Post by: Kim Stephens Researchers at the University of Colorado
at Colorado Springs and the University of California-Irvin are
currently participating in a project titled “Project Heroic”
(funded by the National Science Foundation). The overarching
objective is “to better understand the dynamics of informal
online communication in response to extreme events.” As part of
this project, the team turned their attention to analyzing
Tweets surrounding the recent Waldo Canyon Fire, which started
June 23, 2012. This fire was a significant event–the
introduction to the research report summarizes the stats: Over
32,000 residents from Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and
Woodland Park, as well as several small mountain communities
along Highway 24, were forced to evacuate… More than 346 homes
were destroyed… U.S. Highway 24 was closed in both directions
for much of the event. The Waldo Canyon Fire is the most
expensive fire in Colorado State history with insurance claims
totaling more than US$352.6 million dollars, ac