Six Evacuation Routes Identified as Key for Wildfire Survival in the U.S.
Recent research highlights the critical importance of having at least six evacuation routes in communities at risk of wildfires. According to Cat Fong, a researcher at the University of California Santa Barbara, communities with six or fewer major roads experience a significant increase in per capita wildfire fatalities. This finding stems from an analysis of wildfire deaths across the U.S. over the past two decades. The study, part of the Wildfire Resilience Index project, used geospatial mapping to assess evacuation vulnerabilities and wildfire risks. The research underscores the need for redundancy in evacuation routes to account for potential road blockages caused by fire, debris, or accidents. The findings are particularly relevant for areas like Paradise, California, which faced severe challenges during the 2018 Camp Fire despite having six major exits. The Wildfire Resilience Index provides a dashboard for communities to evaluate their evacuation infrastructure and wildfire risk classification. 
