This week on the Upper Lake Ranger District, firefighters are potentially burning piles along the roadside on the M1 Rd (15 to 45 acres) in the Pine Mountain area.

We ask visitors to avoid areas where prescribed operations will be taking place. Some smoke may be visible. People should not be alarmed as the fires are carefully monitored. Local fire and government authorities are notified prior to burn days and kept informed throughout prescribed fire operations.

Blue Hills Fire

Size: 3,868 Acres

Containment: 85%

Cause: Unknown

Today, 2/3/2025, fire crews have made it out to the fire this morning and report minimal smokes and no heat signatures showing. Plan for today is to continue patrolling the area with fire engines and extinguish any heats found. National Parks Service (NPS) will be patrolling their property and monitoring where their burn operations took place yesterday. 

BAER INFORMATION BRIEF: Understanding Soil Burn Severity

We tend to think of wildfire burn severity in terms of the visual impacts to above-ground vegetation, but the post-fire landscape response (erosion, flooding, and mass movement) is generally more strongly correlated to soil burn severity. When characterizing soil burn severity, looking at the vegetation is a good starting place to understand the conditions on the ground. 

Armed with that information, the BAER team’s watershed specialists (soil scientists, hydrologists, and geologists) ground-truth different vegetation burn intensities to tease out patterns of how fire affected and changed the properties of the soil.  Pre-fire ground cover, forest type, fire behavior, slope, aspect, and other factors all influence soil burn severity.  After field observations are collected, specialists adjust the vegetation severity map to create the soil burn severity (SBS) map.  The SBS is broken into four different classes: unburned (green), low severity (blue), moderate severity (yellow), and high severity (red). 

So, what do these different classifications mean?

LOW severity areas generally have intact and recognizable litter layers (organic material on the forest floor, such as pine needles and twigs).  These litter layers may be charred but are not consumed.  Underlying topsoil is intact, and near-surface fine roots are unburned.  These soils have enough cover to protect them from erosion during rain events because their natural porosity and structure allow rain to soak into the soil instead of running off, while fine roots provide stability.  In low severity areas, burns may have been patchy islands of green vegetation and intact canopies may be present.  

MODERATE severity areas generally have more—up to 80% of their pre-fire surface litter layers consumed by fire.  Black or gray ash may be present on the soil surface. Fine roots near the surface may be scorched and killed.  Topsoil layers are generally intact with minimal impacts to the soil’s ability to absorb moisture. Soils with moderate severity are more susceptible to erosion in post-fire rain events because they have lost protective surface cover and may have less surface stability because of root mortality. 

HIGH severity areas generally have had all their pre-fire surface litter layers consumed by fire.  White or gray ash may be present on the soil surface. Fine roots are often fully burned/consumed within several inches of the soil surface, and even large tree roots may have burned deep into the soil.  Soil may be powdery or grainy and loose, unable to bind together and retain water. These soils are very susceptible to erosion and often have high surface run-off during rainstorms.

So, what does the BAER team do with the SBS map?

The BAER team uses the SBS map to make predictions about how the landscape will respond after fires. Soil scientists consider where soil productivity will be degraded due to erosion losses and where sediment may move into stream channels. Hydrologists use the SBS to predict watershed response—surface runoff from high SBS areas in rainstorms can produce more “flashy” behavior in stream systems.  Geologists use the SBS to inform predictions for debris flow or other mass movement potential based on reduced soil stability in steep drainages.

BAER teams focus on emergency responses to stabilize burned areas that may impact Forest Service critical infrastructure or other values located within or immediately downstream of high soil burn severity areas. 

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 National Weather Service website: www.weather.gov/lox/.

BAER INFORMATION BRIEF: Fire Severity and Fire Intensity Effects

There are several types of fire severity and intensity maps that you may see. Although they look different for the same fire, they may also all be accurate. This is because fire severity or intensity are different measures of the fire effects on a specific resource such as soils, tree canopies, vegetation or wildlife habitat. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) maps are primarily measures of fire effects on soils. The following is a description of BAER fire severity mapping for soil burn severity levels. 

SOIL BURN SEVERITY RATING OVERVIEW: 

High Soil Burn Severity Rating: (severe damage to the soils): deeply burned soils with high water repellent soils (tend to be places where the fire burned the forest canopy, ground cover, roots, and organic matter in the topsoil). 

