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JUST THE BAER FACTS: BAER soil scientist shows BAER specialists how to assess soil burn severity

Eldorado National Forest (NF) soil scientist and BAER coordinator Eric Nicita recently escorted new BAER specialists Rocio Espinoza, a Forest Service civil engineer and Forest Service recreation specialist Tyler Segura—both also with the Eldorado NF—into the Caldor burned area. They are testing the soil to see whether it is hydrophobic – aka repels water. The amount of hydrophobicity is an important component to determine how much increased runoff we can expect after a fire. Hydrophobicity is the physical property of a molecule that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water and is considered when mapping watershed response to rainstorms after a wildfire.

The photo below shows Eldorado NF soil scientist Eric Nicita on the left digging out a sample of the burned soil to test for hydrophobic conditions while Eldorado NF recreation specialist Tyler Segura, on the right, watches and learns what to look for. Photo taken by Eldorado NF civil engineer Rocio Espinoza.