The 2023 California wildfire season brought devastation to roughly 6,935 acres, desolating the land and the homes of thousands. But climate change is changing more than the physical landscape, as private property insurance has become almost impossible to secure in the state. Rackham Ph.D. student and sociologist Joyce Ho’s research focuses on homeowners’ experiences and insurance companies’ responses in the aftermath of forest fires in northern California. According to Ho, the pace and severity at which the forest fire seasons are escalating, combined with the skyrocketing cost of insurance, are making the region borderline unlivable.
