Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

Case Studies

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A Case Study is an exploration of a “bounded system” or a case over time through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information rich in context. (Creswell, 1998) A wildland fire subject area makes a particularly effective case study as is seen in the examples below.

Submit your case study document to the Lessons Learned Center Library (after you login as a registered member) and begin to add to the collection.

Sections: Fire Social Science Wildland Fire Incident Case Study Wilderness and Wildland Fire Use Wildland Firefighter Safety Awareness Wildland/Urban Interface Incident Management Fire Behavior Recent Submissions

Fire Social Science
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Factors Affecting Interagency Wildland Fire Management and Recommendations for Future Collaborative Endeavors This thesis deals with factors of success in landscape scale collaborations. Two case studies illustrate effective practices and pitfalls.

Proceedings from the Tucson III Fire Social Science Workshop January 2005. Fire managers and social scientists recieved pragmatic insights from each other in fire knowledge transfer, building partnerships, continuing education in decision-making, human dimensions research and much more about the role of social science in fire.

Wildland Fire Incident Case Study
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Point Fire Case Study July 28, 2005 is the 10th anniversary of the 1995 Point Fire. The lessons of the Point Fire are not widely known, especially to volunteer firefighters. (Colorado Firecamp will be mailing the Point Fire Case Study and video (NFES 2663) to all 300 fire departments in Colorado.) This is a significant incident in the recent history of wildland fire and incorporates all aspects of the BLM Engine Operator course into one case study.

Wilderness and Wildland Fire Use
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Wilderness Burning This link loads a 1 MB Flash Paper version of an 8 MB PowerPoint presentation created by Ralph Swain and given at the 2004 R8 Burn Boss Workshop. (Additional information support document) Need Flash Player? Free two minute download at 56 KB/s.

The Boiler and Dry Lake Complex Wildland Fire Use The Gila National Forest's Black Range Ranger District and Wilderness Ranger District gave this presentation at the 2004 R8 Burn Boss Workshop. This is a 7.5 MB Flash Paper version of the larger PowerPoint file and requires the Flash Player to view.

Wildland Firefighter Safety Awareness
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Presentations given at the 2005 Safety Summit are now posted in our library. Dennis Talbert has provided the Lessons Learned Center an excellent summary document. We have inserted hyperlinks into each of the presentation's titles. The poster presentations are also available on the IAWF Proceedings page.

The Wildland Firefighter Safety Awareness Study was completed in 1998 by the TriData Corporation. The Lessons Learned Center came to be a reality as a direct result of this three phase report. Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 (Exec. Summary, Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and Appendix A, B, C) Implementing Cultural Changes For Safety

Wildland/Urban Interface
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FACES: The Story of the Victims of Southern California’s 2003 Fire Siege

(5.9 MB DOC Posted 090607)

The FACES of the 2003 Fire Siege is a case study of how six critical tasks provide the foundation of a learning organization. In his dogged and determined quest to unearth the answers to so many questions about how these fires claimed so many people’s lives, Bob Mutch’s actions and findings epitomize all six of the Organizational Learning characteristics.

stephan_bridge_road_case_study_1990.pdf
(14MB pdf posted 1/10/2007)
"A rapidly spreading wildfire swept across 5,916 acres of wildland/urban interface area near Grayling, Michigan beginning around 3:50 p.m. on May 8, 1990./ More than 76 homes and 125 other structures, plus 37 vehicles and boats, were destroyed or heavily damaged during the approximately five hours in which the wind pushed the Stephan Bridge Road fire for a distance of more than eight miles."

black_tiger_case_study_1989.pdf
(3MB pdf posted 1/11/2007)
"A human-caused wildland fire starting on July 9, 1989 in a scenic part of the Rocky Mountains near Boulder, Colorado swept through residential areas nestled among the trees. Within the first five to six hours after ignition, 44 homes and other structures were destroyed and many others were damaged. The fire not was not completely extinguished until four days later, after burning almost 2,100 acres."

The Oakland/Berkeley Hills Fire (4MB PDF Posted 5/5/2006)

Closer to Oakland and also similar to the 1991 fire was the wildfire northeast of Berkeley, which began in September 1923. In 10 hours the fire roared through the Oakland and Berkeley Hills. This document details the fire.

