Fire Management

This testimony focuses on the lessons learned from the Cerro Grande (Los Alamos) fire and the actions needed to reduce future fire risks. GAO found that the Cerro Grande fire exposed policy implementation issues that need to be addressed for managing prescribed fires. GAO believes that these procedural gaps and lack of clarity about how policies are implemented affected the planning and implementation of the Cerro Grande burn. GAO feels more effective cooperation and coordination among agencies is needed to prevent future prescribed burn disasters.

GAO noted that: (1) the Cerro Grande fire exposed policy implementation issues that need to be addressed for managing prescribed fires; (2) most of the issues involved procedural gaps or a lack of clarity about how policies are to be implemented; (3) these issues affected both the planning and implementation of the burn; (4) some of the issues are specific to Bandelier National Monument and the National Park Service; (5) however, others involve other federal agencies; and (6) those problems that are not site--or agency--specific raise questions about the readiness of the federal land management agencies to effectively support and administer prescribed burns as a forest management tool.