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The 2024 Roxborough Park Wildfire Evacuation Drill - Lessons learned after planning, running, and studying a community evacuation exercise

Kinateder, Max LU ; Byrne, Robert Michael ; Alexander, Mike ; Geoerg, Paul ; Ronchi, Enrico LU orcid ; Berthiaume, Maxine ; Gwynne, Steve LU ; Dugstad, Ann Kristin LU ; Kimball, Amanda and Bénichou, Noureddine (2025) 22nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM 2025 In Proceedings of the International ISCRAM Conference
Abstract

In June 2024, the community of Roxborough Park, Colorado conducted a wildfire evacuation exercise (or drill for short) that was observed by a team of researchers. This collaborative effort involved residents, community organizers, first responders, emergency managers, and researchers. The drill aimed to test and refine evacuation protocols, communication strategies, and coordination among various stakeholders and gave the opportunity to researchers to collect information related to human response in a wildfire evacuation. The present contribution describes the community as well as the roles and activities of the parties involved, the drill itself, followed by lessons learned. Drill participants practiced real-time decision-making, route... (More)

In June 2024, the community of Roxborough Park, Colorado conducted a wildfire evacuation exercise (or drill for short) that was observed by a team of researchers. This collaborative effort involved residents, community organizers, first responders, emergency managers, and researchers. The drill aimed to test and refine evacuation protocols, communication strategies, and coordination among various stakeholders and gave the opportunity to researchers to collect information related to human response in a wildfire evacuation. The present contribution describes the community as well as the roles and activities of the parties involved, the drill itself, followed by lessons learned. Drill participants practiced real-time decision-making, route navigation, and emergency response actions in response to a hypothetical wildfire threat. The exercise highlighted strengths in community readiness and identified areas for improvement, such as traffic management and information dissemination. Feedback from participants and observers was collected to inform future planning and training. The drill underscored the importance of community engagement and interagency cooperation in mitigating wildfire risks and ensuring the safety of residents. This proactive approach could serve as a model for other Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) communities striving to enhance their wildfire resilience.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
community preparedness, evacuation, wildfire, WUI
host publication
2025: 22nd International ISCRAM Conference, Halifax, Canada : Managing and Responding to Coastal Disasters and Climate Change - Managing and Responding to Coastal Disasters and Climate Change
series title
Proceedings of the International ISCRAM Conference
publisher
ISCRAM
conference name
22nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM 2025
conference location
Halifax, Canada
conference dates
2025-05-18 - 2025-05-21
external identifiers
  • scopus:105008003694
DOI
10.59297/am3g5x02
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2025 Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM. All rights reserved.
id
10864454-6d89-4a31-a760-ce6ba84b02df
date added to LUP
2025-12-16 11:38:28
date last changed
2025-12-16 11:39:31
@inproceedings{10864454-6d89-4a31-a760-ce6ba84b02df,
  abstract     = {{<p>In June 2024, the community of Roxborough Park, Colorado conducted a wildfire evacuation exercise (or drill for short) that was observed by a team of researchers. This collaborative effort involved residents, community organizers, first responders, emergency managers, and researchers. The drill aimed to test and refine evacuation protocols, communication strategies, and coordination among various stakeholders and gave the opportunity to researchers to collect information related to human response in a wildfire evacuation. The present contribution describes the community as well as the roles and activities of the parties involved, the drill itself, followed by lessons learned. Drill participants practiced real-time decision-making, route navigation, and emergency response actions in response to a hypothetical wildfire threat. The exercise highlighted strengths in community readiness and identified areas for improvement, such as traffic management and information dissemination. Feedback from participants and observers was collected to inform future planning and training. The drill underscored the importance of community engagement and interagency cooperation in mitigating wildfire risks and ensuring the safety of residents. This proactive approach could serve as a model for other Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) communities striving to enhance their wildfire resilience.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kinateder, Max and Byrne, Robert Michael and Alexander, Mike and Geoerg, Paul and Ronchi, Enrico and Berthiaume, Maxine and Gwynne, Steve and Dugstad, Ann Kristin and Kimball, Amanda and Bénichou, Noureddine}},
  booktitle    = {{2025: 22nd International ISCRAM Conference, Halifax, Canada : Managing and Responding to Coastal Disasters and Climate Change}},
  keywords     = {{community preparedness; evacuation; wildfire; WUI}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  publisher    = {{ISCRAM}},
  series       = {{Proceedings of the International ISCRAM Conference}},
  title        = {{The 2024 Roxborough Park Wildfire Evacuation Drill - Lessons learned after planning, running, and studying a community evacuation exercise}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.59297/am3g5x02}},
  doi          = {{10.59297/am3g5x02}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}