Depending on the severity of a wildfire, forests may need restoration and rehabilitation in order to keep the habitat balances and to avoid additional post-fire events.
According to the Colorado State Forest Service, in areas that experience low-severity burns, fire events can serve to eliminate vegetative competition, rejuvenate its growth and improve watershed conditions. But, in landscapes subjected to high or even moderate burn severity, the post-fire threats to public safety and natural resources can be extreme.
![Post-FireRestoration Trees after forest fire](https://emergencymanagement.colostate.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Post-FireRestoration.png)
Public and private entities invest millions of dollars to implement emergency measures that protect people, communities and critical resources from post-fire events such as flooding, erosion, mudslides, hazard trees and related degradation of water supplies and storage facilities.
Visit the Colorado State Forest Service for a full list of forest restoration resources including common emergency rehabilitation practices.
Quick Facts
- Forest restoration is necessary to re-establish structure and function, and protect and restore critical habitat, riparian areas, watersheds and many other attributes.
- The post-fire condition of a burned landscape directly relates to the type and condition of the forest and the severity of the burn.
- High-severity wildfires remove virtually all forest vegetation from trees, shrubs, and grasses to discarded needles, decomposed roots, and other elements of ground cover or duff that protect forest soils.