La Gloria Fire Update: October 28, 1000 hours
Location: Starr County, half a mile northeast of La Gloria off of FM 755 
Acreage: 208 acres 
Containment: 90%

The La Gloria Fire is now 90% contained at 208 acres. Ground crews worked well into the night and into the early morning hours utilizing heavy equipment to construct containment line around the fire perimeter. TAMFS has transferred the fire over the local resources to patrol and mop up hot spots today. 

Weather: Fire weather concerns will persist going into the afternoon. Dry and breezy conditions will be present. 

La Gloria Fire
Location: Starr County, half a mile northeast of La Gloria off of FM 755 
Acreage: 208 acres 
Containment: 75%

The La Gloria Fire is now 75% contained and mapped at 208 acres. The fire was initially estimated to be 500 acres. The decrease in acreage is due to more accurate mapping. Crews will continue to work this evening completing containment line and mopping up hot spots along the fire perimeter. 

Weather: Humidity levels were in the single digits to low teens earlier in the day with gusty winds. Humidity is expected to increase overnight climbing to 30-40%. Winds will also decrease to 7mph or less. 

Update 10/27/21, 11:00PM - FM 755 is now open. Please continue to use caution for any remaining emergency vehicles in the area.  

FM 755 North of La Gloria is closed to through traffic for the safety of emergency responders.
 
Texas Department of Public Safety is on scene to assist.  

ALISAL POST-FIRE BAER ASSESSMENT REPORT RELEASED

The Forest Service, Los Padres National Forest completed its post-fire assessment for emergency stabilization measures and actions on National Forest System (NFS) lands burned by the Alisal Fire.  The emergency treatments and activities are designed to decrease possible impacts to critical values from the burned area such as: life and safety, property, critical natural resources, and cultural resources.

For additional information about the Forest Service BAER Program, see BAER Briefs that have been posted to this InciWeb page under the "News" tab.  The BAER assessment report is linked below as “Related Information” as a PDF document called “Alisal Post-Fire BAER Assessment Report_PUBLIC”.

For private lands that may be impacted off federal lands, the Alisal BAER assessment report is shared and coordinated with other federal, state and local agencies and cooperators who can assist affected business, home and landowners prepare for rain events, such as the Santa Barbara County OEM (Office of Emergency Management) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

NRCS and local sponsors prepare damage survey reports for eligible private lands adjacent to and downstream from affected burned areas.  NRCS uses these reports, along with the Forest Service BAER team’s assessment report, to develop emergency measures to reduce the impacts from potential increased water and debris flows, and assist local sponsors to implement recommended emergency measures through its Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program: (www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1045263.pdf).

Additional information is available from NRCS offices which explains the eligibility requirements for the EWP program and at the “NRCS EWP Information Brochure” along with Santa Barbara County emergency preparation information are available at the Related Information links on the right side of the Alisal Post-Fire BAER InciWeb page.

SPECIAL NOTE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains over the burn scars. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events be prepared to take action. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: https://www.weather.gov/mtr/.

ALISAL POST-FIRE BAER SOIL BURN SEVERITY MAP RELEASED 

USDA Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) is a multi-disciplinary team that assesses post-fire impacts on federal lands following significant wildfires. The role of the assessment team is to characterize fire effects within the burned area to identify imminent post-fire threats to human life, safety, property, infrastructure, and critical natural and cultural resources on NFS lands and recommend emergency response actions designed to mitigate identified risks.

The Alisal BAER assessment team coordinated early with other local and federal agencies such as Santa Barbara County officials, CalFire Watershed Emergency Response Team (CA WERT), National Weather Service (NWS), and USDOI Geological Service (USGS) to share information about burned watershed conditions needed to prepare a response plan for this past weekend’s rain event.

After the team’s assessment of the Alisal burned area, Los Padres National Forest land managers established a BAER team to implement the protective and stabilization treatments that have been approved by the Forest Service Regional and National offices.

The team began their assessment immediately after the fire threat passed. Their focus was on direct effects to the burned landscape caused by the fire, rather than from fire suppression activities which are the responsibility of the Incident Management Team assigned to the fire. Post-fire effects such as loss of vegetation and change in soil stability commonly increase the likelihood of threats that include accelerated soil erosion, increased sediment delivery, flooding and debris flows.