Moderate Soil Burn Severity Rating: burned soil with moderate water repellent soils (much of the root, soil structure, and organic matter stayed intact and could help buffer the rainstorms that might cause erosion) can produce increased water run-off and soil erosion depending on the timing, magnitude, and duration of future precipitation. The remaining vegetation could quickly re-sprout and provide some cover from dead needles and leaf fall to reduce erosion. 

Low Soil Burn Severity Rating: light soil burning includes land that may have burned in recent occurrences with brush or young timber growing on it. 

KEY MESSAGES: 

• Fire severity and intensity are separate measures of the effects of fire on a defined resource. 

• All fire severity or intensity maps view landscapes from different perspectives, so various maps of the same fire can look very different, and all be accurate. 

• The BAER soil burn severity maps specifically focus on severity to soils and watersheds. 

• There are also several other types of fire severity or intensity maps – many of which focus on different aspects of vegetation such as, Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) and Vegetation severity or intensity maps are both vegetation maps but will also look different for the same location and time. 

• Vegetation severity and intensity maps also come from a number of different perspectives and can be short-term or long-term views. 

• During post-fire assessments, the BAER team uses the term “soil burn severity” to differentiate post-fire soil properties from fire effects on vegetation (such as tree mortality), and/or general fire effects on the long-term ecosystem health. 

• When a fire slowly consumes fuel (long residence time), the fire (soil burn) severity is usually high. 

• Ground cover refers to the organic material on the top of the soil layer, and includes vegetative litter, duff, and woody debris. 

• When organic material within the ground cover and within the soil structure burns at high intensity, some of the water repellent components vaporize, and condense on the soil at the surface or deeper depending on the severity of the fire. 

• The correlation between fire intensity and soil burn severity is not always direct because the amount of heat generated and time duration both plays a critical role in the fire effects to soil. 

• Because of the variability of fuel consumption, soil heating typically is non-uniform across landscapes. 

• Wildfire does not always impact soils and vegetation in the same way. 

• A hot, fast-moving fire can consume much of the vegetation and move through so quickly that the soils remain largely intact. 

• Soil scientists evaluate preliminary burn maps from satellite imagery to determine the effects and create a soil burn severity map. 

• Hydrologists use that information to model storm runoff over the burned area to estimate potential flood impacts to lives and property. 

• Foresters use the same satellite images to create a different map that displays post-fire impacts to the trees. 

• A hot, fast-moving fire (wind-driven) can consume the majority of vegetation (especially when dry with low fuel moistures) in a burned area and can be classified as a high intensity fire area by fire ecologists/fire behavior analysts. 

• When the duration (also described as residency time) of the fire is short (fast moving, wind-driven), it can result in a low-to-moderate soil burn severity rating by BAER soils scientists because the soil did not get a lot of lingering heat on the ground.

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/.

Blue Hills Fire

Containment: 85%

Size: 3,868

Cause: Unknown

Today, 2/2/2025, Crews patrolled fire edge today and found little heat and smokes throughout the fire area. Heats that were found were extinguished with fire engines. Aircraft was used early today on the fire, but were deemed unnecessary to todays operations and were sent back after their first drops. One area located on the north side of the fire was the main area of concern with a few heavy brush and tree fuels still burning, but this area was on the edge of the lake so it was secured on three sides. This was also on National Parks Service (NPS) property and was being managed through burning operations conducted by NPS staff. Personnel focused on mapping of the fire this afternoon and were able to get final accurate acreage of the fire. Local Fire Marshalls are investigating the cause of the fire. Crews have been released from the fire for tonight and will return in the morning. Plan for tomorrow is to monitor entire fire perimeter and extinguish any heat found.

Blue Hills Fire

Containment: 70%

Size: 3,000 acres

Cause: Unknown

For last night, crews were released from the fire to rest, command stayed overnight to monitor and reported minimal fire activity with no safety concerns. 

For today, 2/2/2025, Crews have returned to the fire line this morning. Fire engines are being utilized to mop up any hot spots and patrol the fire edge. Heavy equipment will be staged at the fire for any potential line construction. Better accurate mapping of the fire will be an objective for today. Heavy timber fuels have been reported smoldering in a drainage on the north side of the fire, crews will monitor this area, but poses no threat to containment at this time. Aircraft will be flying over the fire today, and air tankers will be utilized to assist containment.

