https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200902161703.htm

To understand what motivates people to evacuate, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) surveyed affected residents. Their analysis of the responses identified key factors at play, including risk perception, gender, warnings from trusted sources, and evacuation plans. They also uncovered an unexpected phenomenon, wherein smoke appeared to lower peoples' sense of danger. These results, outlined in the International Journal of Wildland Fire, could help communities, especially those without robust wildfire response plans in place, devise and improve strategies for getting people to head for safer ground.

The NIST survey asked residents of Sevier County, Tennessee, the county most impacted by the fire, about a multitude of factors that could have affected their decision to flee or stay behind.