Public Meeting to Discuss Goff Fire Area Rehabilitation to be Held in Seiad
Incident: Fort Complex Wildfire
Released: 9/28/2012
Public Meeting to discuss Goff Fire area rehabilitation to be held in Seiad
Seiad, CA- Happy Camp-Oak Knoll District Ranger Tom Mutz has announced that a public meeting will be held at the Seiad Fire Hall on Monday October 1st at 6:00 pm. An update on the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) report will be provided and local residents will have an opportunity to comment and share ideas and suggestions.
Wildland fires can cause both immediate and long term damage to natural resources. Long before the last embers of Goff Fire wildfire cool, teams of experts gather to give nature a helping hand in recovery. Specialists assess the damage done by wildfires to recommend ways to restore the land. The specialists, organized into a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team, include hydrologists, soil scientists, wildlife and fishery biologists, engineers, foresters, archeologists and botanists to address the various natural resources in the area.
The BAER team first surveys burned areas by air and on the ground, and map the intensity of the fire to evaluate what kind of rehabilitation actions are needed. The team then develops a BAER Plan with strategies for the emergency rehabilitation of watersheds. The plan is developed in close coordination with representatives of local, state, and Federal agencies and organizations responsible for dealing with potential effects outside of the Klamath National Forest.
The BAER plan addresses concerns for community water supplies, water quality, fisheries and wildlife habitat, erosion potential, and threats to life and property. It also recommends actions to stabilize soil, control water, sediment and debris movement; and prevent damage to downstream resources. BAER plans must be completed within 72 hours of a wildfire being declared controlled and transmitted to Washington D.C. to request funding. The goal is to complete recommended rehabilitation work before winter rains.
The Goff Fire of the Fort Complex BAER Team is pleased with the minimum damage evident from the fires. Overall, the majority of the area appears to have had low to moderate fire intensity with isolated areas where the fire burned more intensely. The team will prioritize those areas to develop actions which will provide protection to the soil and water before winter rains.
"The development of the BAER Plan for the Goff Fire is vitally important for the current and future management of major watersheds within the Klamath National Forest," stated Patricia Grantham, Forest Supervisor for the Klamath National Forest. "We are fortunate to have a highly capable group of specialist staffing the BAER Team. And we are equally fortunate to have the involvement of a wide cross section of representatives from local, state, and Federal agencies and organizations to help insure the final BAER Plan addresses as many key issues as possible."
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