Forest Service BAER Team Begins Post-Fire Assessment of Hughes Fire

February 1, 2025

A Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team has been established by the Angeles National Forest (NF) to begin a post-fire burned area assessment of the Hughes Fire that recently burned on national forest, state, and private lands. The BAER team leader is Forest Service Natural Resources and Planning Specialist Kendal Young. Forest Service BAER team assessments typically take approximately ten days to two weeks to complete.

BAER teams coordinate with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Weather Service (NWS), US Geological Survey (USGS), USDA 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. 

Emergency Stabilization-Burned Area Emergency Response (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, including mudflows, debris flows, rockslides, and landslides, that assist land managers in preparing for seasonal thunder cell storms, especially winter/spring 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, hazmat specialists, recreation and special uses specialists, geographic information specialists (GIS), and heritage (archeology/history) 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. 

BAER reports are shared with interagency cooperators such as California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), NRCS, BLM, CAL FIRE, counties, and cities who work with downstream private home and landowners to prepare for potential post-fire flooding and debris flow impacts.

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 Hughes Post-Fire BAER InciWeb page found at:https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/caanf-hughes-postfire-baer.

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 and watch for emergency alerts issued by Los Angeles County. Current weather and emergency notifications for the Hughes Fire area can be found at the National Weather Service website: www.weather.gov/lox/.

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BAER INFORMATION BRIEF: Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Limitations

While many wildfires cause minimal damage to the land and pose few threats to the land or people downstream, some fires result in damage that requires special efforts to reduce impacts afterwards. Loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water run-off may increase and cause flooding, soil and rock may move downstream and damage property or fill reservoirs putting community water supplies and endangered species at-risk.

The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program is designed to identify and manage potential risks to resources on National Forest System lands and reduce these threats through appropriate emergency measures to protect human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources. BAER is an emergency program for stabilization work that involves time-critical activities to be completed before the first damaging storm event to meet program objectives.

BAER Objectives:

• Determine whether imminent post-wildfire threats to human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources on National Forest System lands exist and take immediate actions, as appropriate, to manage the unacceptable risks.
• If emergency conditions are identified, mitigate significant threats to human life and safety, Forest Service property and other critical natural and cultural resource values.
• Prescribe emergency response actions to stabilize and prevent unacceptable degradation to natural and cultural resources, to minimize threats to life or property resulting from the effects of a fire, or to repair/replace/construct physical improvements necessary to prevent degradation of land or resources.
• Implement emergency response actions to help stabilize soil; control water, sediment and debris movement and potentially reduce threats to the BAER critical values identified above when an analysis shows that planned actions are likely to reduce risks substantially within the first year following containment of the fire.
• Monitor the implementation and effectiveness of emergency treatments that were applied on National Forest System lands.

BAER Interagency Coordination:

Post-fire emergency response is a shared responsibility. There are several Federal, State and local agencies that have emergency response responsibilities or authorities in the post-fire environment. The BAER team coordinates with these agencies to look at the full scope and scale of the situation to reduce the potential threats to human life and property. It is important that BAER efforts are communicated with all affected and interested cooperating agencies and organizations regarding other post-fire recovery and restoration efforts.

BAER treatments cannot prevent all of the potential flooding or soil erosion impacts, especially after a wildfire-changed landscape. It is important for the public to stay informed and prepared for potentially dramatic increased run-off events.

One of the most effective BAER strategies is interagency coordination to provide post-fire threat information to local cooperators who can assist affected businesses, homes, and landowners to prepare for rain events. For example, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program for post-emergency assistance on private and tribal land, the National Weather Service (NWS) has responsibility for flood warning alerts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has flood insurance and other responsibilities if the area is a Presidentially-declared emergency, Resource Conservation Districts (RCD) and counties, as well as State and local-highway and emergency services departments, Flood Control authorities, etc. It is important that landowners work directly with NRCS and other agencies to determine appropriate actions needed to protect private structures and other assets.

BAER Process:

BAER assessment teams are staffed by specially trained professionals that may include: hydrologists, soil scientists, engineers, biologists, botanists, archeologists, and others who evaluate the burned area and prescribe temporary emergency stabilization actions on National Forest System lands to protect the land quickly and effectively. BAER assessments usually begin before a wildfire has been fully contained.

A BAER assessment team conducts field surveys and uses science-based models to rapidly evaluate and assess the burned area and prescribe emergency stabilization measures. The team generates a “Soil Burn Severity” map by using satellite imagery which is then validated and adjusted by BAER team field surveys to assess watershed conditions and model potential watershed response from the wildfire. The map identifies areas of soil burn severity by categories of very low/unburned, low, moderate, and high which may correspond to a projected increase in watershed response. The higher the burn severity, the less the soil will be able to absorb water when it rains. Without absorption, there will be increased run-off with the potential of flooding.

