Rehabilitation Efforts Begin on Garner Complex

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An excavator works on building water bars and repairing dozer line in the burn area of the Garner Complex.

Photo Credit: Marcus Kauffman

Today on Garner Complex, fire crews are transitioning from suppression to rehabilitation. Crews throughout the complex are taking part in work to prevent adverse effects from the wildfire. Reforestation efforts will continue even after fire crews have gone.  The crews will focus on constructing erosion breaks throughout the Garner Complex burn scar. This includes clearing debris from dozer lines, placing logs, which will serve as berms in areas prone to erosion, and eventually restoring the forest to its natural state. 

Reforestation activities are conducted by specialized teams called Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) Teams who respond after a wildfire is contained.  These teams include resource specialists, biologists, engineers, and botanists. Their efforts focus on long term protection of life, property, cultural, and natural resources. The U.S. Forest Service use BAER teams to work on stabilizing federal forest lands which have been affected by wildfire and are unable to recover on their own. The primary stabilization techniques used by these teams are reseeding of ground cover with quick-growing or native species, mulching with straw or chipped wood, construction of straw, rock, or log dams in small tributaries, and placement of logs to catch sediment on hill slopes.

The Bureau of Land Management has Emergency Stabilization Response (ESR) to BLM lands impacted by wildfire. The ESR utilizes local resources to help restore federal areas affected by fire and to prevent further damage to the landscape. It is important for restoration efforts to begin before any heavy precipitation occurs to the burn scar. Substantial rains before these efforts are implemented could result in significant damage to communities near the fire perimeter.

Rehabilitation efforts lessen the possibility of major landslides, rock slides, and flash floods. These events can be catastrophic to communities both physically and economically. Recent wildfires have resulted in devastating landslides and flash floods which have damaged homes, businesses, and roadways. It is for this reason that rehabilitation after a wildfire is critical. Efforts don’t stop when a wildfire is suppressed. The long term rehabilitation efforts to repair damage caused by the fire begin after the fire is extinguished and can continue for several years.