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case studies
Crisis Communications: Eco-Terrorist Fires on Vail Mountain
On Oct. 19, 1998 no one on the Vail Ski Area management team expected to wake up to seven arson fires atop Vail Mountain. Eco-terrorists set seven fires to ski lift houses and restaurant facilities on top of the mountain including the well-known Two Elk Lodge. There were more than $12 million in damages in what was called “the largest act of eco-terrorism in the country” at the time. The fires were set in protest of the ski area’s Category III expansion project, which was said to contain critical lynx habitat. Mettler was part of the crisis response team, which was on call 24 hours a day, managed media inquiries, diffused inaccurate information, developed company response and positions on the issue, held regular media briefing sessions, anticipated additional repercussions, created a community forum to discuss the issue and many other tactics.
Results: Whether for or against the development of Category III on Vail Mountain, the community rallied around the ski company throughout the crisis. The crisis team was heralded by many industry publications such as The Holmes Report for handling this crisis in an exemplary manner. And, Category III opened to the public as “Blue Sky Basin” on Jan. 7, 2000.
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