AUTHOR=Williamson Rebecca , Banwell Cathy , Calear Alison L. , LaBond Christine , Leach Liana S. , Olsen Anna , Walsh Erin I. , Zulfiqar Tehzeeb , Sutherland Stewart , Phillips Christine TITLE=Bushfire Smoke in Our Eyes: Community Perceptions and Responses to an Intense Smoke Event in Canberra, Australia JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.793312 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.793312 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=

The 2019–20 bushfires that raged in eastern Australia were an overwhelming natural disaster leading to lives lost or upended, and communities destroyed. For almost a month, Canberra, Australia's capital city in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), was obscured by smoke from fires which threatened the outer suburbs. While smoke itself is experientially different from many natural disasters, it nevertheless poses a significant public health threat. As the impact of extended bushfire smoke in an urban setting is relatively unexplored we aimed to capture the individual and community-level experiences of the event and their importance for community and social functioning. We responded rapidly by conducting semi-structured interviews with a range of Canberra residents who, due to their personal or social circumstances, were potentially vulnerable to the effects of the smoke. Three major themes emerging from the narratives depicted disruption to daily life, physical and psychological effects, and shifting social connectedness. This study highlighted the ambiguous yet impactful nature of a bushfire smoke event, and identified four simple key messages that may be critically relevant to policy making in preparation for similar smoke events in the future.