Colorado Springs Officials Release Waldo Canyon Fire Final After Action Report

Colorado Springs city officials released their final After Action Report on last year’s devastating Waldo Canyon Fire this morning. KRCC’s Andrea Chalfin has more.

The final report is more than three times the size of the initial After Action Report released in October, and provides a more detailed account of the city’s response. Fire Chief Rich Brown says this kind of review is typical.

"Any public service professional worth his or her salt does this constantly."

The report builds on accounts from official scribes and people like Colorado Springs Fire Captain Steve Riker, who oversaw personnel in Mountain Shadows the day the fire broke into the city.

"We were given some extra warnings that we had probably some hotter temperatures, some drier weather, things to look out [for]. But I’m here to tell you that in my wildest dreams, I never would have assumed that this fire was going to blow up the way it did on us in that situation."

The findings are much the same as in October, highlighting public safety collaboration and response, and recommending better logistics support and real-time documentation, among other things. City officials also say they support an in-depth scientific study of the Waldo Canyon Fire proposed last year by Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet.