Natural Disasters
Wildfires
Always call 911 if you are in immediate
danger and need emergency help.
Photo from FEMA / Bryan Dahlberg
- Prepare for or respond to a wildfire - understand the dangers and what you can do when wildfire is predicted or advancing.
- Recover after a wildfire - what you can do to protect your family, home from related hazards; also information for businesses and communities.
Many of the links below go to sites outside EPA.
Prepare for or respond to a wildfire
Air quality health information:
Other sites related to preparedness
- Ready.gov: Wildfires
- FEMA: Wildfires Preparedness
- US Forest Service: Fire Management
- FEMA: What to do before and during a wildfire
- Current air quality forecast (Ozone and particulates) - click on your area
- Sign up to receive air quality email notices for your ZIP code
- Read more: How Smoke from Fires Can Affect Your Health
- Asthmas triggers and outdoor air pollution
- Interagency Real Time Smoke particulate Monitoring, from USDA
Related planning:
Planning for disaster debris:
Damage from a wildfire depends on the size, extent, and other factors. Damage debris can include destroyed structures, hazardous waste, green waste, or personal property. More information on disaster debris
Wildfire incidents
Chemical or fertilizer storage:
Properly designed or modified storage facilities enhance worker safety and minimize the risk contamination.
Recover after a wildfire.
ALERT: Generator exhaust is toxic. Always put generators outside well away from doors, windows, and vents. Never use a generator inside homes, garages, crawlspaces, sheds, or similar areas. Carbon monoxide (CO) is deadly, can build up quickly, and linger for hours. More information on carbon monoxide.
Other sites related to recovery
- FEMA: What do to after a wildfire
- FEMA: Recovering from disasters
- Ready.gov:Natural disasters
- Disasterhelp.gov: Recovering from wildfires
- Disasterhelp.gov: Moving forward
Air quality and health information:
After a wildfire, be aware that smoldering materials in the building may produce many pollutants. Many adverse health conditions can be caused by inhaling or ingesting even small amounts of these pollutants. Small children, the elderly, or people with preexisting respiratory conditions can be especially vulnerable to some of these pollutants.
- More information about pollutants produced by burning materials
- Asthma: wildfires and air quality
- Health and environmental effects of particulate matter
What to do with disaster debris:
Disasters can generate tons of debris, including building rubble, soil and sediments, green waste (e.g., trees and shrubs), personal property, ash, and charred wood. How a community manages disaster debris depends on the debris generated and the waste management options available. Burying or burning is no longer acceptable, except when permission or a waiver has been granted, because of the side effects of smoke and fire from burning, and potential water and soil contamination from burial. Typical methods of recycling and solid waste disposal in sanitary landfills often cannot be applied to disaster debris because of the large volume of waste and reluctance to overburden existing disposal capacity. More information on handling debris.
Dealing with Debris and Damaged Buildings