The Park Fire, a wildfire in Northern California that has burned more than 940,000 acres, has quickly become the fourth-largest fire in state history. People have been evacuated in four counties.

The fire, which officials say was started by arson, has grown over the past week as the western U.S. looks ahead to what could be another powerful wildfire season. A combination of strong vegetation growth from heavy rainfall in recent years and high temperatures this summer could mean larger wildfires in the coming months.

These conditions all contributed to the size of the Park Fire, which has damaged more than 500 buildings and put at least 8,000 people under evacuation orders. For another sense of scale, the fire has grown so large that it is visible from space and now covers more square footage than the entire city of Los Angeles.

The Park Fire follows numerous other major blazes that have ravaged the U.S. in recent years, including Hawaii in 2023, California in 2021 and Montana in 2017. It is the latest disaster to highlight how deeply fires can impact communities across the U.S. and the urgent need for better policies to help address potential displacement.

In 2023, 2.5 million Americans will be forced to leave their homes temporarily or permanently due to a natural disaster, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and current estimates from the bureau suggest at least 500,000 more have been displaced so far this year. Vulnerable groups, including low-income households, people over 65, and Black and Hispanic Americans, are among those most likely to be displaced by these events.

The impacts of the Park Fire and a growing number of natural disasters, some linked to climate change, highlight the urgent need for more federal recovery support and how these incidents are exacerbating the existing housing crisis.

How Evacuations Work

Those who were forced to evacuate during the Park Fire and similar fires are being forced to seek shelter with friends or family, in a hotel, or in an evacuation center set up by the affected provinces. Normally, evacuations are led by the affected province or city, which is responsible for informing residents as the situation becomes more urgent.

Evacuation orders can come at any time, even in the middle of the night. Law enforcement is usually responsible for alerting people and neighborhoods, and may use cars and sirens. They also provide updates via television, radio, and social media. Many counties have text-based emergency alert systems that residents can sign up for to receive mobile updates about a disaster.

People living in areas at high risk of wildfires are often advised to have an evacuation plan ready, including an emergency kit with essentials like water and a flashlight, charged devices and fuel in their car. People who can leave independently in their cars are encouraged to do so quickly in the event of an evacuation order and to leave areas affected by the fires, as shown on maps released by the counties.

Provinces can also designate meeting points where people can gather if they can’t leave on their own or if roads are blocked. Officials then coordinate emergency routes for people to use, along with transportation to shelters.

Depending on how long it takes to contain and address the fire, evacuees could be left in limbo for days to weeks, unsure of the status of their homes. That’s a stressful and devastating feeling for many waiting to hear if their homes have survived the disaster.

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Once the imminent danger has passed and the fire is under control, officials will assess when it is safe for people to return, said Tom Cova, a geography professor at the University of Utah who has studied wildfire evacuation systems. That includes screening the area for toxins left behind by the fire and other hazards such as downed power lines and propane tanks.

If it is deemed safe, people may be allowed to return to the area to assess the potential damage. They may also only be allowed to drive back and look at their homes from their cars, due to the health risks of remaining smoke and debris.

People whose homes have been destroyed and who are permanently displaced by the disaster face a much longer and more complicated road to rebuild or relocate.

Insurance could cover some of those costs, although some former evacuees on Maui have said the money is only enough to temporarily cover rent.

In some areas where wildfires are at high risk, homeowners insurance may not cover wildfires due to the high costs these disasters impose on businesses, placing the burden of rebuilding on homeowners. In addition to the cost of construction, families are also faced with the expense of securing alternative housing while they wait for a process that can take months or years.

Disasters highlight aid and housing shortages

Disasters like the Park Fire highlight gaps in federal recovery aid and the housing shortage that was already a problem.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the central distributor of rebuilding grants that people can apply for, but these programs can have strict requirements — including specific damage thresholds — that not everyone meets. People who are able to get insurance funds may also be excluded from receiving some of this aid. Often, the aid provided is not enough to cover the full cost of rebuilding. According to a 2020 report from the Government Accountability Office, the average amount of aid individuals received from FEMA between 2010-2019 was $3,522.

States like California are filling some of the gaps by offering free debris removal services to homeowners, and agencies like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also have loan programs for rebuilding. In general, however, the aid needed is greater than what is available and can leave those who lose their homes in an economically vulnerable position.

“The aid Americans receive after disasters is not only inadequate, it’s complicated to navigate and painfully slow to arrive,” Samantha Montano, a professor of emergency management at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, wrote for the New York Times. “From the length of time it takes to fully recover — measured in years, not months — to the maze of policies, regulations, false promises and lawsuits, the reward for surviving a disaster is being forced into a system so brutal that it constitutes a second disaster.”

The solution, Montano argues, is to bolster resources for FEMA, which faced a funding shortfall in 2023, and for states to develop better recovery plans that include increased budgets and dedicated management. Many of these challenges are evidenced by the response to the Lahaina wildfires on Maui. Families displaced by those fires were still struggling to find temporary housing some six months after the disaster.

Another issue these disasters highlight is the housing shortages people were already facing in the areas affected by the disasters. A 2018 fire in Paradise, California, for example, destroyed about 14,000 homes and exacerbated the region’s housing shortage. Plumas County, one of the four counties affected by the Park Fire, similarly already has a shortage of affordable housing for low-income households. Any additional damage from the Park Fire could widen that