Cerro Grande Fire

Investigation Team

Secretary Babbitt directed the National Interagency Fire Center to form a Fire Investigation Team to review the circumstances of the planning and implementation of the Cerro Grande Prescribed Fire (Appendix 1). The Director of the National Park Service Robert Stanton signed the delegation of authority for the team on May 12, 2000. Appendix 2 is a list of team members and functions. The team was given a specific purpose and scope to fulfill by May 18, 2000.

Purpose and Objectives

The team's purpose was to investigate and report on the circumstances associated with the planning and implementation with the planning and implementation of the Cerro Grande Prescribed Fire in Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, and determine if overall National Park Service guidance and procedures were followed. The team examined and reported on events and circumstances that occurred during May 4-8, 2000, which was the period beginning with the planning and implementation of the prescribed fire to the transition to the Type 1 Interagency Incident Management Team. Appendix 3 is the Upper Frijoles Units 1 and 5 Prescribed Fire Plan, and Appendix 4 is the Wildland Fire Situation Analysis.

Specific objectives for the investigation were to determine:

• If the prescribed fire plan was adequate given the complexity, objectives, and environmental conditions, and if it complied with guidance set forth in Director's Orders-18 and Reference Manual-18, which are NPS documents for policy and direction on fire management.
• If the prescription, actions, and procedures set forth in the prescribed fire plan were followed.
• If prescribed fire training and experience of personnel involved were commensurate with agency qualification standards.
• Recommendations for immediate and long-term actions to prevent similar future occurrences and improve program performance.

As directed in the delegation of authority, the Fire Investigation Team followed National Park Service procedures as described in Chapter 13, Evaluation and Review, Reference Manual-18 (USDI National Park Service 1998a). Team members completed the assignment using the following processes:

• Identified, collected, and analyzed the factual data associated with the planning, implementation, and escape of the prescribed fire through its redesignation as a wildland fire and management by the Type 1 Incident Management Team.
• Completed technical analyses of weather, climate, fuels, and fire behavior factors.
• Conducted interviews with key personnel involved with planning and implementation of the prescribed fire and its conversion to a wildland fire.
• Prepared an investigation report.

The report centers on the series of events from May 4-8, 2000, regarding the planning, implementation, and escape of the prescribed fire through its redesignation as a wildland fire. It also covers the transition from the local management team to the Type 1 Incident Management Team.

The investigation report is intended as an objective factual account. The findings of the Investigation Team will be reported to an Independent Review Board appointed by Secretary Babbitt. The Independent Review Board will review the findings and recommendations presented in the Cerro Grande Fire Investigation Report.

The Fire Investigation Team was an interagency team composed of representatives of the Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, National Weather Service, Department of Energy, Bureau of Reclamation, and New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department of Forestry Division. The team worked with local counties and tribal governments who served as liaisons to the team. Those governments involved included the counties of Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, and Sandoval, and the Pueblos of San Ildefonso and Santa Clara.

National Park Service Cerro Grande Fire Website