BAER specialists recently completed their field data evaluation to produce the Soil Burn Severity (SBS) map for the approximately 17,846-acre Alisal Fire (number of acres analyzed by the BAER team). The map and the data delineate Unburned/Very Low, Low, Moderate and High SBS categories. Across the Alisal burned area, approximately 65% of the fire is either Unburned/Very Low and/or Low SBS, while 34% sustained a Moderate SBS and about 1% High SBS.

The SBS data estimates the acreage of landownership burned within the Alisal Fire to be: 3,403 acres for the Los Padres National Forest, 905 acres for the California State lands, 1,583 acres of local government lands and 11,954 acres of private/other lands.

It is important to note the SBS map product is an estimate of fire effects on soils and not direct effects to vegetation. SBS characterizes the soil surface and below-ground impact, whereas effects on vegetation are estimates of mortality based primarily on changes in vegetation canopy. Changes in overhead and understory vegetation canopy are often used as initial indicators of overall burn severity, but do not necessarily coincide with SBS.

Changes in soil cover, water repellency, and soil physical/biological conditions guide the interpretations to determine the severity burn level of the soil. Water repellency can occur naturally in soils and changes as a function of fire are a frequently discussed as a post-fire effect. Fire can increase the strength and thickness (or depth) of water repellent layers in soil, considerably affecting post-fire water runoff and possibly extending time for recovery of the burned area.

Low SBS occurs from partial consumption of fine fuels where broken limbs, leaves and ground cover are relatively unchanged and intact on the soil surface. Burning at the soil surface was short in time and discontinuous, leaving root systems and soil physical and biological conditions undamaged. Based on the ecological community, burned vegetation will generally recover to pre-fire conditions within 1 to 2 years. Low SBS generally indicates a low to very low risk. Lower risk for accelerated runoff, erosion, flooding and debris flows within and below these areas compared to moderate and high SBS areas.

Moderate SBS occurs where 50 to 80 percent of pre-fire soil cover (litter and ground fuels) was consumed by fire. Charring of the mineral soil is patchy or sporadic and plant roots within the soil may be scorched but are rarely consumed. Water repellency is often found at the surface, sometimes increasing in strength and depth which reduces the ability of precipitation to infiltrate the soil surface. The extent of scorched leaves on trees and shrubs is limited to riparian areas and some high elevation hill-slopes. Shrub canopy removed by fire in moderate and high SBS areas varies and can reflect a range in mortality from high to low, which is why a closer look at the ground is required to determine the SBS level. Unburned leaves from fire-damaged or killed trees will provide ground cover to replace the organic soil cover that was consumed by the fire. Where greater amounts of reduced soil cover and increased water repellency occur, increased overland flow of water from precipitation is expected, most notably in locations where the overstory canopy no longer exists. Canopy only exists in several of the low and moderate SBS mainstem channel riparian areas. Recovery of burned understory vegetation in these areas can take 3 to 5 years thereby. increasing the short-term potential for post-fire threats.

For the Alisal burned area, there is only 1% of the fire that was assessed by the BAER team to be high SBS which is the result of high-fire severity that corresponds with longer burning time at the soil surface. As a result of the high, longer duration heat nearly all the pre-fire soil cover and ground fuels have been consumed. The surface mineral soil structure can be reduced to powder (single grain) sometimes several inches thick with a continuous cover of white or gray ash. The fine and small roots of shrubs and grasses tend to be completely consumed. Water repellency does not exist at the surface because the organic materials have been vaporized and forced downward into pore spaces and voids between soil particles below the damaged soil surface. Water repellency layers tend to be stronger, thicker and occur deeper compared to Moderate SBS. Fire-adapted shrubs and vegetation such as bear clover, manzanita, and deer brush can sprout back within 2 to 3 years because of intact roots systems. However, seed sources for some grass species are consumed in High SBS which may take 5 or more years to re-establish to pre-fire conditions. Generally, there is 100% tree mortality in High SBS and tree recovery will take many years without planting. In High SBS, the exposed bare soil is very prone to post-fire impacts. The damaged soil is very easily detached with rain events causing excessive soil erosion, resulting in higher volumes of sediment delivery to adjacent creeks and rivers. There is increased likelihood for flooding and debris flows. These threats can individually or cumulatively increase the risk to human life and safety, property, infrastructure, and important critical natural and cultural resources.

