Wildfire and COVID-19 in the Sierra Nevada Region of California: Business-impact report

Californians dealt with devastating wildfires alongside the COVID epidemic. Credit: Wildfire and COVID-19 report

During spring and summer 2020, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the Sierra Nevada Region of California experienced two major disruptive events: the largest wildfire season in recorded state history and the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. California Nevada Climate Adaptation Program (CNAP) researchers conducted a survey of 202 Sierra Nevada SMBs on the impacts of these events and on SMB planning and preparedness, response and recovery, and learning and change. Understanding how small- and medium-sized businesses are impacted by climate-related and other large-scale disruptive events is needed for the development of programming to support business resilience. The survey is the first phase of a two-part study, the objective of which is to identify the key capabilities and conditions that enable SMB resilience to multiple (or simultaneously occurring) disruptive events.