Climate change is responsible for marked increases in the frequency and severity of bush/wildfires, resulting in more people exposed to such events with long-term subclinical psychiatric symptoms. This editorial calls for immediate action to implement comprehensive and novel approaches to treating these conditions and preventing them from developing into more severe disorders.

Species tend to peak in abundance at different times after fires. Over time, species richness (α) and landscape heterogeneity are prone to increase and lead to greater between-site diversity (β). However, post-fire salvage logging can reduce β-diversity, both directly and through its influence on succession. The as-yet understudied response of land snails to long-term habitat modification after wildfires and forest management is important for decision-making in forest restoration and conservation. We expected to detect differences in land snails and diversity in both the short and long term and between treatments in a natural park in the Mediterranean Basin. However, our results showed that post-fire management was a non-significant variable for snail community diversity, the exception being open-habitat endemic species. Plant succession and leaf litter cover were the main variables that shaped snail diversity and abundance over time after fires. Eighteen years after a fire, the land snail diversity had improved and the community composition had diversified, irrespective of the post-fire treatment, but threatened species disappeared and the total snail numbers had notably declined. To preserve threatened open-habitat species, prescribed fires and livestock grazing are recommended in combination with mature areas that can act as shelters where forest snails can recover from future disturbances.

Extreme heat and wildfires have health implications for everyone; however, minority and low-income populations are disproportionately negatively affected due to generations of social inequities and discriminatory practices. Indigenous people in Canada are at a higher risk of many chronic respiratory diseases, as well as other non-communicable diseases and hospitalization, compared to the general population. These wildfires occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic have demonstrated how disruptive compounding disasters can be, putting minority populations such as First Nations, Metis, and Inuit tribes at increased risk and decreased priority. Going forward, if the necessarily proactive mitigation and preparedness steps are not undertaken, the ability to attenuate health inequity in the indigenous community by building resiliency to wildfire disasters will be significantly hampered.

New evidence of the extinct tree fern of the genus Tempskya Corda from Albian deposits in western Eurasia (northeastern Spain) is presented. These plant fossil remains consist of several silicified false trunks measuring up to 1.20m long, some of which still preserve the apex. Rhizomes and petioles are more abundant in the apical zone of the false trunk. Some false trunks preserve charcoalified tissues that can be interpreted as evidence that palaeo-wildfires affected the false trunks several times from mostly the same direction. Sedimentological evidence suggests that the fern habitat was close to coastal, tidally influenced environments. These new fossils from the Albian of Spain fill the chronological and distributional gap of Tempskya that existed in Eurasia during the Early Cretaceous. Temporal and spatial changes in Tempskya distributions are proposed on several palaeogeographical maps.

Lychnophora ericoides Mart. (Asteraceae), popularly known as arnica, is a plant species subjected to non-timber forest products extraction. Evidence is mounting that some local populations are on the brink of extinction. However, demographic studies of Lychnophora ericoides are rare. Therefore, as a step towards conservation, a remnant population of Lychnophora ericoides located in an area of the Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) in Central Brazil was evaluated from 2010 through 2014. Disturbances such as wildfires and harvesting of Lychnophora ericoides were randomly distributed throughout the study period in this area. Four annual transition matrices (A1, A2, A3 and A4) were constructed, based on life stages. The main results of studies of population dynamics for this species are as follows: 1) population growth rates (λ) with 95% confidence intervals indicated a declining population in all periods from 2010 to 2014; 2) stochastic population growth rate considering the four matrices was < 1 with value λ = 0.358 and CI95% = (0.354–0.362); 3) survival with permanence at the same stage of reproductive adult individuals (46–80%) contributed most to population growth rate, based on elasticity analysis; 4) the population is much less likely to have increases in density, compared with reduction, for all intervals from 2010 to 2014, based on transient indices; 5) the low value of λ in the high-mortality year was caused by lower stasis of individuals in the seedling or sapling and juvenile life stages, as well as fecundity in the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 intervals, as shown by a life table response experiment; and 6) 100% of the population will probably be extinct within 15 years. There is evidence that the main cause for local extinction of Lychnophora ericoides could be the effects of frequent wildfires. Based on these results, it is suggested that the time has come for significant conservation efforts to rescue this population, including monitoring, protection and education as the first steps towards protection of this vulnerable plant species.

