Residential Housing Labor Market Outcomes following Wildfires: A Case Study of the 2018 Camp Fire

9 pages•Published: May 26, 2024

Abstract

Wildfires in recent years have posed a great threat to residential properties and local economies in communities located near the wildland-urban interface (WUI), particularly in the state of California. Wildfires destroy residential properties, disrupting the residential construction supply chains. When the residential housing stock is destroyed by wildfires, rebuilding must quickly begin to avoid disrupting the local community and economy. This process intensifies the demand for residential construction material resources and requires the local construction labor market to sustain the demand for construction labor over time and manage the influx of workers. Using an interrupted time series analysis, this study investigates the dynamic impacts of wildfires on the residential construction sector, utilizing residential permits and labor employment data from a case study of the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, California. Results indicate that the wildfire promoted a sustained increase in residential construction activity (average post-fire permit valuations increased by 67%), matched by a consistent rise in labor employment (average post-fire labor concentration increased by 25%). The findings provide insights into the resilience of residential construction sectors in the face of wildfires.

Keyphrases: labor market, residential construction, time series analysis, wildfires

In: Tom Leathem, Wes Collins and Anthony Perrenoud (editors). Proceedings of 60th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference, vol 5, pages 759-767.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/klp6
	https://doi.org/10.29007/n9mm