Big Hollow Fire Response & Recovery

The Big Hollow Fire started on Tuesday September 8, 2020 approx. 04:30 AM, 15 miles NW of Carson Washington and 7 miles SE of Cougar Washington within Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The fire burned 24,147 acres on national forest land and 847 acres on Washington state land. The fire was contained on Tuesday October 20th, 2020 approx. 10:00 AM. 

Burned Area Emergency Response & Rapid Assessment

As the Big Hollow Fire moved toward containment, the Forest Service assembled a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team of experts in soils, geology, hydrology, engineering, botany, recreation, archaeology, and fisheries, along with GIS support and public information officers. Starting October 5, 2021, the team conducted a rapid assessment of potential imminent post-fire threats to critical values such as life and safety, property, natural resources, and cultural resources. Their assessment focused on post-fire effects on the landscape, to identify concerns such as increased erosion and sedimentation, flooding, debris flow potential, and the spread of invasive plants.

The BAER team identified ‘Values at Risk’ (VAR), a term used to note key concerns about life and safety, property, or natural and cultural resources. The team then developed a Soil Burn Severity (SBS) map to document the degree to which soil properties had changed within the burned area. Fire damaged soils have low strength, high root mortality, and increased rates of water runoff and erosion. Using the SBS map, BAER team members ran models to estimate changes in stream flows and debris flow potential. The models compared pre-fire conditions to predicted post-fire conditions to determine relative changes due to the fire. These changes are used to determine the relative risk to different VARs and to make recommendations to address those things determined to be an imminent threat to life, property, and the forest ecosystem.  

	BAER Summary - Review a summary of the post fire assessment findings from key resource areas.
	Soil Burn Severity Map - This map documents the degree to which soil properties changed within the burned area.
	Debris Flow Hazard Map - Using the Soil Burn Severity map, BAER team members ran models to estimate changes in stream flows and debris flow potential.

Rapid Assessment Team Report

Rapid Assessment Teams (RAT) assess burned areas after a wildfire to survey impacts and provide recommendations for post-fire actions, including restoration, reforestation, salvage, and other activities. These assessments are conducted quickly using remote sensing data, Burned Area Emergency Response assessments, and other information that is available at the time. The recommendations are subject to change in the future when additional data or information is available. RAT report recommendations are non-binding options that forests use, along with other assessments and sources of information, when evaluating post-fire options. Forest managers weigh a variety of factors when making decisions, including funding, capacity, other priorities, needs of local communities, timing constraints, and how best to leverage resources with partners and other agencies.

View the Gifford Pinchot Rapid Assessment Team Report.