The Slaughter Gulch Fire resulted in an engine burnover the investigation team determined could have been prevented. (This is an 8 MB narrated Flash Presentation and requires the Flash Player to be installed on your computer.) Need Flash Player? Free two minute download at 56 KB/s. Investigation Team Report (1 MB PDF posted 091305)

Using HF Appropriations on Non Federal Land Non-Fed WUI Authorization and Wyden Amendment, authorization and instruments presentation given at the 2004 R8 Burn Boss Workshop. This is a 1 MB Flash Paper version of the PowerPoint and requires the Flash Player to view it. (Notes pages)

Parkhill Area Wildland Fire Pre-Plan and Evacuation Plan Overview (26 KB doc posted 7/27/2005) The Parkhill Area is located 20 miles northeast of San Louis Obispo, CA. It is heavily vegetated with chaparral and in a high risk/high fire activity area. 500 residents live in this area. The Parkhill Area Fire Evacuation Plan brochure was sent to all 500 residents in 2004. Parkhill Area Fire Evacuation Plan (337 KB pdf brochure) Parkhill Area Wildland Fire Pre-Plan (587 KB pdf front side of a foldable poster) Parkhill Area Wildland Fire Pre-Plan Map (605 KB pdf back side of a foldable poster) Thanks to Kelley Gouette for sending this WUI case study to the Center!

Old Fire Lessons Learned Report (332 KB PDF posted 080404) 9-1-1 Consulting Group, Inc. (9-1-1CG) was retained by the San Bernardino County Fire Chiefs Association (SBCFCA) to prepare this report on the I-Zone fire which was named the “OLD FIRE” of the Southern California Fire Storm 2003.

Community Preparedness Case Studies (Link posted 072604) A North Central Research Station research team has been conducting case studies in 15 communities across the U.S. looking at (1) what communities are doing to improve preparedness for wildfire, and (2) the social foundation necessary to support those actions. As part of this study they have produced a series of case study summaries, highlighting each community. They have posted 8 case studies, with the remaining 7 coming the spring of 2005.

Incident Management
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Hurricane Isabel: The National Park Service Response (1.8 MB PDF posted 080504) The National Park Service has completed a report on the response of its incident management teams to Hurricane Isabel – one of the most complex incidents that the NPS has yet managed under ICS, involving five national and regional incident management teams and more than 30 parks in three regions. The report includes a narrative on the storm, summaries of park and incident management team responses, and a critique of those responses.

Command Decisions During Catastrophic Urban- Interface Wildfire: A Case Study Of The 1993 Orange County, California, Laguna Fire (682 KB PDF) By Michael S. Rohde, August 2002 The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges and commonalities experienced by the personnel who commanded six catastrophic California wildland-urban interface fires and how future fires of this nature might be commanded and prepared for. The study includes a description of strategies and tactics specific to the Laguna, Old Topanga, Kinneloa, Harmony, Paint, and Tunnel Fires. Related: Command During Catastrophic Interface Widfires (Overview 119 KB PDF) Article by: Michael S. Rohde, Southern California Firestorm 2003: An Information Collection Team (ICT) Report for the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (567 KB PDF)

Fire Behavior
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The Mack Lake Fire Part 1, Part 2 "In the first 3-1/2 hours, during which the fire advanced 7-1/2 miles, no amount of fire line or road width held or slowed the fire. After the fire had advanced 4 miles, the passage of a dry cold front turned the southeast flank into a head fire. In the first 6 hours, the fire took one life, destroyed 44 homes and buildings, and burned 20,000 acres of forest land."

Fire Management Today: Wildland Fire Behavior Case Studies and Analysis Part 1, FMT Volume 63 Issue 3, Summer 2003, (1.1 MB PDF) Multiple historical case studies and a tribute to Paul Gleason.
Wildland Fire Behavior Case Studies and Analysis: Value, Approaches, and Practical Uses (64 KB PDF) FMT 63-3 Lead Article by M.E. Alexander and D.A. Thomas

Fire Management Today: Wildland Fire Behavior Case Studies and Analysis Part 2, FMT Volume 63 Issue 4, Fall 2003, (1.2 MB PDF) More case histories.
Wildland Fire Behavior Case Studies an Analysis: Other Examples, Methods, Reporting Standards and Some Practical Advice (83 KB PDF) FMT 63-4 Lead Article by M.E. Alexander and D.A. Thomas

Mann Gultch, Cramer, South Canyon

Below are some other case studies recently submitted to the Center: Back to Top

Devils_Den_256K_Stream.wmv
(20MB wmv posted 5/1/2008)
This short video briefly and succinctly tells the story of the 2006 Devil’s Den Incident fatality experience — focusing on the key lessons and effective practices to be learned from this fireline tragedy.

