Can wildfires disrupt our sense of connectedness to beloved places?

Contact for reporters:

Stacy Nick
[email protected]

CSU researcher Anne Mook is available for interviews. Additionally, Mook and Morales-Giner were interviewed on CSU’s The Audit podcast. Audio and a full transcript of the conversation are available for media use along with high-res images.

As wildfires ravage places – whether forests or communities – they also deeply impact our sense of those places. This sense of connectedness after wildfire is the subject of research conducted after the Cameron Peak Fire that scorched a path through northern Colorado in 2020, becoming the largest wildfire in Colorado history.

Anne Mook, a scientist at Colorado State University’s Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, and Pilar Morales-Giner, a researcher at Spain’s University of Granada, recently published their Cameron Peak study, called “Ash Everywhere: Place Attachment and Meanings in the Aftermath of Wildfires.” 

The researchers conducted 34 interviews with participants, including full-time and part-time residents, local leaders and representatives from environmental organizations. Participants were asked about how participants experienced the wildfire, their perceptions of environmental and demographic changes, and the meanings they ascribe to their sense of place.

Emotional losses, practical challenges

“Wildfires, like the ones currently affecting LA, profoundly reshape people’s connections to their environment,” Mook said. “In our study, we found that wildfires impact place attachment in two major ways: emotional loss and practical challenges.” 

With emotional loss, people often mourn the destruction of their homes, natural surroundings and landmarks, she said. In interviews with residents, many described feelings of solastalgia. 

“One participant said, ‘Driving through the burned areas is heartbreaking; it just hurts so much to see it like that,’” Mook recalled. 

With the practical challenges, wildfires also highlight the functional side of place attachment, Morales-Giner said. A sense of place is of particular importance because it also can bring about practical knowledge. 

“(Knowing how to deal with) water scarcity, wildfire danger, access challenges – these are all crucial to help communities mitigate and adapt to disasters,” she said.

Navigating risk

Residents must navigate risks like post-fire flooding, water pollution and damaged infrastructure. During the Cameron Peak study, one participant described how even after the fire was extinguished, ash and soot continued to pollute their wells and soils, creating new challenges. 

These disruptions change how people perceive their environment — not just as a safe haven but as a site of vulnerability and resilience. 

“Resilience is not just about (fortifying) your building, but it’s really about reimagining some of those connections to the places that we call home,” Mook said. If we better understand place attachment and address climate change and improve forest management, we can hopefully help communities adapt to wildfires or other natural disasters and really think about what makes those places meaningful.”