The BAER team presents these findings in an assessment report that identifies immediate and emergency actions needed to address post-fire risks to human life and safety, property, cultural and critical natural resources. This includes early detection and rapid response (EDRR) treatments to prevent the spread of noxious weeds into native plant communities. The BAER report describes watershed pre- and post-fire watershed response information, areas of concern for life and property, and recommended short-term emergency stabilization measures for Forest Service lands that burned.

In most cases, only a portion of the burned area is actually treated. Severely burned areas steep slopes, and places where water run-off will be excessive and may impact important resources, are focus areas and described in the BAER assessment report if they affect critical values. Response action timing is essential to ensure the emergency stabilization measures are effective.

There are a variety of emergency stabilization actions that the BAER team can recommend for Forest Service lands such as mulching with agricultural straw or chipped wood to protect soil productivity, increasing road drainage to keep roads and bridges from washing-out during post-fire floods, and early detection rapid response invasive plant treatments to prevent spread of weeds into native plant communities. BAER treatments are preventative in nature but cannot prevent all damage, especially debris torrents in areas that are prone to sliding and have lost critical root structure from plants.

The Cans and Cannots of BAER:

What BAER Can Do:

• Install water or erosion control devices
• Seed or mulch for erosion control or stability reasons
• Install erosion control measures at critical cultural sites
• Install temporary barriers to protect treated or recovering areas
• Install warning signs
• Replace minor safety related facilities, like burned guard rails
• Install appropriate-sized drainage features on roads, trails
• Remove critical safety hazards
• Prevent permanent loss of T&E habitat
• Monitor BAER treatments
• Implement EDRR treatments to minimize the spread of noxious weeds into native plant communities

What BAER Cannot Do:

• Prevent all flooding and debris flows
• Replant commercial forests or grass for forage
• Excavate and interpret cultural sites
• Replace burned pasture fences
• Install interpretive signs
• Replace burned buildings, bridges, corrals, etc.
• Repair roads damaged by floods after fire
• Remove all hazard trees
• Replace burned habitat
• Monitor fire effects
• Treat pre-existing noxious weeds

BAER Funding:

Special Emergency Wildfire Suppression funds are authorized for BAER activities and the amount of these expenses varies with the severity of the fire season. Some years see little BAER activity while other years are extremely busy.

Because of the emergency nature of BAER, initial requests for funding of proposed BAER treatments are supposed to be submitted by the Forest Supervisor to the Regional Office within7 days of total containment of the fire. The Regional Forester’s approval authority for individual BAER projects is limited. Approval for BAER projects exceeding this limit is forwarded onto the Washington Office.

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 National Weather Service website: www.weather.gov/lox/.

BAER INFORMATION BRIEF: Key Elements of A BAER Assessment

Forest Service BAER assessment teams are established by Forest Supervisors before wildfires are fully contained. The teams coordinate and work with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), National Weather Service (NWS), local counties, State Department of Transportation, and other federal, state, and local agencies to strategically assess potential post-fire impacts to the watersheds burned from wildland fires.

The BAER assessment teams are evaluating watershed conditions to determine the level of potential risks to human life, safety, property, critical natural and cultural-heritage resources, and determine if there are appropriate and effective emergency stabilization measures that can be implemented on federal lands in a timely manner to reduce unacceptable risks from potential flooding and debris flow threats.

The BAER assessment team conducts field surveys and uses science-based models to rapidly evaluate and assess the burned area.

BAER assessment teams are staffed by specially trained professionals that may include hydrologists, soil scientists, engineers, geologists, biologists, botanists, archeologists, geographic information system mapping specialists, recreation and trails specialists, and others who evaluate the burned area and prescribe emergency response actions to protect the land quickly and effectively.

BAER assessments usually begin before a wildfire has been fully contained.

The BAER assessment team generates a “Soil Burn Severity” map by using satellite imagery which is then validated and adjusted by BAER team field surveys to assess watershed conditions and watershed response to the wildfire. The map identifies areas of soil burn severity by categories of low/unburned, moderate, and high which corresponds to a projected increase in watershed response.

