Burned Area Emergency Response Tools

• VAR Calculation Tool Ver. 8.0.1 (November 2010; 1.2 MB .xls Excel spreadsheet)
• VAR Tool LITE Ver. 18.5.10 (May 2018; 0.5 MB .xlsx Excel spreadsheet)

  The VAR Tool LITE spreadsheet simplifies the input requirements, removes the GIS map requirements, streamlines the terminology and instructions compared to the original calculation tool.

The use of the VAR Calculation Tool to support post-fire values-at-risk assessment is described in Assessing Post-Fire Values-at-Risk with a New Calculation Tool (3.5 MB PDF, RMRS-GTR-205).

The VAR Calculation Tool was used for the economic assessment of post-fire emergency treatment recommendations on the recent (Nov 2007) Santiago Fire in Orange County, CA.

• Completed VAR Calculation Tool for the Santiago Fire
• Analysis of the VAR Calculation Tool results, the Santiago Fire VAR Assessment

Current post-fire assessment procedures require identification and valuation of values-at-risk (VAR), such as human life and safety, cultural and ecological resources, land use, and existing infrastructure, from potential secondary effects (e.g., increased runoff, erosion, flooding, sedimentation, and vulnerability to invasive weeds) of wildfires. However, the valuation of VAR, especially non-market resource values, is a complex process that exceeds the time and expertise available to most BAER/ESR.

We developed a method (framework) to standardize and simplify the complex valuation task in the context of post-fire assessment and treatment recommendation. The spreadsheet-based VAR Calculation Tool supports this VAR valuation framework.

The VAR Tool LITE spreadsheet simplifies the input requirements, removes the GIS map requirements, streamlines the terminology and instructions compared to the original calculation tool.

USDA Forest Service - RMRS - Moscow Forestry Sciences Laboratory
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