Pine Ridge Fire summary report

In July 2012, immediately after the Pine Ridge Fire burned outside De Beque, Colorado, a team of researchers interviewed fire managers, local government officials, and residents to understand perceptions of the event itself, communication, evacuation, and pre-fire preparedness in order to identify contributors to success and areas for improvement. Although the fire had been a fast-moving event that presented significant risk to critical regional infrastructure and homes, research participants largely agreed that the fire management response prevented losses and that the actions taken before the fire among fire managers and emergency responders to plan and build relationships were a key component of the success.