Lessons Learned from Waldo Canyon: FAC mitigation assessment team report

The Waldo Canyon fire presented the first opportunity for partners in the national Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) Coalition to collectively assess the performance of mitigation practices in Colorado Springs in a post-fire environment and to compare the results to the mitigation strategy recommended by the Fire Adapted Communities program. The assessment was conducted from July 18-20, 2012, by a FAC Wildfire Mitigation Assessment Team, which included two sets of researchers: structural assessment and forestry experts and social science and public education experts, accompanied by staff from the Colorado Springs Division of the Fire Marshal and the State of Colorado. The structural assessment team surveyed 40 homes that were damaged, undamaged and destroyed during the fire, toured fuels management projects, and examined a variety of mitigation initiatives including creation of defensible space, Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Codes and Ordinances, wildfire preparedness information and awareness efforts. The team of social science and public education experts talked with local officials, homeowners and community leaders and also toured the above-mentioned areas. The FAC Mitigation Assessment Team included representatives from the USDA Forest Service, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), International Association of Fire Chiefs, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and The Nature Conservancy.