The BAER team presents these findings and treatment recommendations to the Forest Supervisor in an assessment report that identifies immediate and emergency stabilization actions needed to address potential post-fire risks to human life and safety, property, cultural-heritage and critical natural resources on National Forest System lands.

The BAER report describes watershed pre- and post-fire response information, areas of concern for human life, safety and property, and recommended short-term emergency stabilization actions for federal lands that burned.

In most cases, only a portion of the burned area is actually treated.

If the BAER assessment team determines there may be potential emergency situations, the short-term goal is to have flood and erosion control protection measures completed before the first large, damaging rain events occur.

Timely implementation is critical if BAER emergency response actions are to be effective.

The BAER assessment team coordinates with other federal and local agencies, and counties that assist private landowners in preparing for increased run-off and potential flooding.

Federal assistance to private landowners regarding post-fire potential impacts is the primary responsibility of the NRCS through the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program (www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/landscape/ewpp/)

NRCS in coordination with additional state, local and federal agencies conduct damage survey reports for the private land adjacent to and downstream from the burned areas. NRCS uses these reports, along with the BAER team’s assessment report, to develop recommended emergency measures for businesses and private home and landowners to reduce the impacts to their property from potential increased water and debris flows.

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 National Weather Service website: www.weather.gov/lox/.

BAER INFORMATION BRIEF: Forest Service BAER Program Overview

The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program is designed to identify and manage potential risks to resources on National Forest System lands and reduce these threats through appropriate emergency measures to protect human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources. BAER is an emergency program for stabilization work that involves time-critical activities to be completed before the first damaging event to meet program objectives:

BAER Objectives:

- Determine whether imminent post-wildfire threats to human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources on National Forest System lands exist and take immediate actions, as appropriate, to manage the unacceptable risks.

- If emergency conditions are identified, mitigate significant threats to health, safety, human life, property, and critical cultural and natural resources.

- Prescribe emergency response actions to stabilize and prevent unacceptable degradation to natural and cultural resources, to minimize threats to critical values resulting from the effects of a fire, or to repair/replace/construct physical improvements necessary to prevent degradation of land or resources.

- Implement emergency response actions to help stabilize soil; control water, sediment and debris movement and potentially reduce threats to the BAER critical values identified above when an analysis shows that planned actions are likely to reduce risks substantially within the first year following containment of the fire.

- Monitor the implementation and effectiveness of emergency treatments that were applied on National Forest System lands.

While many wildfires cause minimal damage to the land and pose few threats to the land or people downstream, some fires result in damage that requires special efforts to reduce impacts afterwards. Loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water run-off may increase, and cause flooding, soil and rock may move downstream and damage property or fill reservoirs putting community water supplies and endangered species at-risk.

The BAER team presents these findings in an assessment report that identifies immediate and emergency actions needed to address post-fire risks to human life and safety, property, cultural and critical natural resources. This includes early detection and rapid response (EDRR) treatments to prevent the spread of noxious weeds into native plant communities. The BAER report describes watershed pre- and post-fire watershed response information, areas of concern for life and property, and recommended short-term emergency stabilization measures for Forest Service lands that burned.

In most cases, only a portion of the burned area is actually treated. Severely burned areas steep slopes, and places where water run-off will be excessive and may impact important resources, are focus areas and described in the BAER assessment report if they affect critical values. Time is critical if the emergency stabilization measures are to be effective.

A BAER assessment team conducts field surveys and uses science-based models to rapidly evaluate and assess the burned area and prescribe emergency stabilization measures. The team generates a “Soil Burn Severity” map by using satellite imagery which is then validated and adjusted by BAER team field surveys to assess watershed conditions and model potential watershed response from the wildfire. The map identifies areas of soil burn severity by categories of very low/unburned, low, moderate, and high which may correspond to a projected increase in watershed response. The higher the burn severity, the less the soil will be able to absorb water when it rains. Without absorption, there will be increased run-off with the potential of flooding.

BAER Funding:

Special Emergency Wildfire Suppression funds are authorized for BAER activities and the amount of these expenses varies with the severity of the fire season. Some years see little BAER activity while other years are extremely busy.

Because of the emergency nature of BAER, initial requests for funding of proposed BAER treatments are supposed to be submitted by the Forest Supervisor to the Regional Office within 7 days of total containment of the fire. The Regional Forester’s approval authority for individual BAER projects is limited. Approval for BAER projects exceeding this limit is to the Washington Office.

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 National Weather Service website: www.weather.gov/lox/.