The Alisal BAER assessment team used initial remote sensing imagery with field-validated soils data to produce the final SBS map. The BAER team and the US Geological Survey (USGS) both use the SBS map as an analysis tool to estimate post-fire erosion with subsequent sediment delivery, stream flows and debris flow probabilities.

The Alisal Fire soil burn severity map can be downloaded at the “Alisal Post-Fire BAER” InciWeb site (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7873/) as a JPEG or PDF version under the “Maps” tab.

SPECIAL 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 and landslides may occur quickly during heavy rain events and residents and forest visitors need to be prepared to take action. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: https://www.weather.gov/mtr/.

FOREST SERVICE BAER TEAM ASSESSES ALISAL BURNED AREA

After a large wildfire, special actions may be necessary to provide for public and community safety and protect critical natural and cultural resources on federally managed lands. For example, the 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 Los Padres NF to assess the burned area of the Alisal Fire that recently burned on state, private, and federal lands. The Forest Service BAER team assesses National Forest System (NFS) lands.

BAER assessments are rapid evaluations of the burned area 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. 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 the burned watersheds. Additionally, they coordinate and share information from their assessments with other federal agencies such as the National Weather Service (NWS) and US Geological Survey (USGS), state agencies, and local affected counties. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (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 Alisal Fire consists of hydrologists, geologists, soil scientists, road engineers, botanists, biologists, archaeologists, 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.

Rainstorm runoff is sometimes, but not always, increased in burned areas. The Forest Service BAER assessment report will be shared with interagency cooperators who work with downstream private homeowners 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 and www.floodsmart.gov/.

SPECIAL NOTE: 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 and residents and forest visitors should be prepared to take action. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: https://www.weather.gov/mtr/.

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.

SPECIAL NOTE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains over the burn scars. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events-be prepared to take action. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: https://www.weather.gov/mtr/.

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.

SPECIAL NOTE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains over the burn scars. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events-be prepared to take action. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: https://www.weather.gov/mtr/.

 

                                  TRAIL CLOSURE – PRESCRIBED FIRE
 
Prescribed burning will be conducted by Yosemite fire crews in Yosemite Valley starting on Thursday, October 21, 2021 and continuing through the first week of November. These burn units are located along Southside Drive between El Captain Crossover and the Four Mile trailhead.
 
The potential hazards within the burn areas include:
•           Falling limbs, snags (dead standing trees) and fire-damaged trees
•           Burning logs and stump holes
•           Smoke conditions which may cause respiratory problems
•           Poor visibility due to smoke
•           Hot ash and unseen hazards  

By order of the Superintendent of Yosemite National Park and under authority of Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Section l.5 (a) and Section (a)(l): In order to maintain the safety of park visitors and allow fire management operations to continue unimpeded, the Superintendent of Yosemite National Park is designating the trail segments and areas marked on the accompanying map titled “Valley RX Burns Trail Safety Closure #1” closed to all travel; personnel involved in administrative and firefighting activities are excepted.
The area will be closed until further notice is given. Notice of closure will be posted and area will be monitored to ensure compliance. Please see accompanying map for more information. This order supersedes and includes all prior area closures. The designation will remain in place until rescinded.

MCCASH POST-FIRE BAER SOIL BURN SEVERITY MAP RELEASED

USDA Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) is a multi-disciplinary team that assesses post-fire impacts on federal lands following significant wildfires. The role of the assessment team is to characterize fire effects within the burned area to identify imminent post-fire threats to human life, safety, property, infrastructure, and critical natural and cultural resources on NFS lands and recommend emergency response actions designed to mitigate identified risks. After the assessment, local land managers establish an organization to implement the protective and stabilization treatments that have been approved by the Forest Service Regional and National offices.

The team begins their assessment immediately after the fire threat passes. Their focus is on direct effects to the burned landscape caused by the fire, rather than from fire suppression activities which are the responsibility of the Incident Management Team assigned to the fire. Post-fire effects such as loss of vegetation and change in soil stability commonly increase the likelihood of threats that include accelerated soil erosion, increased sediment delivery, flooding and debris flows.

BAER specialists recently completed their field data evaluation to produce the Soil Burn Severity (SBS) map for the 94,888-acre McCash Fire. The map and the data delineate Unburned/Very Low, Low, Moderate and High SBS categories. Across the McCash burned area, approximately 69% of the fire is either Unburned/Very Low and/or Low SBS, while 26% sustained a Moderate SBS and about 5% High SBS.

