Hispanic Access Foundation has published a Spanish-language edition of its wildfire resiliency white paper, giving Latino families, outdoor workers, and local leaders a critical safety resource in the language many rely on most. The Spanish edition, “Incendios Forestales: Comunidades Latinas y el Camino hacia la Resiliencia,” mirrors the English white paper’s guidance on wildfire preparedness, worker protections, and community-led resilience, while removing a language barrier that has long limited who can act on it.
Wildfire risk in the U.S. is no longer confined to a single season or region. More than 115 million people now live with year-round exposure to fire, smoke, and the disruption that follows, driven by a warming climate, decades of fire suppression, and continued building in fire-prone landscapes.
That risk falls hardest on the workers who spend their days outdoors. Latinos hold 31 percent of construction jobs, 35 percent of landscaping jobs, and 80 percent of farmwork nationwide—occupations that put people directly in the path of smoke, extreme heat, and unsafe conditions after a fire. Safety trainings, evacuation alerts, and recovery resources are frequently available only in English, leaving many of these same workers and their families without the tools to protect themselves.
“For a family who reads and speaks Spanish first, having safety information available in their own language can mean the difference between knowing what to do in a wildfire and being left to guess,” said Hilda Berganza, Hispanic Access Climate and Energy Transition Program Manager. “Publishing this white paper in Spanish means the people facing the greatest wildfire risk finally have the same access to preparedness information as everyone else.”
The toolkit walks through how wildfires spread and how smoke affects health, paired with case studies and guidance drawn from public health experts, environmental scientists, and responders who have worked on fire recovery on the ground. It also covers worker protections, emergency planning, and ways community networks can organize before and after a fire hits—reflecting the toolkit’s central argument that resilience takes more than emergency response; it takes community involvement, sustained education, environmental stewardship, and policy advocacy.
"Latino communities have always organized to protect the places we call home," said Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation. "This valuable resource doesn't just help families and workers prepare for the next fire—it gives them the knowledge to advocate more effectively for the wildfire resilience policies their communities need. Translating this toolkit is one way we make sure that community organizing is backed by the same information and resources as anyone else."
Alongside the release of the white paper, Hispanic Access Foundation also hosted a panel discussion connecting Latino community members directly with the white paper authors who translated research into practical, culturally relevant solutions. The conversation focused on equipping Latino families, protecting outdoor workers, and advancing policy change—from addressing language barriers in emergency alerts to advocating for safer working conditions.
Hispanic Access Foundation is closing the knowledge gap that too often leaves Latino communities managing wildfire risk with less information than their neighbors—ensuring language is no longer a barrier to safety, preparedness, or a seat at the table in local and national wildfire policy. The toolkit is available for download at https://bit.ly/WildfireWhitepaper25.
