Single Publication

FOREST SERVICE BAER TEAM BEGINS

POST-FIRE ASSESSMENT OF JIM FIRE

After a large wildfire, special actions may be necessary to provide for public and community safety and protect critical natural and cultural resources on federal managed lands. For example, loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water runoff may increase and lead to flooding. Sediment may move downstream damaging roads and infrastructure or put endangered species and cultural resources at risk. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program evaluates these situations on federal lands to help guard the safety of National Forest (NF) visitors and employees, protect federal property, and critical natural or cultural resources from further damage.

A BAER team has been established by the Cleveland NF to begin a burned area assessment of the Jim Fire that recently burned on federal land. The Forest Service BAER team assesses National Forest System (NFS) lands. Information about the Jim Fire can be found online at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7987/, and information about the Jim BAER assessment can be found online at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8000/.

BAER assessments are rapid evaluations of the burned area used to identify unacceptable risks on federal lands from post-fire threats and assist land managers in preparing burned areas for potential threats from rainstorms. Teams focus on emergency actions necessary to protect human life and safety, property, and critical natural and cultural resources. They assess potential post-fire impacts to the burned watersheds. Additionally, they coordinate and share information from their assessments with other federal agencies such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and US Geological Survey (USGS), state agencies, and local affected counties. NRCS is a federal agency that has post-fire responsibilities on private lands both within and downstream of burned areas.

The Forest Service BAER team assessing the Jim Fire consists of hydrologists, soil scientist, road engineers, botanist, archaeologists, recreation specialists, and geographic information system (GIS) specialist. BAER assessment teams collect data during ground and aerial surveys and create maps using GIS and modeling to evaluate post-fire risks. The first step in the BAER assessment process is taking pre-fire and post-fire satellite imagery and data collected during ground surveys to produce a soil burn severity map. The soil burn severity provides baseline information to determine changed watershed conditions for assessing potential watershed impacts from wildfires. This information is compiled and presented to NF leadership along with recommended emergency stabilization treatments and actions in a BAER assessment report.

Rainstorm runoff is sometimes, but not always, increased in burned areas. The Forest Service BAER assessment report is shared with interagency cooperators who work with downstream private homeowners and landowners to prepare for potential post-fire flooding and debris flow impacts such as NRCS and local counties.