West Metro Fire Protection District assists with response the day after the Marshall Fire. ©West Metro Fire Rescue, 2021.

The CONVERGE facility at the Natural Hazards Center hosted the final forum in its virtual series on researching the 2021 Boulder County Fires, including the Marshall Fire, on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.

The four-forum series focused on the causes, impacts, and recovery from the fast-moving wildfires that spread through the area on December 30, 2021. Research teams took 10 minutes to present the preliminary findings from their research, while the remaining time was dedicated to questions from the audience as well as resource sharing and research coordination efforts.

All the sessions have been recorded and are available to view. Click the links below to watch and access additional materials.


Past Virtual Forums

View Session 1 of the Series

The first forum, held on January 19, 2022, was dedicated to learning about research needs identified by emergency managers and community representatives, building collaborations, and discussing ethical issues in gathering perishable data.

View Session 2 of the Series

The second forum, held February 17, 2022, highlight four research studies focused on damage to the built environment, the response of water utilities, and assessments of air quality impacts from the Marshall Fire.

View Session 3 of the Series

The third forum, held March 31, 2022, was co-convened with CO-LABS, and highlighted new studies led by researchers in federal scientific labs in Colorado.

View Session 4 of the Series

The fourth forum, held April 13, 2022, highlighted new research on fire behavior and fire modeling, damage to the built environment, built environment policy and household recovery, and ecosystem recovery after the Marshall Fire.


If you have questions you would like to pose in advance for the speakers or questions about this series, please contact us at converge@colorado.edu.