Socal BAER Summary - November 7, 2007
Incident: So Cal BAER Coordination Burned Area Emergency Reh
Released: 11/7/2007
SOCAL BAER SUMMARY
— USDA FOREST SERVICE — Southern California BAER Coordination Team —
November 7, 2007
Forest Service and Department of Interior interagency Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment teams for the recent southern California wildfires are established and conducting ground and aerial reconnaissance on eight fires. The BAER teams consist of resource specialists such as Hydrologists, Soil Scientists, Geologists, Biologists, and Engineers with experience working on BAER teams throughout California and the Western United States.
A SoCal BAER Coordination team has also been established to provide overall coordination for Forest Service BAER efforts by facilitating multi-agency coordination and communication, coordinating public information, and providing support to the individual BAER teams.
One of the first priorities for each BAER team is to finalize a Soil Burn Severity map to determine the pattern of the burn on the landscape. Hydrologists and Soil Scientists refine the initial map received from a satellite image of the fire produced from the Remote Sensing Application Center (RSAC). Further modification and revision is expected as more field data is collected and observations are made. The Soil Burn Severity map is critical as it "sets the stage" to assess potential impacts to resources and downstream values at risk.
The BAER teams are meeting with interagency cooperators to discuss potential values and threats such as:
Life, Property and Safety. Threats to: 1) people and property; 2) trails, roads and highways; 3) recreation sites; and 4) water systems.
Resources. Threats to: 1) water quality; 2) soil productivity; 3) cultural resources; 4) species of special concern; 5) OHV incursion into fire areas; and 6) noxious weeds.
The SoCal BAER Coordination Team will produce Forest Service briefs summarizing the progress from each of the Forest Service BAER teams during the emergency assessment phase to coordinate with affected agencies, cooperators and other interested parties.
For further information, please contact FEMA-Pasadena News Desk at 626-431-3178, SoCal BAER Public Information Officer Cathleen Thompson at 909-777-3061, or www.InciWeb.org/incident/1019/.
###
