Associations between Wildfire Risk and Socio-Economic-Demographic Characteristics Using GIS Technology

Abstract

Wildfire is a natural hazard caused mostly by the interaction of human systems and natural phenomena. This research aims to investigate how extreme wildfire events and disasters that occurred in California in the recent three decades are related to socio-economic-demographic characteristics at the levels of census tracts and counties. In addition, this research will use the data of historic wildfires to show counties and census tracts vulnerable to the natural hazard as well as the cyclical changes such as seasonal and annual fluctuations in the wildfire occurrences in the state. To decide how those variables correlate, this research used a Geographic Information System (GIS) designed to collect, analyze, query, and display geographical information. Two types of secondary data were used to conduct the research. One is the geospatial data showing each location of wildfires. The other is the data about such sociodemographic characteristics as race, ethnicity, level of education, and income, which can be collected through the Bureau of Census. In particular, the research employing GIS-based spatial analysis created maps that represent information on the geographic locations of the wildfires at the different geographic levels as well as demographic and socioeconomic factors influenced by the potential risk of wildfires. There are several researching findings. First, this research showed the wildfire-prone communities have comparatively higher level of representation for the populations such as the White and Native Americans. Second, it reveals that Asian people would prefer to reside in communities with a lower level of wildfire risk. In contrast with previous research reporting the Black, Hispanic or Native American people are more vulnerable to wildfire, this research showed only the census tracts with the higher number of the Native Americans are more exposed to the wildfire risk, compared with other census tracts. Third, it revealed that people with a higher level of educational attainment would prefer to reside in communities with a lower level of chemical risk. Forth and lastly, this research indicates that the census tracts that have a higher median household income and median housing price have a negative relationship with the wildfire risk, meaning that people with a higher level of the income or a relatively higher-priced home prefer residing in communities less subject to the natural hazard. Therefore, it can be concluded that associations exist between wildfire risk and certain socio-economic and demographic characteristics.