Blue Cut Post-Fire BAER (Burned Area Emergency Response)

An interagency Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team was established by the San Bernardino National Forest to begin its burned area survey of the Blue Cut Fire that recently burned on federal and private lands. BAER team surveys are rapid assessments of the burned area that evaluate the burned watersheds and determine the potential for increased post-fire flooding, sediment flows, and rock slides. Interagency BAER teams analyze the data they collect during the surveys, to produce a “Soil Burn Severity” map. This is the first step in accessing potential watershed impacts from wildfires to any downstream values that may be at-risk from potential increased flooding, sedimentation, debris flows, and rock slides. BAER teams produce a report that includes an assessment and findings for the burned area’s post-fire conditions along with recommended emergency stabilization measures and actions. BAER emergency stabilization efforts are focused on the protection of human…