The SBS data estimates the acreage of landownership burned within the McCash Fire to be: 41,051 acres for the Six Rivers National Forest, 53,636 acres for the Klamath National Forest and 200 acres of private/other lands.

It is important to note the SBS map product is an estimate of fire effects on soils and not direct effects to vegetation. SBS characterizes the soil surface and below-ground impact, whereas effects on vegetation are estimates of mortality based primarily on changes in vegetation canopy. Changes in overhead and understory vegetation canopy are often used as initial indicators of overall burn severity, but do not necessarily coincide with SBS.

Changes in soil cover, water repellency, and soil physical/biological conditions guide the interpretations to determine the severity burn level of the soil. Water repellency can occur naturally in soils and changes as a function of fire are a frequently discussed as a post-fire effect. Fire can increase the strength and thickness (or depth) of water repellent layers in soil, considerably affecting post-fire water runoff and possibly extending time for recovery of the burned area.

Low SBS occurs from partial consumption of fine fuels, where broken limbs, needles and ground cover are relatively unchanged and intact on the soil surface. Burning at the soil surface was short in time and discontinuous, leaving root systems and soil physical and biological conditions undamaged. Based on the ecological community, burned vegetation will generally recover to pre-fire conditions within 1 to 2 years. Low SBS generally indicates a low to very low risk.

Moderate SBS occurs where 50 to 80 percent of pre-fire soil cover (litter and ground fuels) was consumed by fire. Charring of the mineral soil is patchy or sporadic and plant roots within the soil may be scorched but are rarely consumed. Water repellency is often found at the surface, sometimes increasing in strength and depth which reduces the ability of precipitation to infiltrate the soil surface. The extent of scorched leaves and needles on trees and shrubs (aka canopy) varies and can reflect a range in mortality from high to low, which is why a closer look at the ground is required to determine SBS. Needle cast from fire-damaged or killed trees will provide ground cover to replace the organic soil cover that was consumed by the fire. Where greater amounts of reduced soil cover and increased water repellency occur, increased overland flow of water from precipitation is expected, most notably in locations where the overstory canopy no longer exists. Recovery of burned understory vegetation in these areas can take 3 to 5 years thereby increasing the short-term potential for post-fire threats.

High SBS is the result of high fire severity that corresponds with longer burning time at the soil surface. As a result of the high, longer duration heat nearly all the pre-fire soil cover and ground fuels have been consumed. The surface mineral soil structure can be reduced to powder (single grain), sometimes several inches thick with a continuous cover of white or gray ash. The fine and small roots of shrubs and grasses tend to be completely consumed. Water repellency does not exist at the surface because the organic materials have been vaporized and forced downward into pore spaces and voids between soil particles below the damaged soil surface. Water repellency layers tend to be stronger, thicker and occur deeper compared to Moderate SBS. Fire-adapted shrubs and vegetation such as bear clover, manzanita, and deer brush can sprout back within 2 to 3 years because of intact roots systems. However, seed sources for some grass species are consumed in High SBS which may take 5 or more years to re-establish to pre-fire conditions. Generally, there is 100% tree mortality in High SBS and conifer recovery will take many years without tree planting. In High SBS, the exposed bare soil is very prone to post-fire impacts. The damaged soil is very easily detached with rain events causing excessive soil erosion, resulting in higher volumes of sediment delivery to adjacent creeks and rivers. There is increased likelihood for flooding and debris flows. These threats can individually or cumulatively increase the risk to human life and safety, property, infrastructure, and important critical natural and cultural resources.

The McCash BAER assessment team used initial remote sensing imagery with field-validated soils data to produce the final SBS map. The BAER team and the US Geological Survey (USGS) both use the SBS map as an analysis tool to estimate post-fire erosion with subsequent sediment delivery, stream flows and debris flow probabilities.

The McCash Fire soil burn severity map can be downloaded at the “McCash Post-Fire BAER” InciWeb site (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7870/) as a JPEG or PDF version under the “Maps” tab.

SPECIAL NOTE: 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 and landslides may occur quickly during heavy rain events-be prepared to take action. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service websites: https://www.weather.gov/eka/ and https://www.weather.gov/sto/.