Public Warnings and Evacuations: A Study of the 2009 California Station Fire

A survey of residents of the area impacted by a large-scale 2009 wildfire revealed that just over 60% of respondents who received an evacuation order during this fire actually evacuated from their home. The focus of the survey was to understand the impact of public warnings on the behaviors and actions of individuals in the midst of a natural disaster. The survey instrument and interview protocol were designed by the project research team to gauge several factors, including how respondents were individually impacted by the Station Fire; their attitudes toward formal evacuation messages and procedures as spearheaded by local, state, and government entities; how they responded to said evacuation messages and procedures; what they perceive to the most effective media for dispensing emergency evacuation information; as well as standard demographic questions. These analyses reveal that frequency, communication channels, and content of public warnings, such as evacuation orders, have a significant impact on public protective-action taking.