Assessment of intended electric vehicle charging behaviours during wildfire evacuations

Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is a growing challenge for disaster planning, requiring resilient grids and strategies. With minimal research on EV user behaviour in an evacuation context, this study addresses this gap by developing a series of discrete choice models to understand the factors that impact EV charging behaviour in a hypothetical wildfire evacuation. Through a non-probability panel from the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia of people living in high/medium fire risk, we collected survey data (n = 1371) on intended actions, assuming a 400 km range EV. Results indicate diverse EV charging patterns, and no single charging location type nor one form of charging behaviour dominated across scenarios throughout the evacuation time period. Across all models, we found that EV ownership, a preference to reduce risk to property and family, intended evacuation choices, and past hazard experience influenced charging behaviour. Targeted grid improvements and strategic placement of both fixed and mobile charging stations would likely be sufficient to meet electricity demand from EVs in evacuations.