A multi-agency Department of the Interior (DOI) Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team is beginning work this week to assess the impacts of the Dragon Bravo Fire on National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.
The process involves identifying the values at risk, determining any post-fire impacts to those values, and prescribing treatments to mitigate impacts.
The DOI BAER Team began work on August 21, and will identify imminent threats to life and property, followed by critical natural and cultural resources. Comprised of experts from multiple disciplines, the team includes hydrologists, botanists, wildlife biologists, recreation specialists, foresters, and cultural resource specialists from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, and US Forest Service.
“The BAER assessment is the first step towards recovery on the North Rim of Grand Canyon,” said Ed Keable, Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park. “By evaluating risks and identifying treatments now, we are laying the foundation for long-term landscape resilience. This careful, science-based work is essential to ensuring that areas can reopen safely.”