Flames and rapid feedback: How focus groups shaped wildfire response during COVID-19

Sue Miller; David Flores; Jim Gumm; Christina Anabel; Louis Fleming; Joel Iverson

Treesearch

Flames and rapid feedback: How focus groups shaped wildfire response during COVID-19

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Sue Miller, David Flores, Jim Gumm, Christina Anabel, Louis Fleming, Joel Iverson

Year:

2024

Type:

Science Bulletins and Newsletters

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

Source:

Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 68. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 7 p.

Download (PDF 7.90 MB)

Download (PDF 7.90 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/67923.pdf

Abstract

In early 2020 as the world grappled with the profound disruptions wrought by the global pandemic COVID-19, Forest Service personnel managing firefighting crews found themselves in a novel situation where traditional strategies for managing wildfires clashed with the imperative to safeguard firefighters against a highly contagious virus. At the outset of this extraordinary year, and as COVID-19 began spreading through the United States that spring, some typical prefire season preparations such as trainings and new hires were being made but it was not exactly "business as usual." Concerns about COVID-19 and how it would impact firefighting crews and their ability to perform their jobs was top of mind for people at all levels of the agency.

Keywords

firefighting crews, wildfire management, Covid-19 response, lessons

Citation

Miller, Sue; Flores, David; Gumm, Jim; Anabel, Christina; Fleming, Louis; Iverson, Joel. 2024. Flames and rapid feedback: How focus groups shaped wildfire response during COVID-19. Science You Can Use Bulletin, Issue 68. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 7 p.