Understanding Perceptions of Residents and Officials to Reduce Wildfire Risk

Wildfires have increased in both intensity and frequency across Estes Park, Colorado across decades. Collaborating with the Boulder Watershed Collective and part of the Interactive Qualifying Project at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, we aimed to understand the perceptions surrounding wildfires from the perspectives of residents, town officials, and external organizations in the town of Estes Park and Larimer County. We conducted 38 semi-structured interviews with officials in the town and country, along with residents of Estes Park, to understand wildfire plans, document experiences and attitudes of residents regarding the threats of recent wildfires, and understand how they prepare for wildfires, the precautions they take. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded to extract common themes and ideas. The need for evacuation protocols, the importance of communication, and the exclusion of vulnerable populations of Estes Park were among our key findings. The group primarily recommends that communication and education strategies be expanded to reach a greater audience in an emergency.