Forest Service Baer team begins post-fire assessment of monument and button fires – Redheaded Blackbelt

Emergency measures may be necessary to ensure public safety and the protection of essential natural and cultural resources after large forest fires. For example, loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion, runoff can lead to increased flooding, and sediment can move downstream, damaging roads and infrastructure or endangering endangered species and resources. cultural. USDA Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams implement rapid assessments of burned areas on National Forest Service (NFS) land, assess post-fire risks, and recommend emergency actions to forests national affected.

BAER teams focus specifically on emergency stabilization actions that are necessary to protect human life, property and essential natural and cultural resources. BAER teams share their assessments with other federal, tribal, state, and local agencies that have post-fire responsibilities, including on state and private lands, in and downstream from burned areas. These agencies include the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Natural Park Service (NPS), National Weather Service (NWS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) ) and the US Geological Survey (USGS). .

Shasta-Trinity National Forest and Six Rivers National Forest have established a BAER team which is now beginning to assess burned areas from monument and button fires. The BAER specialists of the Monument-Knob BAER assessment team include hydrologists, geologists, soil scientists, road and civil engineers, botanists, biologists, archaeologists, recreation specialists, and land specialists. geographic information.

Monument-Knob BAER assessment specialists collect data from burnt areas which is used to supplement GIS and modeling programs to assess post-fire risks. The first step in the BAER assessment process is to take satellite images and data collected during ground and aerial reconnaissance surveys to produce a map of the severity of soil burns. The severity of the soil burn provides basic information to determine the altered conditions of the watershed in order to assess the potential impacts of forest fires on the watersheds. This information will then be compiled and presented to Forest management along with the BAER emergency stabilization treatments recommended in two BAER assessment reports, one for the Monument burned area and one for the Knob burned area.

The runoff from torrential rains is sometimes, but not always, increased on burn scars. Monument and Knob BAER’s assessment reports and data will be shared with interagency cooperators who work with downstream private landowners and landowners to prepare for the potential impacts of flooding and debris flow after a fire. Homes or businesses that could be affected by flooding from federal lands resulting from forest fires may be eligible for flood insurance coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Information on NFIP is available through FEMA at www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance program, or www.floodsmart.gov/wildfires. Further information on flood preparedness is available at www.ready.gov/floods at www.floodsmart.gov/.

SPECIAL NOTE: Everyone near and downstream of burned areas should stay alert and be aware of weather conditions that can lead to heavy rain on burn scars. Flash floods can happen quickly during heavy rains – be prepared to take action. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at National Meteorological Service websites: https://www.weather.gov/eka/ and https://www.weather.gov/sto/.