Updated: A wildfire is burning above Boulder, Colorado, and Twitter and Facebook are playing an important role getting out the latest information on the fire’s path.
When the Boulder Sheriff’s emergency alert system failed, its emergency operations center asked that residents use Twitter and Facebook to help spread the word of mandatory evacuations, reports the Boulder Channel 1 Blog. The hashtag #boulderfire has become a lifeline of sorts for many looking for the latest information on the fire, as well as people and businesses offering to help evacuees.
A team at the University of Colorado at Boulder began mapping tweets on the same system it used for the Haiti quake. The map includes fire reports, destroyed structures, shelter areas, evacuations and more.
A crowdsourced Google Map features updates from users of the fire area, burned homes, road closures and other reports. And ESRI has created a map that pulls in Flickr photos, tweets and YouTube videos. And Digital Globe has posted satellite photos on Flickr.
A community forum has popped as well, FourMileFireHelp.com, where users can offer help to evacuees, from housing to food to pet care.
The local newsrooms in Denver are stepping up social media coverage. The Denver Post (@denverpost), KCNC (@CBS4Denver) and KMGH (@DenverChannel) top the list for the best Twitter updates — CBS4Denver even included a Twitter widget high on its home page. Over the course of 24 hours, both stations updated Twitter 60 to 80 times each, occasionally retweeting other reports and responding to users’ questions.
The student run newspaper at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CU Independent and (@cuindependent), was often ahead of the Denver media on the story on Twitter, says Gil Asakawa, the faculty adviser for the paper.
Are we missing other social media efforts? Post in comments below…