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Forest Service Teams Begin Post-Fire Assessments of Southern California Wildfires

Three Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams have been established by the San Bernardino, Cleveland, and Angeles national forests (NFs) to begin post-fire burned area assessments of the Line, Airport, and Bridge fires that recently burned on National Forest System, state, and private lands. Forest Service BAER team assessments typically take approximately two weeks to complete.

BAER teams coordinate with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Weather Service (NWS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and other federal, state, counties, and other local agencies as they assess potential post-fire impacts to the burned watersheds. For these three Southern California wildfires, the NFs also coordinated with CAL FIRE, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties, Tribal governments, and San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District. 

Emergency Stabilization-BAER surveys are rapid assessments to identify imminent post-wildfire threats to human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources on National Forest System lands. The BAER team evaluates the burned area to identify watersheds having increased potential for post-fire flooding, sediment delivery, and rockslides, and assists land managers in preparing for seasonal thunder cell storms or winter rainstorms. They also model hydrologic response throughout the burned area and share the team’s findings with the affected downstream agencies.

BAER teams may consist of scientists and specialists including hydrologists, geologists, soil scientists, road engineers, botanists, biologists, archeologists, and geographic information specialists. BAER teams collect field data during their burned area surveys to analyze through GIS and computer models and present their findings along with recommended BAER emergency stabilization treatments in a BAER assessment report. 

The development of the soil burn severity maps for the Line, Airport, and Bridge fires is an interagency collaboration between the California State Watershed Emergency Response Team (WERT) and the Forest Service BAER teams. The teams utilize satellite imagery and specialist data to analyze fire effects, produce erosion potential and debris-flow maps, and model post-fire flows. This is the first step in assessing potential watershed impacts from wildfires to any federal values that may be at-risk from potential increased flooding, sedimentation, debris flows, mudflows, and rockslides. BAER teams produce a report that describes potential threats associated with the burned area’s post-fire conditions and sometimes include recommended emergency stabilization measures and actions. BAER emergency response efforts are focused on the protection of human life, safety, and property, as well as critical cultural and natural resource values such as the water quality of streams and wetlands on federal lands.

BAER reports are shared with interagency cooperators such as California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), NRCS, California-WERT, and the affected counties who work with downstream private homeowners and landowners to prepare for potential post-fire flooding and debris flow impacts. California-WERT and Forest Service BAER teams coordinate with each other during the assessment of the burned area to ensure post-fire threats are identified.

Homes or businesses that could be impacted by flooding from federal land that result from wildfires may be eligible for flood insurance coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Information about NFIP is available through FEMA at www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program, or www.floodsmart.gov/wildfires. Other flood preparedness information is available at www.ready.gov/floods at www.floodsmart.gov/.

Additional information on understanding the BAER program, process and other post-fire information is posted on the “SoCal Post-Fire BAER 2024” InciWeb page found at: Cabdf Southern California Postfire Baer 2024 Information | InciWeb (wildfire.gov).

BAER SAFETY MESSAGE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains and increased water runoff. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events--be prepared to act. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: www.weather.gov/lox/.

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