When a wildfire approaches a prison and an evacuation warning is issued, what are the health risks that incarcerated people face when officials decide to not evacuate? What happens if the evacuation warning turns into a mandate and there are no transportation options to securely move everyone, or there are no nearby facilities to go to?
These are some of the issues raised by two University of Colorado Department of Medicine faculty members — Katherine LeMasters, PhD, and Lawrence Haber, MD — in a correspondence titled, “The Hidden Crisis of Incarcerated Individuals During Wildfires,” which was recently published in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas journal.
“Climate change has intensified wildfire conditions worldwide, doubling their frequency over the past two decades,” the authors wrote. “Wildfires pose immediate health risks including burns, extreme heat, and smoke inhalation, along with long-term pulmonary, cardiovascular, and mental health impacts. Incarcerated individuals are a population uniquely poised to suffer from extreme weather events, as demonstrated by the 2025 Los Angeles (LA) fires.”
LeMasters, an assistant professor of general internal medicine, is a social epidemiologist who focuses her research on how the system of mass incarceration creates and exacerbates health inequities. We recently spoke with her about her concerns on how climate change may affect incarcerated youth and adults, the need for more research, and the actions she hopes to see leaders take.
The following interview has been edited and condensed.