Introduction: Between June 15 and Aug 31st 2014, Canada’s Northwest Territories (pop 44,000: Stats Can), a subarctic region which is over 2°C warmer than it was in the 1950’s, experienced an unprecedented number of forest fires, with 385 fires and approximately 3.4 million hectares of forest affected. This resulted in one of Canada’s most severe and prolonged urban smoke exposures for the capital city of Yellowknife and surrounding Aboriginal communities. Our objective was to obtain a big-picture sense of the health impact of the Summer of Smoke on the population of these communities through a mixture of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Methods: We analyzed PM2.5 levels, salbutamol dispensations, clinic and hospital cardiorespiratory variables, and in-depth video interviews with community members from Yellowknife, N’Dilo, Dettah and Kakisa. Results: 49% of days June15-Aug31 in 2014 had a PM2.5 over 30 mcg/m3, as compared to 3% in 2012 and 9% in 2013 and 2015. Max daily PM 2.5 in 2014 was 320.4 mcg/m3. There was a 22% increase in outpatient salbutamol dispensations in 2014 compared to the average of 2012, 2013 and 2015. More cough, pneumonia and asthma were seen in clinics compared to 2012-2015 (P<0.001). There was a 42% increase in respiratory ER visits in 2014 compared to 2012-13, but no change in cardiac variables. The respiratory effect was most pronounced in children 0-4 (114% increase in ER visits). Qualitative analysis demonstrates themes of fear, isolation, lack of physical activity, alteration of traditional summertime activities for both aboriginal and non-aboriginal subjects, elements of resilience and expectation for future smoky summers in the context of a changing climate. Conclusion: Prolonged wildfire seasons have a profound effect on overall wellbeing. Responses to help minimize mental and physical impacts such as the creation of clean-air community shelters, recreation programming, initiatives to support community cohesion, and “go outside when it is not smoky” messaging require further study.

The African spurred tortoise Centrochelys sulcata is the second largest terrestrial turtle, with a scattered distribution across the West African Sahel. This species is threatened and declining consistently throughout its range, but little is known about the causes of its decline. It has been hypothesized that the decline is attributable to (1) competition with domestic cattle, (2) wildfire, and (3) the international pet trade. We conducted a series of analyses to investigate these three causes. Hypotheses 1 and 2 were analysed using a spatially explicit approach, using a database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and logistic regression modelling; hypothesis 3 was tested by analysing the CITES trade database for 1990–2010. We found a significant negative correlation between intensity of grazing (expressed as density of cattle, km−2) and the presence of spurred tortoises, and this negative effect increased when coupled with high fire intensity, whereas wildfires alone did not have a significant influence on the species’ distribution at the global scale. There was a decrease in the annual export of wild individuals for the pet trade after the introduction of export quotas by country and by year, but trade data must be considered with caution.

The uppermost Famennian – lowermost Tournaisian interval has been analysed in detail using biostratigraphy, sedimentology, magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry in a reference section of the relatively shallow carbonate ramp environment within the Pomeranian Basin. High-resolution biostratigraphic study, based on miospores, allows recognition of the standard western European lepidophyta–nitidus (LN) and verrucosus–incohatus (VI) zones, as well as the Convolutispora major Zone, a local Pomeranian equivalent of the European standard hibernicus–distinctus (HD) Zone. The sedimentary succession and specific phenomena recognized close to the Devonian/Carboniferous boundary, such as fluctuations in water column euxinia, wildfire evidence, relative sea-level changes and perturbations of the carbon cycle reflected by positive carbon excursions, display a pattern partly similar to that observed in many areas in Europe during the Hangenberg Event, although the Hangenberg Black Shale horizon is not developed here. These important microscale environmental perturbations were observed not only within the Famennian LN miospore Zone but in a wide interval between the LN and the lowermost local Convolutispora major miospore zones ( = lower part of HD standard miospore Zone). It is still uncertain whether the recognized event(s) were connected solely with the Hangenberg Event, which was possibly complex and multi-phased as is sometimes suggested, or whether they represent a succession of regionally limited, post-Hangenberg events. This question needs to be further investigated on broader stratigraphic and geographical scales.

Objective: Although a goal of disaster preparedness is to protect vulnerable populations from hazards, little research has explored the types of risks that workers face in their encounters with natural disasters. This study examines how workers are fatally injured in severe natural events.

Methods: A classification structure was created that identified the physical component of the disaster that led to the death and the pursuit of the worker as it relates to the disaster. Data on natural disasters from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries for the years 1992 through 2006 were analyzed.

Results: A total of 307 natural disaster deaths to workers were identified in 1992–2006. Most fatal occupational injuries were related to wildfires (80 fatalities), hurricanes (72 fatalities), and floods (62 fatalities). Compared with fatal occupational injuries in general, natural disaster fatalities involved more workers who were white and more workers who were working for the government. Most wildfire fatalities stemmed directly from exposure to fire and gases and occurred to those engaged in firefighting, whereas hurricane fatalities tended to occur more independently of disaster-produced hazards and to workers engaged in cleanup and reconstruction. Those deaths related to the 2005 hurricanes occurred a median of 36.5 days after landfall of the associated storm. Nearly half of the flood deaths occurred to passengers in motor vehicles. Other disasters included tornadoes (33 fatalities), landslides (17), avalanches (16), ice storms (14), and blizzards (9).

