UC Davis

Disaster recovery is an increasingly important field of study; with the rise of extreme weather events due to climate change, it is important we understand how processes of disaster recovery impact local communities in the short and long term. The legacy of how the military has framed resilience and the ‘all-hazard’ disaster response has created an approach of climate securitization, which can lead to cities and public spaces becoming increasingly insulated and surveilled. One such disaster event, the Camp Fire that burned through several Northern California towns in 2018, exemplifies an individual disaster that sits in a nested hierarchy of the larger, compounding disasters of securitization, neoliberalism and climate change. Through select stakeholder interviews and document analysis of local ordinances and political action groups, this thesis explores the recovery process and aftermath that took place in Chico, CA, and proposes several processes that occur at the local level that socially reproduce climate securitization. These processes could indicate that a disaster response is becoming securitized, which include the vilification of a marginalized community, a culture of surveillance, increased police budget and presence and heightened control over public space. These processes have troubling implications for vulnerable populations and highlight the need for increased attention to inclusive disaster planning in climate change contexts.