Wildfire Anxiety: The Emotional Toll of Watching Forests Burn

Why does wildfire anxiety weigh so heavily? Clear guidance and practical steps for anyone who feels helpless, angry or grief-stricken by forest fire news.

In the summer months the same image keeps appearing on your phone screen: a sky turned orange, smoke rising from the hills, a villager trying to reach the flames with a garden hose, a cat with burnt paws being lifted into someone's arms. You may be hundreds of kilometres away at that moment, in the office or in the kitchen; yet something catches in your throat. Lying in bed at night you wonder, "What is happening there right now?", and the first thing you do in the morning is check whether the fire has been brought under control. Wildfire anxiety is the intense unease, helplessness and grief that comes from witnessing burning forests, lost wildlife and people forced to leave their homes, even when you are nowhere near the fire zone yourself. In this article we look at why this feeling weighs so heavily, when it stops being an ordinary reaction, and how you can build a healthier relationship with it.

What Is Wildfire Anxiety?

Wildfire anxiety is not a diagnosis; it describes a state of mind that many people recognise during the summer months. Several different emotions are tangled up in it:

• Anxiety: Worries about the future, such as "Will the fire spread? Could it reach where I live? What if the wind changes direction?"
• Grief: Sorrow at the loss of a grove where you picnicked as a child, a cove where you have holidayed for years, or a forest you have never seen but were glad simply to know existed. In psychology this is sometimes called "ecological grief".
• Helplessness: The sense that there is nothing at all you can do in the face of such enormous destruction.
• Anger: Frustration over negligence, claims of arson, debates about an inadequate response, or what will happen to the burnt land afterwards.

All of these emotions are understandable reactions showing that something you value is under threat. The problem is less the emotion itself than how long it lasts and how much space it takes up in your life.

Why Does Wildfire News Feel So Heavy?

For many people in Turkey, a forest is not just scenery. In villages along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, olives, pine honey and carob are both a livelihood and a family memory. When an olive grove planted by a grandfather turns to ash overnight, it is experienced as more than a financial loss; it feels like a bond between generations being severed. Many people who watched the major fires around Manavgat and Marmaris on their screens in the summer of 2021 still describe those days as "the week I couldn't breathe".

Several factors add to this burden:

The images are live and relentless. Today we do not see a fire only on the evening news. Videos filmed by villagers on their phones, cars driving through flames and voice messages calling for help circulate in our feeds for hours. The brain partly processes the danger it sees on screen as real danger; so even though you are safe, your body can switch into alarm mode.

It cannot be controlled. Wind direction, temperature and humidity are in nobody's hands. The human mind is particularly sensitive to uncertainty and to dangers it cannot control.

The helplessness of living creatures. Images of animals unable to escape stir deep compassion and pain in many people. Those with a strong bond with animals in particular may feel shaken for days after seeing them.

The sense of repetition. Similar news arriving every summer feeds the thought "This will always happen; nothing ever changes." Over time, this thought can turn anxiety into hopelessness.

What Are the Signs of Wildfire Anxiety?

People shaken by wildfire news commonly experience the following reactions:

• An urge to check fire maps, breaking-news accounts and live broadcasts again and again
• Difficulty falling asleep at night, with images of the fire coming back to mind
• Startling and a racing heart at the smell of smoke or the sound of a helicopter or fire engine siren
• Physical symptoms such as tightness in the chest, nausea or loss of appetite
• Frequently feeling close to tears during the day, or numbness and feeling nothing at all
• A need to call loved ones constantly if they are in the affected region
• Avoiding activities you used to enjoy, such as holidays, walks or barbecues
• Touchiness and impatience with those around you, especially anger towards people who find the subject "exaggerated"

Experiencing several of these during the week of a fire is very common and does not in itself mean there is a disorder. What deserves attention is this state continuing weeks after the fires have been put out, or putting a clear strain on your work, sleep and relationships.

Who Is More Affected?

Not everyone experiences this news with the same intensity. The impact may be more pronounced in the following groups:

• People who live in the fire zone or have loved ones there. For someone whose parents live in Muğla, and who is trying to tell from their voice on the phone whether the smoke is getting closer, this is not a news story but a direct experience of threat.
• People who have previously been through a fire, an earthquake or another disaster. New reports can revive old memories.
• People prone to anxiety. For those with generally low tolerance of uncertainty, who tend to think "what if this happens", wildfire news can become fresh fuel for anxiety.
• Children and adolescents. They may struggle to make sense of what they see and may ask, "Will our house burn too?"
• Firefighters, forestry workers, volunteers and journalists. Those on the ground, and the families waiting for them at home, also go through intense stress.

For people whose worries about climate change are already high, wildfire news makes that anxiety concrete and tangible. Our article on climate anxiety, which explores this subject more broadly, may also help you.

How Can You Cope With Wildfire Anxiety?

The aim is not to become indifferent or to say "it's none of my business". The aim is to protect your mental health while continuing to care about what is happening. The following steps help many people:

Get the information, but don't get swept away by the feed

While a fire is burning you do need information, especially if you have loved ones in the region. But getting information is not the same as watching footage for hours. Choose one or two reliable official sources and check them at set times of day, for example once in the morning and once in the evening. Keeping the hour before bed free of fire images can noticeably ease your sleep. To recognise the cycle of feeling worse the more you scroll, you can also read our article on doomscrolling.