Conclusions: Despite an increasing social emphasis on disaster preparation and response, there has been little increase in expert knowledge about how people actually perish in these large-scale events. Using a 2-way classification structure, this study identifies areas of emphasis in preventing occupational deaths from various natural disasters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3:201–209)

Objectives: The southern California wildfires in autumn 2007 resulted in widespread disruption and one of the largest evacuations in the state’s history. This study aims to identify unmet medical needs and health care–seeking patterns as well as prevalence of acute and chronic disease among displaced people following the southern California wildfires. These data can be used to increase the accuracy, and therefore capacity, of the medical response.

Methods: A team of emergency physicians, nurses, and epidemiologists conducted surveys of heads of households at shelters and local assistance centers in San Diego and Riverside counties for 3 days beginning 10 days postdisaster. All households present in shelters on the day of the survey were interviewed, and at the local assistance centers, a 2-stage sampling method was used that included selecting a sample size proportionate to the number of registered visits to that site compared with all sites followed by a convenience sampling of people who were not actively being aided by local assistance center personnel. The survey covered demographics; needs following the wildfires (shelter, food, water, and health care); acute health symptoms; chronic health conditions; access to health care; and access to prescription medications.

Results: Among the 175 households eligible, 161 (92.0%) households participated. Within the 47 households that reported a health care need since evacuation, 13 (27.7%) did not receive care that met their perceived need. Need for prescription medication was reported by 47 (29.2%) households, and 20 (42.6%) of those households did not feel that their need for prescription medication had been met. Mental health needs were reported by 14 (8.7%) households with 7 of these (50.0%) reporting unmet needs. At least 1 family member per household left prescription medication behind during evacuation in 46 households (28.6%), and 1 family member in 48 households (29.8%) saw a health care provider since their evacuation. Most people sought care at a clinic (24, 50.0%) or private doctor (11, 22.9%) as opposed to an emergency department (6, 12.5%).

Conclusions: A significant portion of the households reported unmet health care needs during the evacuations of the southern California wildfires. The provision of prescription medication and mental health services were the most common unmet need. In addition, postdisaster disease surveillance should include outpatient and community clinics, given that these were the most common treatment centers for the displaced population. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2009;3(Suppl 1):S24–S28)

Integrated palynological, organic and inorganic geochemical and petrographical methods have been used for deciphering the depositional redox conditions and character of organic matter of the Famennian Dasberg event horizon from the deep-shelf Kowala succession of the Holy Cross Mountains. The ages of the investigated samples have been established, using miospore data, as VF (Diducites versabilis–Grandispora famenensis) and LV (Retispora lepidophyta–Apiculiretusispora verrucosa) miospore Zones of the Middle/Upper Famennian. In the standard conodont zonation, this corresponds to the uppermost postera to lowermost praesulcata Zones. The presence of green sulphur bacteria biomarkers and dominance of small-sized framboids together with the presence of large framboids and low values of the U/Th ratio may indicate that during sedimentation of the lower Dasberg shale, intermittent anoxia occurred in the water column, or the anoxic conditions prevailed in the upper part of the water column, while the bottom waters were oxygenated, at least briefly. Deposition of the upper Dasberg shale was characterized by both bottom water and water column anoxia. The lack of acritarcha taxa from these intervals could have been due to anoxia in the photic zone. Moreover, organic content is high in those samples. There is no geochemical evidence for anoxia during sedimentation of the deposits sandwiched between the lower and upper Dasberg shales, or in the deposits which underlie and overlie both Dasberg shale horizons. The two discrete anoxic events are interpreted to be the result of major transgressions and the blooming of primary producers. Above the Dasberg shales, small fragments of charcoal and raised concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are detected. This supports the presence of wildfires during deposition of shales just above the boundary of VF/LV palynological zones. Temperatures calculated from the fusinite reflectance values suggest that the charcoal was formed in low-temperature ground and/or surface fires. The typical marine character of sedimentation combined with the high proportion of charcoals suggests that wildfires were large-scale, and that there was intensive transport of terrestrial material. The main causes of intensive wildfires were a significant rise of O2 in the atmosphere and important progress in the land plant diversity during Late Devonian times. Palynofacies studies suggest that the transgression corresponds to the part IIf of the Late Devonian sea-level curve.