Papers by Kyla Mottershead
Almost every year, First Nations are evacuated in Canada due to wildfire proximity and smoke. The... more Almost every year, First Nations are evacuated in Canada due to wildfire proximity and smoke. The remote locations, unique sociocultural characteristics, and limited emergency management resources and infrastructure of many First Nations can present challenges for residents and evacuation organizers. In addition, the evacuation process itself is administratively and operationally complex and can result in social, psychological, health, and economic implications for First Nations and their individual members. However, little research has sought to examine how these communities are affected by wildfire evacuations. No research has examined how a First Nations community experiences a community-wide mandatory evacuation due entirely to wildfire smoke, despite a large proportion of smoke evacuations involving First Nations. This study addresses this gap in the hazards literature and provides improved understanding of the entire evacuation process from the perspective of community members. Specifically, this study explores how residents of a northern Alberta First Nation were affected by a community-wide evacuation in July 2012 due to wildfire smoke. Using a communitybased qualitative methodology and framed from a postcolonial theoretical position, interviews with 31 residents were completed to document how the evacuation was carried out. Several factors influenced how participants were positively and/ or negatively affected by the evacuation including community preparedness; limited wildfire information; wildfire smoke exposure; compromised sense of moral order; local leadership; family support; and the use of familiar host communities. Measures to improve evacuations and emergency management in the community are also identified and discussed.
International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2020
Almost every year, First Nations are evacuated in Canada because of wildfire proximity and smoke.... more Almost every year, First Nations are evacuated in Canada because of wildfire proximity and smoke. Dynamics of wildfires, and remote locations, unique sociocultural characteristics, and limited emergency management resources present challenges for evacuation organizers and residents. This study explores how Dene Tha’ First Nation evacuated their Taché community in July 2012 due to wildfire smoke and how the evacuation process affected evacuees. Interviews were completed with 31 evacuation organizers and residents to examine the factors that helped and hindered the evacuation process. Lack of information about the nearby wildfire, smoke, and evacuation of the nearby small community of Zama City, combined with a generic evacuation plan, delayed and posed challenges during the evacuation of this Dene Tha’ community. Strong leadership and its role in community organizing, keeping families together, providing the social support they needed, and using familiar host communities, demonstrate...
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Papers by Kyla Mottershead