“Driving Down a Road and Not Knowing Where You're At”: Navigating the Loss of Physical and Social Infrastructure After the Camp Fire*

Abstract

Climate‐related disasters are becoming increasingly frequent and destructive. These events result in extensive material losses, but also more abstract disruptions, such as those to identity, well‐being, and community. Using transcripts from 24 qualitative interviews with residents of Paradise, California after a wildfire destroyed their town; I consider the changes to residents' physical and social infrastructure. Physical places provide a structure for social life to play out, and their familiarity offers feelings of belonging and security. But, relationships, routines, and personal histories also inscribe meaning and value on these spaces. After disaster, the loss of physical landmarks hinders residents' ability to navigate their community and inhibits social connections that would otherwise offer important supports. At the same time, new meanings become inscribed on existing places, through trauma reminders (which constrain social life) and positive cues from the natural world (which shift meanings from destruction‐ to recovery‐oriented). Because physical places are imbedded in social context, and vice versa, I examine these processes in tandem.

Entanglements of Identity and Resilience in the Camp Fire’s Network of Disaster-Specific Facebook Groups

“…In conclusion, this study contributes to practical and theoretical conversations by recording and analyzing this massive and influential network of social media groups dedicated to recovery from a single disaster. Camp Fire survivors experienced major disruptions to their social networks linked to their physical community's destruction (Brown, 2022). Administrators established online spaces for resilience organizing that may not have otherwise happened offline.…”

“…While trying to rebuild their lives after the Camp Fire, resources were often difficult to access, insufficient, and/or nonexistent. Additionally, with the loss of their physical community, residents of Camp Fire-impacted counties struggled to stay socially connected and maintain their relationships with strong and weak ties (Brown, 2022).…”

Baldia Factory Fire Tragedy: A Black Spot for Workplace Safety Standards in Pakistan

“…They may need to buy new machinery, raw materials, and other systems. They would also need to repair their infrastructural assets (Brown, 2022). Apart from such situations, factories have to create a framework that prevents further outbreaks.…”

The tensions of crowdsourcing disaster response in disaster‐specific Facebook groups after the Camp Fire

“…Without housing support, many were hungry and cold in the California winter and lacked the necessities and comforts they needed to recover from trauma. While survivors navigated the loss of their built and natural infrastructure, they also struggled with shocks to their social networks due to the loss of meeting places, strains on relationships, and unequal access to support (Brown, 2022b). Survivors turned to social media to satisfy their needs and repair and reinforce their social networks.…”