Post-Fire Rehabilitation and Recovery

Scientists evaluate if and which treatments are necessary to restore an area post-fire.

NPS Photo

Although wildfires may be beneficial and cause little damage to the land, some fires leave behind 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, or sediments may move downstream and damage houses or fill reservoirs, putting endangered species and community water supplies at risk. Post-fire programs such as Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) address these situations with the goals of protecting life, property, water quality, and deteriorated ecosystems from further damage after the fire is out.

BAER Objectives:

• Determine if an emergency condition exists after a fire.
• Alleviate emergency conditions to help stabilize soil; control water, sediment, and debris movement; prevent impairment of ecosystems; and mitigate significant threats to health, safety, life, property, and downstream values at risk.
• Monitor the implementation and effectiveness of emergency treatments.

Burned Area Restoration
Learning from and about fire—efforts to study fire effects and continuously improve fire management.

BAER Case Study
A short video about Burned Area Emergency Response.