Wildfires

Wildfires are any unplanned or uncontrolled fires affecting natural, cultural, industrial, and residential landscapes. They can either be started by natural causes (lightning, burning coal seams or volcanic activity) or by human activities, and primarily by burning live or dead vegetation in natural or anthropogenically altered ecosystems (e.g., forests, grasslands, bush, peatlands, wetlands, cultivated lands as well as protected lands such as wilderness or conservation sites).

Women play an important role in natural resource management and also participate in supporting household life and agricultural harvests. Women bear greater responsibility as compared to men for multiple roles, from childcare to field work and economic management of resources. Such gendered roles influence changes in economic and social conditions after a disaster occurs. For instance, reduced income from agriculture frequently leads to an increased work burden on women in the household.