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“Hope is in Our Hands:” Impacts of the Slave Lake Wildfires in Alberta, Canada on Children

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Assisting Young Children Caught in Disasters

Part of the book series: Educating the Young Child ((EDYC,volume 13))

Abstract

Wildfires are increasingly common events that in some instances have led to mass evacuations and devastation. Although there is an increased interest in assessing the impacts on humans, there is limited information about the impacts on children. This chapter is based upon research after the devastating 2011 wildfires in a rural area of western Canada where the entire population was evacuated, homes and businesses were lost, and the communities underwent an extensive recovery and rebuilding effort. School surveys were conducted with children (n = 58 in Grades 3 and 4 and n = 82 in Grades 5–12). The PTSD-RI – DSM-IV-TR for Children and Adolescents instrument was used 6 and 12 months after the fires. Results focus on the younger age group and indicate that younger children experienced higher levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as did those whose homes burned despite their age. Implications for teachers, related professionals, and schools are included.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the participation of the respondents and the communities of Slave Lake, Municipal District of Lesser Slave River #124 and the Sawridge First Nations. Without their assistance the study would not have been possible. Funding for this study was provided by the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research, the Alberta Government and the Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Box 189, Monarch, Lethbridge, AB, T0L 1M0, Canada

    Judith C. Kulig

  2. Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 6A2, Canada

    Ivan Townshend

  3. Alberta Cancer Prevention Legacy Fund, Alberta Health Services, 1002 1 Street NW, Calgary, AB, T2M 2S1, Canada

    Anna Pujadas Botey

  4. Faculty of Education, University of Lethbridge, #2 – 438 Highlands Blvd West, Lethbridge, AB, T1J 5K5, Canada

    Blythe Shepard

Authors
  1. Judith C. Kulig
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  2. Ivan Townshend
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  3. Anna Pujadas Botey
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  4. Blythe Shepard
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Judith C. Kulig .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Early Childhood Development and Education, Department of Child, Family, and Community Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA

    Judit Szente

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Kulig, J.C., Townshend, I., Botey, A.P., Shepard, B. (2018). “Hope is in Our Hands:” Impacts of the Slave Lake Wildfires in Alberta, Canada on Children. In: Szente, J. (eds) Assisting Young Children Caught in Disasters . Educating the Young Child, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62887-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62887-5_14

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