Strategic Planning and Resource Assessment

Forest Service 2003 Success Stories

Success Stories: Mapping Post-Fire Conditions for Burned Area Emergency Response Teams

Until recently, Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams assessed and mapped post-fire conditions by using a combination of aerial and ground reconnaissance. This process is not only expensive, but is also time-intensive, due to the large areas to be assessed and mountainous terrain.

Since 2001, the Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) has provided rapid delivery of satellite imagery and burned area reflectance classification (BARC) data to BAER teams. Imagery covering the area of each fire incident is acquired at, or very near, the containment date. The imagery and BARC data are then provided to BAER teams within 24-48 hours following image acquisition.

The imagery and BARC data are utilized by BAER teams to:

• Focus the efforts on areas of greatest concern
• Develop a BAER burn severity map
• Create 3-dimensional visualizations of the burned area
• Prepare graphics for public meetings.

The imagery and BARC data reduce the time and costs required to develop the emergency rehabilitation plan, accelerating the burn severity mapping process, while minimizing the amount of aerial and ground reconnaissance.

In 2002 RSAC supported 73 BAER incidents and mapped over 2.7 million acres.

Additional information on the BAER Imagery Support Program is available at: www.fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/baer.

USDA Forest Service - Strategic Planning and Resource Assessment
Last Modified: Tuesday, 18 May 2004 at 11:33:49 EDT