MUCH AND FOR HOW LONG: The $1.6 million collaboration began in 2023 and will be completed in fall 2027.

WHO’S INVOLVED FROM SEAS:

Paige Fischer, associate professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, or SEAS, is a social scientist who studies wildfires. She conducts research on how people experience and perceive wildfire risk, as well as what motivates and constrains them in taking action to reduce risk. She also examines how people adapt to long-term changes in climate conditions that drive wildfire risk.

“It is a two-part question: Where and when and how much smoke is produced, and where and when is that smoke impinging on communities where people live and work? Our work strives to define the impacts of smoke from wildland fire from both a physical process and human factors point of view. The solution needs to include not just mapping extreme smoke events based on the physical attributes, but also taking into account the experience of the people who live in areas where extreme smoke events have and will occur. Living with fire in the future will depend on having a better understanding of how people can and want to respond to the increasing threat of wildland fires.”

Caroline Beckman is a doctoral student at SEAS who studies how communities respond to environmental threats. Before joining SEAS, Beckman worked as a community organizer and program manager at Climate Resilient Communities, a community-based organization in the San Francisco Bay Area working with frontline residents experiencing wildfire smoke, extreme heat and flooding.

Dani Grant is a postdoctoral research fellow at SEAS who earned her doctorate in social psychology from the University of Colorado. At U-M, she studies how cognitive biases and social factors shape people’s risk perceptions of wildfire smoke and investigates what conditions motivate individuals and institutions to take protective action.

Meg Czerwinski is a postdoctoral research fellow at SEAS and a registered nurse with Michigan Medicine who earned her doctorate from U-M’s Rackham Graduate School. Czerwinski’s research investigates wildfire smoke preparedness among older adults requiring long-term care, initially focusing on preparedness strategies in the Western U.S.

Read the full story on the Michigan News website.