Skunkworks in the Embers of the Cedar Fire: Enhancing Resilience in the Aftermath of Disaster

• Published in: Human ecology : an interdisciplinary journal Vol. 36; no. 1; pp. 15 - 28
• Main Author: Goldstein, Bruce Evan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01-02-2008; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: activists; Anthropology; burning; Disaster recovery; Disasters; Ecology; Ecosystems; Environmental changes; Environmental conservation; Environmental Management; Environmentalists; Fire ecology; Fire prevention; fires; Forest & brush fires; Forest fire management; Forest fires; Geography; Governance; Government; Government initiatives; Grass roots movement; Natural Disasters; professionals; Public concern; Public Policy; risk; Risk reduction; San Diego, California; Social Sciences; Sociology; Structural firefighting; uncertainty; Wildfires; Wildland firefighting; United States > US; San Diego California; Adaptive learning; Networks; Disaster; Co-production; Environmentality; Resilience
• ISSN: 0300-7839; 1572-9915
• DOI: 10.1007/s10745-007-9133-6

A coalition of environmental activists and professionals created the San Diego Fire Recovery Network (SDFRN) while the largest wildfire in California history was still burning at the city’s edge in October 2003. Acting quickly while the citizenry questioned governmental ability to protect their rapidly growing region, SDFRN proposed to reduce fire risk in a way that altered residential knowledge practices and identity while reshaping governance relationships. While this effort stalled after governmental agencies restored public confidence through massive fire prevention initiatives, SDFRN’s efforts may not have been in vain. Retained within collective memory, SDFRN contributed to community resilience by diversifying possible responses to environmental change and uncertainty. In this way, flexible, informal learning organizations such as SDFRN may serve as “skunkworks,” seizing on disaster in order to incubate social–ecological relationships that might avert greater tragedies to come.