Cow Fire Soil Burn Severity

When you look at a forest after a fire, what do you see? Many of us focus on the trees that have burned or been scorched. As, if not more important is what lies at our feet: the soil. Often, after a large fire like the Cow Fire a BAER Team will respond. BAER stands for Burned Area Emergency Response and it is made up of an assortment of professionals: hydrologists, engineers, archeologists, biologists and soils scientists. The soils specialists focus on the fire's affects to the soil and its ability to support growth after a fire. Most of the soil on the 204 Cow Fire was not burned severely.