Colorado's Fourmile Canyon Fire: When Community -- and Twitter -- Matter

BOULDER, Colo. -- This week, my community is experiencing the worst fire in the state's history.

So far, almost 140 homes and other buildings have been destroyed; many families -- including those of several firefighters -- have lost everything. About 3,000 people are staying with friends and family or at hotels as 6,150 acres in the scenic but rugged mountains burn. Fortunately, there are no injuries or deaths thus far, though four people are missing.

Since the first smell of smoke and a glance at the strange amber-colored sunlight at around 11 a.m. Monday, following the fire has consumed me, along with most of the community here. Even many of you from far away are involved in tracking details in one way or another.

Monday morning, after smelling that smoke, I went online to get the scoop. I checked local news sites and found nothing. But on Twitter, photos were starting to pop up. I then looked on the county government website and found no information. So I clicked on the link to get the scanner traffic. I shared the link on Twitter, and started listening. At 11:35 a.m., I began tweeting the scanner news.

Although I was in my basement wearing the T-shirt I'd slept in, I wasn't alone. A community quickly formed around the hashtag (as the identifier is known in the Twitterverse) #boulderfire. Google maps were created. Andrew Hyde, a key member of the tech community in Boulder, briefly set up a live video feed with the scanner traffic as audio. More than 1,000 people tuned in. One company, Sparkplace, set up a bulletin board for those seeking help and offering help.

And Project EPIC, based at the University of Colorado (where I work as a journalism instructor), took the opportunity to continue testing its analysis and synthesis of social media that it began after the Haiti earthquake earlier this year. The project continues mapping, monitoring and sharing information with the larger community. My Twitter feed is among the contributors to the project, and I spent an hour or so hanging out in the EPIC lab Wednesday afternoon -- geeks with laptops, occasionally and randomly chatting.

Although I've been at my computer almost constantly since Monday (when I haven't been teaching or sleeping), I've made many new friends. Wednesday afternoon, I chatted on the telephone -- via Colorado Public Radio for Thursday's "Colorado Matters" program -- with Laura Levy, previously known to me as @laurasrecipies. She took over scanner-monitoring duties on Tuesday when I returned to my real job. She's one of many who are forwarding information from other sources and digging up new information sources. One of these folks lived next door earlier this year -- maybe we'll meet for real sometime soon.

But gathering and disseminating information is a minor part of the story. During the devastating Colorado wildfires of 2002, I gained a huge respect for wildland firefighters. I'm proud that some of my tax money goes to pay these folks, because they work their tails off to protect our families, our homes and even our pets.

Yes, some parts of any government effort in a sudden disaster are imperfect, such as when the vendor database for reverse 911 calls failed Monday, requiring manpower to go door-to-door to evacuate mountain areas. After spending hours listening to scanner traffic, I wonder why federal firefighting resources weren't called in to manage the effort before Wednesday.

And I do wish that both government and traditional media would jump into the social media milieu fully, instead of just dipping their toes in the water occasionally. There's much to be gained from interacting and sharing with the community when disaster strikes.

But I'm thankful to be part of a community that is working to share and support each other, using everything from Twitter to taking in displaced friends to donating to the Red Cross.