"Wildfires regularly sweep through California, destroying forests and threatening homes. But a recent study shows an unexpected danger of the fires: They can shut down, or prevent access to, hospitals and other inpatient facilities.

Researchers recently found that half of California’s entire inpatient capacity is less than a mile from a high fire threat zone.

In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers analyzed inpatient facilities’ proximity to fire threat zones as determined by California’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. According to the agency, fire threats are determined by the likelihood of a fire in a given area and the potential behavior of such a fire. The agency uses a scale that ranges from “low” to “extreme” to help assess the potential effects of a wildfire."

Erin Blakemore reports for the Washington Post April 30, 2023. [2]