Cerro Grande/Los Alamos

The prescribed burn that got away from the National Park Service in 2000 destroyed hundreds of homes in Los Alamos, caused the evacuation of 18,000 residents, and charred 48,000 acres.

NAU.PH.2001.41.1.6
Cerro Grande Fire, burning along ridgelines and canyons in the Santa Clara Canyon west of Los Alamos. (George Sheppard, photographer)

Lessons learned included the need to clarify policy implementation, to plan each prescribed fire in coordination with other agencies and the public (peer-review), to identify contingency resources, and to ensure accountability and public safety over natural resource protection.

Charlie Denton

Charlie Denton
Retired career firefighter and district ranger for the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest

"It was a poor plan, and then when they implemented it, it was even worse. And it doesn't make them bad people… I just think they got complacent."

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Brian Nowicki

Brian Nowicki
Conservation biologist

"Some houses that did not burn were actually protected by just a scratch line—that is, just a raked line to bare dirt, around the house…"

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