FIRE EFFECTS GUIDE - National Wildfire Coordinating Group

are still suitable.
(2) Wildfire. The area in which a wildfire occurs may have established
resource objectives, and fire treatment objectives may have been
prepared in the Escaped Fire Analysis. However, because wildfires are
random events, any prefire monitoring with the specific intent of
documenting the effects of that fire can rarely be done. Some
monitoring data may be available that was performed for other resource
management programs or projects, and some of these data may be
suitable for postfire comparisons.
After a wildfire, an assessment is made of the degree to which fire may
have affected the ability of the land to meet any resource management
objectives that may have been established for the area. In particular,
the expected response of the vegetation on the site, and the potential
for site erosion, must be evaluated. A plan to take actions paid by
Emergency Fire Rehabilitation funds may be written if action is required
to mitigate the effects of the wildfire. (1) The decision to use EFR funds is
very important; therefore, appropriate personnel should be utilized and
the evaluation process should be initiated as soon as possible. Fire
effects evaluation can begin long before the fire is declared out.
Recommendations are made whether a continuation of present site
management practices is acceptable, or if changes are needed, such as
in grazing management or use by all terrain vehicles.
b. Effectiveness of postfire actions. An evaluation should be
conducted to determine whether postfire site rehabilitation treatments
limited negative effects of fire, to assess the impacts of postfire
activities such as salvage logging, and to establish the effectiveness of
postfire site management actions, such as grazing restrictions, in
preserving or improving site quality.
c. Effect of fire and postfire actions on attainment of site
objectives. Depending on whether a wildfire or prescribed fire is being
evaluated, and the level of land use goals and objectives that existed
for the site before the fire occurred, an assessment must be made of
whether resource management, fire treatment, and/or rehabilitation
objectives were met.
2. Degree of Evaluation. The degree of evaluation that is required
depends on: