Housing and Economic Recovery as Interdependent Pathways in the Wake of Wildfires

Highlights

• Introduced an integrated housing-economic recovery framework that links post-wildfire housing stability to local employment conditions and economic diversity.
• Demonstrated how traditional vulnerability tools like SoVI overlook hidden and dynamic vulnerabilities, especially among renters, seasonal workers, and undocumented residents.
• Employed a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative data (DINS, assessor records, LODES, CDC SoVI) with qualitative interviews and spatial analysis to track recovery in Paradise and Santa Rosa.
• Found a marked rise in absentee homeownership post-fire, particularly in the Town of Paradise, which undermined local recovery and community cohesion.
• Identified the importance of economic revitalization in sustaining population return.