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Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Program

Wildfires can cause complex problems from severe loss of vegetation and soil erosion to a decrease in water quality and possible run-off. Post-fire recovery is facilitated through a program called Burned Area Emergency Response, or BAER. 

The 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 human life and safety, property, and critical cultural and natural resources. It is an emergency program for stabilization work that involves time-critical activities to be completed before the first damaging storm.

Emergency stabilization is part of a holistic approach to address post-fire recovery, which also includes wildfire suppression activity damage repair, burned area rehabilitation, and long-term restoration. A designated BAER team will begin the process by assessing an area post-fire and whenever possible meet the following objectives. 

BAER Objectives :

• Determine threats to human life and safety, property, and critical cultural and natural resources on National Forest System lands. 
• Prescribe emergency stabilization measures that can be implemented on federal lands in a timely manner to reduce unacceptable risks from potential stormwater runoff.
• Implement stabilization measures before the first large, damaging storm events occur.
• 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 human life and safety, property, and critical cultural and natural resources, some fires result in damage that requires special efforts to reduce impacts afterwards. 

BAER TEAM

BAER teams perform emergency stabilization actions within one year of wildfire containment. These actions are intended to minimize threats to life and safety, or property resulting from the effects of a fire,stabilize and prevent unacceptable degradation to cultural and natural resources, or construct physical improvements necessary to prevent degradation of land or resources.  

Forest Service BAER teams are established by Forest Supervisors before wildfires are fully contained to strategically assess potential post-fire impacts to areas burned. The composition of a BAER team is determined both by the size of the fire and values potentially threatened by post-fire effects. 

Not every wildland fire will require the services of a BAER team. In fact, most of them do not. The determination not to utilize BAER is not a reflection of the importance of a specific wildland fire, it simply means that the anticipated post-fire impacts to human life and safety, property, and critical cultural and natural resources for that specific fire were not at an unacceptable level and the land can recover naturally.  

Generally, specialists in soils, hydrology, geology, engineering, geospatial mapping, wildlife, botany, and archeology assess the fire’s effects and predict the post-fire effects on National Forest System lands. Each resource specialist brings a unique perspective to the BAER process, to help the team rapidly determine whether the post-fire effects constitute urgent threats to human life and safety, property, or critical cultural and natural resources. The BAER process includes a number of steps, including:

• Evaluating the conditions of the burned area to determine the level of potential risks to human life and safety, property, critical cultural and natural resources.
• Determining 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 stormwater runoff.
• Conducting field surveys and uses science-based models to rapidly evaluate and assess the burned area.
• Generating a “Soil Burn Severity” map by using satellite imagery which is then validated and adjusted by BAER team field surveys to assess burned area conditions. 
• Presenting 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, critical cultural and natural resources on National Forest System lands. 
• Coordinating with other local, county, state, federal and Tribal agencies that assist landowners in preparing for increased potential of stormwater runoff.

Prior to conducting field reviews, BAER teams are briefed by the local unit regarding the fire and known values at risk. Maps are used to identify structures and infrastructure within and downstream of the burned area. Each BAER team member consults appropriate references, such as databases, maps, and inventories, to identify additional values at risk. Field reviews focus on the fire’s effect, such as changes in vegetation cover and watershed response, and identifies potential values at risk.

Once the assessment is completed, BAER teams present their findings in a report that identifies immediate and emergency actions needed to address post-fire risk to human life and safety, property, and critical cultural and natural resources. This includes early detection and rapid response treatments to prevent the spread of noxious weeds into native plant communities. The BAER report describes what the burned area look before and after the fire, response information, areas of concern, and recommendation short-term emergency stabilization measures.

BAER TREATMENTS

In most cases, only a portion of the burned area is treated. Severely burned areas, steep slopes, and places where water run-off will be excessive and may impact important resources, are focus areas. There are a variety of emergency stabilization actions that BAER teams can recommend for National Forest System lands. Time is critical if the emergency stabilization measures are to be effective.

There are a variety of treatments and safety measures that BAER teams might recommend. Commonly used include reseeding of ground cover with native species, placing structures to slow soil and water movement, posting warning signs, removing safety hazards, installing protective fences or barriers to protect treated or recovering areas, and closing areas to public use.

BAER teams also assess the need to modify road and trail drainage by installing debris traps, modifying or removing culverts to allow drainage to flow freely, adding additional drainage dips, and constructing emergency spillways (e.g. water bars) to keep roads and bridges from washing out during floods. 

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, Also, BAER is not an opportunity to fix historic problems, expand programs or personnel, or conduct new surveys or long-term restoration. 

Treatments do not prevent all potential stormwater runoff or soil erosion impacts. It is important for the public to stay informed and prepared for increased run-off. It is important for the public to stay informed and prepared for potentially dramatic increased run-off events by paying attention to the National Weather Service (NWS) flood warning alerts at https://www.weather.gov/rev/.

Rehabilitation Activities

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 threaten and endangered special habitat.
• Monitor BAER treatments.
• Implement EDRR treatments to minimize the spread of noxious weeds into native plant communities.

What BAER Cannot Do:

• Prevent all potential stormwater runoff events.
• 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 damagedby floods afterfire.
• Remove all hazardtrees.
• Replace burned habitat.
• Monitor fire effects.
• Treat pre-existing noxious weeds.

BAER COORDINATIONS

Throughout the process, BAER teams work with multiple federal agencies, as well as local, county, state, and Tribal agencies, and emergency management departments to help protect human life and safety, and property. BAER Teams share information from their assessments and inform partners of risks that they may want to be aware of. The Forest Service cannot suggest treatments on county, state, or private lands. It is important that BAER efforts are communicated with all affected and interested cooperating agencies and organizations regarding National Forest System lands post-fire recovery and restoration efforts. 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) also provides assistance to private landowners regarding post-fire potential impacts through the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/landscape/ewpp/.

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 seven 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 Forest Service Washington Office.