Kulig and wildfire group are community focussed

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 21:47:59 +0000

Recently published research from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty of Health Sciences researcher Dr. Judith Kulig and the Rural Wildfire Study Group suggests that communities affected by significant traumatic events invest in recovery efforts that focus on the community as a whole, and not just those who experienced losses as a result of the event.

Kulig has spent considerable time researching rural health issues and community resiliency, particularly in communities that have experienced wildfire events.

In a paper just published in the Journal of Community Psychology, Kulig and co-authors Dr. Ivan Townshend (geography, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge), Dr. Dana Edge (nursing, Queen’s ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ), Dr. William Reimer (sociology, Concordia ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) and Dr. Nancy Lightfoot (rural and northern health, Laurentian ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) suggest that a community’s ability to recover from a wildfire event is impacted by many factors, but that it is imperative that all members of the community receive timely access to recovery services, whether or not they were evacuated during the event or experienced a tangible loss.

Dr. Judith Kulig and the Rural Wildfire Study Group offer key recommendations for community rebuilding after disaster.

“While our study reflects the experiences of those in a wildfire event, the results are relatable to similar traumatic community events, such as the recent flooding in High River and the urban communities in Calgary,” says Kulig.

The Rural Wildfire Study Group conducted a series of qualitative interviews with community members who experienced wildfire events in Barriere, B.C. (2003) and LaRonge, Sask. (1999) to answer the question, “Does the severity level of wildfires based on loss make a difference to the experience of individual and community impacts?”

The results of those interviews suggest that residents in both communities, whether or not they experienced loss, were significantly impacted by the event.

Further, in order to facilitate the social rebuilding of these communities, it was important that community resources be made available to all members of the community to mitigate lingering negative effects of the event.

“There is an expectation that those who were evacuated from the community or who experienced the loss of physical property as a result of the event are in need of and will receive community support and resources,” says Kulig. “But our research shows that there is often a long-term emotional impact felt throughout the community and that these resources must be available on a much wider scale to help the community heal.”

In the end, tragic events have the capability of bringing communities together in a cohesive and supportive manner.

Through continued gathering of information about the varying responses of community residents who have experienced traumatic community events, Kulig and her group hope to better understand the impact and duration of the effects and determine appropriate disaster recovery protocols.

Additional information about Kulig’s research, and recommendations for community rebuilding after a disaster, can be found at the following website: www.ruralwildfire.ca

Kulig study a blueprint for recovery

trevor.kenney — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 22:14:40 +0000

The recent fire in Slave Lake, Alta. has left many people wondering how the community will rebuild and, most importantly, cope with the aftermath of a devastating event that destroyed approximately one third of the community, including homes, the library, town government offices, businesses and much more.

The answer to that lies in the overall health and resiliency of the community itself – and there is strong evidence to back that statement from researchers like Dr. Judith Kulig (health sciences) who, with several colleagues, has spent the past decade examining what happens in smaller communities when disaster strikes, and how the overall health of the community is reflected in its ability to recover from disaster.

Dr. Judith Kulig researches community resiliency after tragedies such as wildfire events.

Over the past decade, wildfires in Canada have forced nearly 700,000 people to be evacuated from more than 250 communities. This has caused massive amounts of financial, environmental and personal damage, including job losses, the loss of residents in a community, as well as lingering health and emotional challenges.

The research team, which includes
Dr. Ivan Townshend (geography) and members from universities in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario and Australia, has studied fires in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia and has found that there are common elements that can contribute to increasing a sense of community resiliency in the face of large-scale disasters, such as wildfires.

Disaster Preparedness

· Develop memorandums of understanding with relevant agencies to ensure that during and after the disaster, arising issues are addressed and that lines of communication and authority are in place.

· Develop public education and disaster awareness that is appropriate for the community (e.g., having a livestock evacuation plan).

· Create an updated community disaster plan, which identifies a back-up community that could assist, and transportation plans for evacuations (e.g., use of school busses).

· Maintain up-to-date maps to locate all individuals that may need evacuation.

· Establish policies to determine if large gatherings planned for the time period of an evacuation or evacuation alert should be cancelled.

During the Disaster

· Develop communication strategies so that the evacuees are updated about the condition of their homes and community during the wildfire.

· Create effective coordination of all relevant agencies.

· Ensure adequate safety and surveillance procedures are in place for vacated property.

After the Disaster

· Collect economic, social and health data in communities that experience wild-fires for 5 years after the wildfire and then every 10 years for 3 more decades.

· Develop temporary programs for the school-aged population to help them deal with the ongoing issues associated with the wildfire.

· Provide long-term mental health/community change facilitation for all community members.

· Provide financial counseling for families.

Fostering Community Resiliency

· Providing opportunities for local residents to gather and reflect on the disaster experience thereby building their networks and developing
opportunities for interaction.

· Organize celebrations to provide avenues for social support while also creating a sense of belonging and community.

· Provide support for local leaders and develop mechanisms to create the next generation of leaders within the community.

Complete study results are available on the rural wildfire website (www.ruralwildfire.ca).

Donations are still being accepted for the Slave Lake recovery process through the Canadian Red Cross (www.redcross.ca).

This story first appeared in the Legend. To view the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - www.ruralwildfire.ca

Kulig and wildfire group are community focussed

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