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Ferguson Fire Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Plan
Yosemite National Park » Ferguson Fire Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Plan » Document List
The Ferguson Fire BAER plan prescribes emergency treatments to minimize post-fire threats to life or property and to stabilize/ prevent further unacceptable degradation to natural/cultural resources within the fire perimeter in Yosemite. Treatments include:
Culvert Installations - Crews will install ten culverts on the Wawona Road. Two culverts will be new installations where no culverts are present. Six culverts will be new culverts installed parallel to existing culverts. Two existing 18" culverts will be replaced with two 36" culverts. Crews will install five new culverts on the Glacier Point Road directly parallel and adjacent to existing culverts. Stone masonry headwalls and outlets will match existing headwalls and outlets with riprap energy dissipaters to match existing conditions. Two stone headwalls will be reconstructed, as the headwalls are currently buried and are anticipated to have been damaged during the fire. If further assessment determines they are not damaged, then they will be cleaned out and not replaced. Some locations may need a downward flume added in the same area as the existing culvert pipe due to the steep slopes at the outlets.
Stabilization of Fill Slope - Crews will stabilize three fill slopes along the Wawona Road. These slopes are very unstable and the fill drops off just beyond the pavement.
Pavement and Curb Repairs - Crews will repair damaged curb and asphalt in 25 locations. Work includes removing various damaged sections of pavement and concrete curb and replacing it with the same material at the same location. Work also includes adding 500-linear feet of asphalt curb along the Wawona Rd. burn area, north of Chinquapin, to help improve the ditch capacity and help keep ditches cleaner. In addition, the large turnout in the Wawona Rd. burn area north of Chinquapin will be paved to help protect the fill slope and contain the water once it plugs the culverts and crosses the road. Works also includes asphalt and curb repairs in the burn areas along El Portal Road, Glacier Point Road, and Wawona Road (both north and south of Chinquapin).
Rock Scaling - 10 Locations along Wawona Road (North of Chinquapin and Glacier Point Road and Near El Portal View): Work is anticipated to be minimal at each location.
Sparling Ranch Treatments - 1) Remove hazard trees. 2) Install silt fences to divert sheet flow and settle sediment. 3) Install barriers at the base of historic buildings.
Sign Installation - 1) Install a warning sign at the Merced Grove Trail/Road indicating post-fire hazards (e.g., hazard trees). 2) Install a closure sign regarding a hard closure of Alder Creek Trailhead through April 2019. Sign will warn of post-fire hazards, such as downed or hazard trees, and washed out and overgrown trail. 3) Place seven warning signs on roadsides where roads enter the burn area (from both directions), warning of post-fire hazards along the following roadways:
• Highway 140/El Portal Road - at Parkline and approaching the burn area from Yosemite Valley
• Highway 41/Wawona Road - approaching from Tunnel View and approaching from Wawona
• Highway 120/Big Oak Flat Road between the Big Oak Flat park entrance and the burn area and between the burn area and Tamarack Creek/The Cascades
• Glacier Point Road, approaching the burn area from Badger Pass.
The BAER Plan also includes other recommendations covered by existing programmatic CE compliance or not requiring any compliance documentation. Such routine activities include activities covered by the park's trail maintenance programmatic CE and activities covered by the park's forestry programmatic CE (e.g., hazard tree falling and/or removal). Treatment activities also include those covered by the park's Invasive Plant Management Plan.
Culvert Installations - Crews will install ten culverts on the Wawona Road. Two culverts will be new installations where no culverts are present. Six culverts will be new culverts installed parallel to existing culverts. Two existing 18" culverts will be replaced with two 36" culverts. Crews will install five new culverts on the Glacier Point Road directly parallel and adjacent to existing culverts. Stone masonry headwalls and outlets will match existing headwalls and outlets with riprap energy dissipaters to match existing conditions. Two stone headwalls will be reconstructed, as the headwalls are currently buried and are anticipated to have been damaged during the fire. If further assessment determines they are not damaged, then they will be cleaned out and not replaced. Some locations may need a downward flume added in the same area as the existing culvert pipe due to the steep slopes at the outlets.
Stabilization of Fill Slope - Crews will stabilize three fill slopes along the Wawona Road. These slopes are very unstable and the fill drops off just beyond the pavement.
Pavement and Curb Repairs - Crews will repair damaged curb and asphalt in 25 locations. Work includes removing various damaged sections of pavement and concrete curb and replacing it with the same material at the same location. Work also includes adding 500-linear feet of asphalt curb along the Wawona Rd. burn area, north of Chinquapin, to help improve the ditch capacity and help keep ditches cleaner. In addition, the large turnout in the Wawona Rd. burn area north of Chinquapin will be paved to help protect the fill slope and contain the water once it plugs the culverts and crosses the road. Works also includes asphalt and curb repairs in the burn areas along El Portal Road, Glacier Point Road, and Wawona Road (both north and south of Chinquapin).
Rock Scaling - 10 Locations along Wawona Road (North of Chinquapin and Glacier Point Road and Near El Portal View): Work is anticipated to be minimal at each location.
Sparling Ranch Treatments - 1) Remove hazard trees. 2) Install silt fences to divert sheet flow and settle sediment. 3) Install barriers at the base of historic buildings.
Sign Installation - 1) Install a warning sign at the Merced Grove Trail/Road indicating post-fire hazards (e.g., hazard trees). 2) Install a closure sign regarding a hard closure of Alder Creek Trailhead through April 2019. Sign will warn of post-fire hazards, such as downed or hazard trees, and washed out and overgrown trail. 3) Place seven warning signs on roadsides where roads enter the burn area (from both directions), warning of post-fire hazards along the following roadways:
• Highway 140/El Portal Road - at Parkline and approaching the burn area from Yosemite Valley
• Highway 41/Wawona Road - approaching from Tunnel View and approaching from Wawona
• Highway 120/Big Oak Flat Road between the Big Oak Flat park entrance and the burn area and between the burn area and Tamarack Creek/The Cascades
• Glacier Point Road, approaching the burn area from Badger Pass.
The BAER Plan also includes other recommendations covered by existing programmatic CE compliance or not requiring any compliance documentation. Such routine activities include activities covered by the park's trail maintenance programmatic CE and activities covered by the park's forestry programmatic CE (e.g., hazard tree falling and/or removal). Treatment activities also include those covered by the park's Invasive Plant Management Plan.