ASH DEVIL-TWISTERS FOUND IN MCBRIDE BURNED AREA BY BAER SPECIALISTS

On April 26, 2022, during a field assessment of the McBride burned area by Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) specialists Jalene Weatherholt, Forest Service Soil Scientist, and Rhonda Stewart, Forest Service Wildlife Biologist and Lincoln NF BAER Coordinator, they observed some ash devil-twisters in the burn scar.  These twisters can occur especially during high winds or windy conditions.  Ash devil-twisters form in burn scars during high wind events or weather fronts coming through the area.  They form very much in the same way as dust devils, but from the ash.  They can be a hazard to people, as they carry particles of dust and ash that can be harmful to the lungs if inhaled.  They can also contribute to soil erosion in burn scars. 

Jalene and Rhonda captured photos and videos of the ash devil-twisters forming on the McBride burn scar while getting soil samples in the burned area on the southern end of Gavilan Ridge when the wind was picking up later in the afternoon.  The video (posted on the McBride Post-Fire BAER InciWeb page under the videos tab) was caught during the middle of the formation and moved along with the BAER team, and the crew observed its eventual dissipation.  The crew later captured photo of a tall ash devil twister further down the ridge (about ¾ mile away), in the burn scar.  If you zoom in on the photo, you can see the top terminus against the clouds. 

Because these weather devil twisters are not common, and even less commonly caught on camera, the McBride BAER assessment specialists posted them here on InciWeb and will also share their images and videos with our local NOAA national weather service partners!

ASH DEVIL-TWISTER PHOTO:

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 land 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.

FOREST SERVICE BAER TEAM BEGINS

POST-FIRE ASSESSMENT OF NOGAL CANYON AND MCBRIDE FIRES

After a large wildfire, special actions may be necessary to provide for public and community safety and protect critical natural and cultural resources on federal managed lands. For example, loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water runoff may increase and lead to flooding. Sediment may move downstream damaging roads and infrastructure or put endangered species and cultural resources at risk. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program evaluates these situations on federal lands to help guard the safety of National Forest (NF) visitors and employees, protect federal property, and critical natural or cultural resources from further damage.

A BAER team has been established by the Lincoln NF to begin a burned area assessment of the Nogal Canyon and McBride Fires that recently burned on private, state, and federal lands. The Forest Service BAER team assesses National Forest System (NFS) lands. Information about the Nogal Canyon Fire can be found online at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8062/, the McBride Fire at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8061/, the Nogal Canyon BAER assessment at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8072/, and information about the McBride BAER assessment at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8080/.

BAER assessments are rapid evaluations of the burned area that are used to identify unacceptable risks on federal lands from post-fire threats and assist land managers in preparing burned areas for potential threats from rainstorms. Soil erosion and runoff from rainstorms is sometimes, but not always, increased within and downstream of burned areas.

BAER teams focus on emergency actions necessary to protect human life and safety, property, and critical natural and cultural resources. They assess potential post-fire impacts to affected watersheds. Additionally, they coordinate and share information from their assessments with other federal agencies such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) and US Geological Survey (USGS), state agencies, and local affected counties and municipalities. NRCS is a federal agency that has post-fire responsibilities on private lands both within and downstream of burned areas.

The Forest Service BAER team assessing the Nogal Canyon and McBride Fires consists of hydrologists, soil scientist, road engineers, biologists, botanists, archaeologists, recreation specialists, and geographic information system (GIS) specialists. BAER assessment teams collect data during ground and aerial surveys and create maps using GIS and modeling to evaluate post-fire risks. The first step in the BAER assessment process is taking pre-fire and post-fire satellite imagery and data collected during ground surveys to produce a soil burn severity map. The soil burn severity provides baseline information to determine changed watershed conditions for assessing potential watershed impacts from wildfires. This information is compiled and presented to NF leadership along with recommended emergency stabilization treatments and actions in a BAER assessment report.

The Forest Service BAER assessment report is shared with interagency cooperators such as NRCS and local counties who work with adjacent and downstream private homeowners, landowners, and businesses to prepare for potential post-fire flooding and debris flow impacts.

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.

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.

Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER)

THREE PHASES OF WILDFIRE RECOVERY

There are three phases of recovery following wildfires on federal lands:

-       Fire Suppression Repair

-       Emergency Stabilization-Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER)

-       Long-Term Recovery and Restoration

o   Fire Suppression Repair is a series of immediate post-fire actions taken to repair damages and minimize potential soil erosion and impacts resulting from fire suppression activities and usually begins before the fire is contained, and before the demobilization of an Incident Management Team. This work repairs the hand and dozer fire lines, roads, trails, staging areas, safety zones, and drop points used during fire suppression efforts.

o   Emergency Stabilization-Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) is a rapid assessment of burned watersheds by a BAER team to identify imminent post-wildfire threats to human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources on National Forest System lands and take immediate actions to implement emergency stabilization measures before the first post-fire damaging events. Fires result in loss of vegetation, exposure of soil to erosion, and increased water runoff that may lead to flooding, increased sediment, debris flows, and damage to critical natural and cultural resources. BAER actions such as: mulching, seeding, installation of erosion and water run-off control structures, temporary barriers to protect recovering areas, and installation of warning signs may be implemented. BAER work may also replace safety related facilities; remove safety hazards; prevent permanent loss of habitat for threatened and endangered species; prevent the spread of noxious weeds, and protect critical cultural resources.

o   Long-Term Recovery and Restoration utilizes non-emergency actions to improve fire-damaged lands that are unlikely to recover naturally and to repair or replace facilities damaged by the fire that are not critical to life and safety. This phase may include restoring burned habitat, reforestation, other planting or seeding, monitoring fire effects, replacing burned fences, interpreting cultural sites, treating noxious weed infestations, and installing interpretive signs.

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/abq/.

Cerro Pelado Fire Update – June 14, 2022

Cerro Pelado Fire Update – June 3, 2022

Cerro Pelado Fire Update – June 2, 2022

                                
Daily Update Wednesday, June 1, 2022
 
Today will be the final update from Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Three
 
TEAM TRANSITION
Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Three will be transitioning management of the Cerro Pelado Fire to the Northern New Mexico Incident Management Team 3, a Type 3 team, today at 6pm. 
 
The team would like to thank the community for all the support it has shown our team, and the firefighters while we were assigned to this fire. 
 
WEATHER AND FIRE BEHAVIOR
The weather today will be a little cooler than it has been. Temperatures will be 60’s to 75, with Relative Humidity in the teens. Winds will increase as the day progresses, with a cold front entering the area tonight.
 
FIRE OPERATIONS 
Crews will continue to patrol the entire perimeter of the fire, including the Peralta Canyon area, keeping an eye for any heat or smoke in those areas.  There is currently no threat to any structures around the fire. Firefighters will continue assisting with any needed initial attack that arises across the entire fire area.

BAER INFORMATION The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team has begun assessment of National Forest System (NFS) lands impacted by the Cerro Pelado Fire. Information and resources can be found on the Cerro Pelado Post-Fire BAER assessment InciWeb page at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8118/ 

CREWS/EQUIPMENT 
4 type II hand crews, 11 engines, 7 water tenders, 2 helicopters. 

CLOSURES
Santa Fe National Forest Closure order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/santafe/alerts-notices
Carson National Forest Closure order:  https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/carson/alerts-notices
Cibola National Forest Closure order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/cibola/alerts-notices