WEB 2.0: How social media applications leverage nonprofit responses during a wildfire crisis

This study examines how Web 2.0 applications were used during a catastrophic wildfire in the Western United States that claimed two human lives, more than 18,000 acres of land and nearly 350 homes. The study sheds light on how Web 2.0 applications were applied as a tool to transmit information while the disaster was unfolding. This research highlights unique nonprofit cases that inform the role and reliability of Web 2.0 applications during a crisis, and the roles that nonprofit organizations and the general public play while facing a dire emergency. In the cases presented, Web 2.0 applications served as a bridge between first responders, the population in immediate wildfire danger, and the citizens who were trying to help, resulting in saved lives, property, and natural resources. By combining existing literature and collected qualitative data, the researchers argue that Web 2.0 applications represent flexible communication tools for transmission of timely information during a crisis situation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.