In January 2025, residents of Los Angeles County survived extensive wildfires and navigated its aftermath.
Widespread evacuations resulted in the displacement of many older adults, who faced heightened risks due to mobility limitations, chronic conditions, sensory impairments, reliance on medications and medical equipment, and increased exposure to smoke and stress.
Compounding these challenges were the inconsistent and fragmented emergency preparedness and evacuation plans, disruption in access to long-term services and supports (LTSS), lack of accessible shelters, and barriers to overall recovery.
To identify gaps in the response to the wildfires from the older adult perspective and elevate lessons learned to inform future disaster response, LeadingAge California, with support from The SCAN Foundation and UniHealth Foundation, developed a report, titled “Addressing Gaps in Emergency Response Systems for Older Adults Impacted by Wildfires.” The report gathered insights through stakeholder interviews, coalition meetings, and after-action reports to uncover the following overarching strengths and challenges:
- Strong collaboration and adaptability: mutual aid, peer support, and creative problem-solving helped communities navigate rapidly changing conditions and sustain operations
- Leadership and internal culture mattered: sites with clear incident command structures and strong staff–resident solidarity were better able to communicate, make decisions, and maintain continuity
- Evacuation and coordination gaps: timelines, government coordination, transportation, and placement systems often failed to account for the complexity of evacuating and relocating older adults
- Disruptions to care and recovery: continuity of care, appropriate sheltering, and accessible recovery resources were inconsistent, creating ongoing challenges for older adults and providers
Taken together, these findings underscore both the resilience of older adults and providers and the urgent need for older adult-centered emergency planning to support care navigation and minimize disruptions to LTSS access. This report offers actionable recommendations along with key findings on older adult experiences to help make this a reality.
Read the full report aquí.
Watch a recording of a webinar on the report aquí.