Understanding Evacuation Decisions in Wildfire Country
Elena Doss, a doctoral student in natural resources at the University of Idaho, is conducting research that could reshape how rural Idaho communities prepare for and respond to wildfires. Her work focuses on the evacuation preferences and wildfire management approaches of residents living in fire-prone areas across the region.
Doss, now in her third year of doctoral study, works under the mentorship of Travis Paveglio and concentrates on what researchers call the human dimensions of wildfire management—essentially, how people actually behave when facing wildfire threats, rather than how officials assume they will behave. She brings to the work a background in policy analysis, having completed a master’s degree in public policy at Oregon State University.
“I’m specifically interested in the human dimensions of wildfire management. Like most natural hazards, it doesn’t acknowledge the physical boundaries we’ve created as humans,” Doss explained in a public statement about her research focus.
Survey Method and Community Input
To gather data on how rural residents think about evacuation, Doss and her research team distribute questionnaires to community members in wildfire-prone areas. The surveys use a structured format—yes/no questions and multiple-choice responses—to identify how individuals would likely respond to a wildfire threat. The questions explore three primary decision paths: staying to defend property, evacuating immediately, or waiting to see how the situation develops.
This approach recognizes a reality that emergency management often overlooks: rural residents do not all respond to wildfire warnings in the same way. Understanding these variations is critical for designing evacuation plans and community preparedness strategies that account for actual human behavior rather than idealized assumptions.
Federal Grants and Wildfire Resilience
Doss’s research is also examining the implementation of Community Wildfire Defense Grants (CWDGs), a funding mechanism that emerged from the 2021 Federal Infrastructure Bill. These grants prioritize and distribute federal resources to rural communities specifically for wildfire response and mitigation efforts. By studying how these grants are being used across the Pacific Northwest, Doss aims to understand whether current funding approaches align with what communities actually need.
Her work plans to expand beyond individual residents to include both public and private actors involved in wildfire management—from local government agencies to private landowners and non-profit organizations. This broader lens will help identify gaps between the support communities receive and the support they truly require.
Building Tools for Better Preparation
Ultimately, Doss hopes to create a practical tool that communities can use to tailor their wildfire preparation strategies to their specific demographics, geography, and resources. Such a tool could help local officials design evacuation procedures and preparedness campaigns that reflect how residents in their area are actually likely to respond—not how a generic emergency management template predicts they should respond.
“My hope is that this research will illustrate a need for more support beyond just the fiscal and physical,” Doss stated, pointing to the importance of understanding and addressing the behavioral and psychological dimensions of wildfire preparedness alongside infrastructure and funding.
As wildfire seasons continue to pose significant risks to Idaho communities, research like Doss’s offers a data-driven foundation for improving how rural areas prepare for and manage evacuation decisions. Her work demonstrates the University of Idaho’s commitment to addressing real-world challenges facing the state’s residents and natural resources.
For more on University of Idaho research initiatives and community engagement, see University of Idaho Researcher Develops Tool to Better Assess Wildfire Damage on Rangelands.
What Comes Next
Doss is expected to continue expanding her research through her final doctoral year, with plans to incorporate findings from public and private sector partners across the Pacific Northwest. Her work will inform both academic understanding of wildfire behavior and practical decision-making tools that rural communities can implement directly. Results from her research may influence how future Community Wildfire Defense Grants are allocated and how evacuation planning is approached in fire-prone regions.