There’s a lot of work that goes into assessing fire damage after a wildfire sweeps through an area. The Burned Area Emergency Response team, also known as the BAER team, assess the area and how fire damage could affect future disasters.
“In the case of the Cody Fire, the burn severity was moderate to minimal,” Matthew Garcia said.
Garcia is the public information officer representing the Coronado National Forest and Santa Catalina Ranger District.
“There’s still potential for the normal flash flooding that we get within our desert conditions,” Garcia said.
After a fire, he said water doesn’t soak into the burned soil. The water, he said, stays on the surface and it will run down the surface, which could lead to flash floods.
The BAER team, he said, assesses the area to prevent that with a team of hydrologists, soil scientists, and engineers.
“There’s a higher likelihood of things like flash flooding but also there’s things like fire-weakened roots within the tree systems,” Garcia said.
The BAER team and their partners, Garcia said, map out the area and uses satellite images and models to see how the fire affected the soil.
“From there hydrologists can kind of model and kind of figure out where the water is going to flow and how severe,” he said.
After a fire, he said the ground can get unstable, meaning rocks and the soil could be a rolling hazard for people.
The tam, Garcia said, works to stabilize the soil and do erosion control to protect the vegetation and natural resources.
“It depends on the ecosystem but some areas can start getting back to normal as soon as a few months. Other areas can take up to a hundred years,” he said.
That’s why he said the BAER team puts up signs with warnings for people to be aware of flash floods.
“Just be cognizant of where the rain is falling and if you’re in a drainage area because that’s usually where the flash flooding will occur,” he said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
