Assessing Post-Fire Values-At-Risk With a New Calculation Tool

Wildfire effects include loss of vegetative cover and changes to soil properties that may lead to secondary effects of increased runoff, erosion, flooding, sedimentation, and vulnerability to invasive weeds. These secondary effects may threaten human life and safety, cultural and ecological resources, land use, and existing infrastructure. Current Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) assessment procedures require identification and valuation of values-at-risk (VAR) from the potential secondary effects of wildfires. However, guidelines to estimate the monetary value of these resources are limited and difficult to apply. This project examined current methods for post-fire assessment of VAR and sought methodologies to standardize and simplify the complex valuation task. A spreadsheet-based “VAR Calculation Tool” supports this valuation framework. It is expected to improve defensibility of VAR valuation and post-fire emergency treatment decisions.