Long after the retardant drops end and the hot shots and news crews move on, the danger across wildfire burn scars remains. Special teams of geologists, biologists, soil scientists, and hydrologists are dispatched to assess damage, plan fixes and identify potentially fatal hazards.
Recently, North State Public Radio's Marc Albert spoke with Kevin Cooper a team leader with the U.S. Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER). Cooper has been assessing the moonscape left behind by the Hirz and Delta Fires. Now the biggest danger: heavy rain that could cause mudslides.