Devils_Den_VP6_stream_medium.flv
(30MB flv posted 5/1/2008)
This video briefly and succinctly tells the story of the 2006 Devil’s Den Incident fatality experience — focusing on the key lessons and effective practices to be learned from this fireline tragedy. Streaming .flv Flash Video file for a High Speed Connection (1Mb/s)Requires the Flash Player to be installed on your computer.

Deep_Smarts_Final_052107.doc
(132 KB doc posted 5/15/2007)
"The Fire Management Deep Smarts Project was initiated to capture the experience of our seasoned employees who are acknowledged by their peers to have high expertise in planning and implementing fire programs."

East Roaring Fire LLA.doc
(32.0 KB doc posted 2/2/2007)
On Sept 5, 2006 a helispot on the East Roaring Fire (ID-BOF) burned over during extended attack, resulting in the loss of 45 PG bags that were staged there earlier in the day. No injuries or entrapments occured as a result of the burn-over, but this was a significant loss in equipment and personal possessions. On Nov 9, 2006 a Lesson's Learned Analysis was conducted by Paul Chamberlin. The attached document is the summary narrative of the LLA.

Wein (2002) 1968 Inuvik Fire.pdf
(2.18 MB pdf posted 10/3/2006)
“Visitors who drive along the Airport Road toward the Town of Inuvik may not notice a grown-over fireguard that runs eastward and up the hill across from the Juk Campground. To residents of Inuvik who were in the town during the month of August in 1968, this cutline has a special meaning. On hot days in summer when smoke drifts into town from distant fires, these people remember that the fire guard was built to protect the Town from a fire that broke out on August 8 and burned for 10 long days…”

Laguna_Fire_Analysis_1970.pdf
(7.61 MB pdf posted 9/1/2006)
"This is a detailed analysis of the Laguna Fire which ocurred September 26, 1970 on the Descanso District of the Cleveland National Forest. The report encompasses the events prior to the fire, suppression action on the fire, costs, major control and organizational problems. It is hoped this Fire Analysis will improve future fire control management and to train men in practical management of the overall fire control job with specific emphasis on planning and performance required to prevent fires from becoming large."

Dude_Fire_Fire_Weather_Behavior_1998.pdf
(140.1KB pdf posted 6/27/2006)
This is a report written by David W. Goens and Patricia L. Andrews regarding the Weather and Fire Behavior patterns during the 1990 Dude Fire near Payson, AZ in which six firefighters were killed. Goens and Andrews were a part of the incident investigation team following the tragedy.

MTU2_Final_Report.pdf
(583.7KB pdf posted 6/22/2006)
In February 2005, a total of 120 fire management people from various levels in the fire service organization, representing several agencies, participated in this four-day workshop in Jacksonville, Florida. The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center initiated this effort to encourage and advance the strong tie between High Reliability Organizations and Learning Organizations. (part 1 of 5, see the other parts on the HRO page under Organizational Learning)

1974_wildfires_bjs.pdf
(5.9MB pdf posted 5/5/2006)
"During the 1974 fire season in Ontario 1,625 wildfires destroyed a total of 524,005.7 hectares (1,294,800.2 acres), the greatest area burned over in this province since 1923. This report summarizes and analyzes the fire weather and wildfire situation in northwestern Ontario before and during the critical burning period of 1974, and gives special attention to the analysis of the two most significant wildfires of this year: Red Lake No. 31 and Dryden No. 18."

Cerro Grande Cohen Home Destruction.pdf
(902.8KB pdf posted 5/5/2006)
Examination of the Home Destruction in Los Alamos Associated with the Cerro Grande Fire July 10, 2000. "The homes were destroyed as the main body of the Cerro Grande Fire burned past Los Alamos to the north-northeast and then toward the northeast between about 1700 on 5/10 to the early morning hours of 5/11."

Disclaimer: Information is provided with the intent to share knowledge to improve safety, performance, efficiency and organizational learning throughout the entire wildland fire community. However, no warranties or guarantees are implied because much of the data provided is beyond the control of the Center. No endorsement of any company or product is given or implied.