| While many wildfires cause little
damage to the land and pose few threats to fish, wildlife
and people downstream, some fires create situations
that require special efforts to prevent further problems
after the fire. Loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion;
runoff may increase and cause flooding, sediments may
move downstream and damage houses or fill reservoirs,
and put endangered species and community water supplies
at risk. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program
addresses these situations with the goal of protecting
life, property, water quality, and deteriorated ecosystems
from further damage after the fire is out. Concern for
possible post-fire effects on fish, wildlife, archeological
sites and endangered species is often a primary consideration
in the development of a BAER plan.
BAER objectives are to:
- Determine if an emergency condition exists after
the fire.
- Alleviate emergency conditions to help stabilize
soil; control water, sediment and debris movement;
prevent impairment of ecosystems; mitigate significant
threats to health, safety, life, property and downstream
values at risk.
- Monitor the implementation and effectiveness of
emergency treatments.
BAER is 'first aid' - immediate stabilization
that often begins even before a fire is fully contained.
BAER does not seek to replace what is damaged by fire,
but to reduce further damage due to the land being temporarily
exposed in a fragile condition. In most cases, only
a portion of the burned area is actually treated: severely
burned areas, very steep slopes, places where water
runoff will be excessive, fragile slopes above homes,
businesses, municipal water supplies, and other valuable
facilities. Treatments are installed as soon as possible,
generally before the next damaging storm. The spending
authority granted for each BAER project covers only
the most urgent treatments that cannot await normal
funding processes. Special funds are authorized for
these activities and costs vary with the severity of
the fire season. On average, BAER expenses have been
about 12% of the cost of fire suppression.
Professional hydrologists, soil scientists,
engineers, biologists, silviculturalists, range conservationists,
archeologists, and others evaluate the burned area and
prescribe treatments to protect resources quickly and
effectively staff BAER teams. The National Park Service
coordinates rehabilitation plans with private landowners
and other federal and local agencies, such as the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the USDA Forest
Service (USFS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
and local forestry departments.
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