Meeting challenges after a wildfire
Erosion of hillsides, slopes, and other areas denuded of vegetation, including river and stream banks, can present a challenge to water quality long after a wildfire occurs. Post-fire assessments can be used to identify and prioritize restoration measures.
These measures may include the following:
- Identify steep slopes, damaged roads and culverts, severely burned riparian areas, and other sites vulnerable to post-fire erosion.
- Perform short-term erosion control on fire lines and other disturbed soils that could contribute sediment to source waters. This can include mulching, straw bales and wattles, seeding with native plants and grasses, building water bars on roads and trails, unblocking culverts, emergency road and culvert repairs, and removal of damaged and destroyed vehicles and other trash.
- Avoid creating further disturbance whenever possible. Keep vehicles on road surfaces. Restrict public access for safety and disturbance prevention. Only remove trees and downed logs that present a hazard to public safety or infrastructure—trees and logs add stability to disturbed soils, filter mobilized sediment, and provide habitat structures that aid revegetation and reforestation.
- During planting, select a range of native grasses, herbs, shrubs, and trees. Avoid planting high densities of shrubs and trees. Leave legacies (surviving trees and shrubs, standing and downed dead wood, sprouting plants) intact whenever possible—these are allies in erosion prevention, and removal can increase erosion risk. Consider that only areas of severe burn will have a total vegetation loss. Vegetation in mosaic or lightly burned areas will that survive the fire and re-sprout.
- Maintain roads and stream crossings frequently during the first two or three post-fire rainy seasons to remove debris from crossings and catch road prism failures before they happen.
- Prioritize where restoration is needed the most; implement stormwater best management practices to reduce nutrient impacts on waterbodies and waterways; stabilize streambanks and lake shorelines; when feasible, reseed or replant.
- Use satellite imagery to detect and track cyanobacteria or harmful algal blooms.
- Continue to monitor raw water quality especially for turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, Total Organic Carbon, Dissolved Organic Carbon, and suspended solids.
- Tap into technical assistance or grants from Soil and Water Conservation District for agricultural lands; Oregon State University Extension for agricultural and family (private nonindustrial) forestlands; watershed councils; Natural Resources Conservation Service grants; grants from OHA; and Drinking Water Providers Partnership for lands within drinking water source areas.