SILVER CITY, NM; June 3, 2014 – The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) funding request for the Signal Fire was recently approved and work is scheduled to begin to stabilize and restore areas impacted by the fire.

The first priority will be to start activities that provide for public safety. The planned treatments include removing hazard trees, clearing channels; stabilizing roads and trails, installing caution signs; aerial seeding and monitoring the effectiveness of the treatments. The use of aerial seeding has been found to be very successful in effectiveness of establishing cover on high to moderate severe burn areas in the southwestern region.

The first phase of the BAER process involved gathering a team of resource specialists to assess post-fire conditions and recommend measures to lessen threats to life, property, and resources from potential flooding and debris flows.

One of the tools the BAER team used was a burn severity map which indicated areas that burned at high, moderate or low severity. The map showed that 22 percent of the total acreage burned at high severity, 13 percent at moderate and 65 percent burned at low severity. This map is posted on Inciweb at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3864/.

The Signal Fire started May 11 and grew to 5,484 acres before it was fully contained. To provide for public safety, an area closure for the Signal Fire remains in effect. Please check the forest website for the details http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/gila/alerts-notices/?aid=23047.