Bring your body out of alarm mode

When your chest tightens or your heart speeds up, simple grounding methods such as breathing out slowly and at length, or planting your feet on the floor and counting five objects around you, soften the body's message that "danger is here". A short walk or a cool shower also helps.

Turn helplessness into a small action

Anxiety and helplessness grow with the feeling that "I can't do anything". Even a small action is meaningful: supporting aid campaigns run by reliable organisations, buying produce from villages affected by the fire, joining tree-planting efforts after the fire, or being careful about fire risk where you live. Knowing to call 177, Turkey's Forest Fire Reporting Line, if you see smoke in a forest also gives a sense of control.

Make room for your grief

Feeling sad when a place you love burns is not something to brush aside with "they're only trees". Writing down your memories of the place, looking at old photographs, or talking to someone who knew it with you makes the grief bearable. Trying to suppress grief often brings it back as anger or numbness.

Channel your anger somewhere it can go

Anger is a natural reaction to a sense of injustice. But arguing on social media for hours does not reduce anger; more often it increases it. Directing your anger into a petition, volunteering or a local environmental initiative is both less draining and more meaningful.

Allow for the weeks after the fire is out

The news cycle moves on to another subject on the day the fire is extinguished; but the emotional impact does not close at the same speed. Some people hold up while the fire is burning, follow everything and collect donations; the real exhaustion and sadness arrive a few weeks later, once the agenda has calmed down. Don't be surprised by this delayed reaction. In the period after the fire, consciously return to your sleep, your eating and the routines you enjoy. News showing the burnt area turning green again a year later, or tree-planting events, are also a reminder that recovery is possible. Tension may also return on the anniversary of the fire, or at the start of summer when temperatures rise; knowing this in advance lets you meet those days better prepared.

Talk to children in a way that suits their age

Let's say your eight-year-old saw a burning forest on the news and started crying in bed that evening. You can explain without lying but without overwhelming them with detail: "A forest is burning in a faraway place, and firefighters and pilots are working to put it out. Our home is safe." Then asking "How are you feeling?" and acknowledging their feelings shows that you are not leaving them alone with it. It is also important to limit how much fire footage children are exposed to.

When Should You Seek Professional Support?

Feeling sad, tense and angry during the weeks of a fire is to be expected. However, you might consider seeing a mental health professional in the following situations:

• If problems with sleep, appetite or concentration continue for weeks after the fires have ended
• If you cannot stop checking the news and it is disrupting your work and relationships
• If you develop intense panic reactions to the smell of smoke, hot weather or sirens
• If your avoidance has grown to the point that you are thinking of moving away from your region or cannot go into wooded areas at all
• If the thought "nothing matters" has spread through your daily life and your capacity for enjoyment has diminished
• If you experienced the fire first-hand, lost your home or your animals, and the moment keeps replaying in your mind

These situations do not mean you are "too sensitive"; they show that what you are going through is intense enough to need support. If you feel anxiety taking over your body and your daily routine, support is available through anxiety and panic counselling.

How Is Wildfire Anxiety Addressed in Therapy?

The first step in therapy is to recognise together that your feelings are understandable. Many people blame themselves: "I wasn't even there, so why am I so affected?" Noticing this guilt and replacing it with a kinder view of yourself is a relief in itself.

Within cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the thoughts that feed anxiety are examined. Sweeping thoughts such as "Everywhere is going to burn", "Nothing is being done" or "There's no point living in this country" are looked at alongside the evidence. The aim is not to make the situation look better than it is, but to balance the part of the mind that slides into catastrophic scenarios.

Behavioural work also matters. Behaviours that bring short-term relief but feed anxiety in the long run, such as constantly checking the news or searching social media for footage, are identified and reduced step by step. With people who have started avoiding wooded areas, camping or picnics, a gradual return to these places can be planned.

Grief work makes room for the places, memories and hopes for the future that were lost with the fire. Particularly for those directly affected, who have lost their village or their garden, trauma-focused approaches may be needed.

Finally, therapy explores actions that are in line with your values. For someone who values nature, this might be volunteering or local environmental work. Turning anxiety into meaningful action is one of the most effective antidotes to the feeling of helplessness.

Feeling pain as you watch something you care about burn is a sign that you are compassionate; the aim is not to erase that pain but to find the strength to carry it.

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm not in the fire zone; is it normal to be this affected?

Yes, it is a very common reaction. The brain can partly process destruction watched on a screen as if it were its own experience. If you have a strong bond with nature or animals, or have been through a disaster before, being affected is even more understandable.

Is it right to stop watching wildfire news altogether?

Cutting yourself off completely is neither realistic nor necessary for most people. What is recommended is getting information from reliable sources at set times and limiting how much footage you consume. For those with loved ones in the region, regular updates can reduce anxiety; what really wears you down is staying inside the same images for hours.

Even the smell of smoke makes me tense after the fire; will this pass?

This kind of startle reaction is common right after the event and often fades within weeks. If it is not fading over time, or is even spreading, this may show that the anxiety has settled in. In that case, planning gradual and safe work with a professional can help.

My child can't sleep after seeing wildfire footage; what should I do?

Limit their exposure to the images, answer their questions simply and honestly, and show them in concrete ways that your home is safe. Keep the bedtime routine calm. If the fears last for weeks or affect school and play, you can seek the opinion of a child mental health professional.

• #wildfires
• #ecological grief
• #helplessness
• #news anxiety
• #managing anxiety

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Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

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