Catastrophic Wildfires & Suicide

We estimate the impact of catastrophic wildfires on suicide. Leveraging an eight-year panel of county-by-month restricted-use mortality data for California, we find that catastrophic wildfires that destroy at least 2% of a county’s housing stock cause a 47% increase in the suicide rate (roughly nine excess suicides) in the six-month aftermath of an event. Exploring sources of heterogeneity, effects are largely driven by men. Mechanisms are explored and suggest that suicide results from the loss of property and direct loss of life, rather than smoke exposure. These findings suggest that wildfires may be deadlier and more expensive than previously thought.