When the last flames of a fire are finally put out, perhaps the biggest challenge remains: healing the land.

Healing of forests and rangelands actually begins before most of the major fires are controlled. Teams of specialists often are on site to assess the damage done by the fire and what can be done to prevent one natural disaster being followed by another. Teams may include specialists in hydrology, geologist, soils, range management, botanists, engineers, archaeologists and foresters.

Water erosion is the main culprit. A burned mountainside almost void of vegetation cannot hold back or absorb water. Torched hillsides can turn hydrophobic, or water repellant. What often happens next can be more catastrophic than the fire itself: whole hillsides virtually turning to liquid and gushing downslope, wiping out anything in its path, threatening communities, and changing the ecological balance of the area for decades.

On public rangelands, especially those in the Great Basin, another enemy lurks. Cheatgrass, an annual weed native to Eurasia, already has taken over more than 25 million acres. Cheatgrass, as well as other annual weeds, have little value as forage for wildlife or livestock. These weeds are highly flammable and carry fire well. Once they invade, the weeds-and-wildfire cycle quickly takes over. The more weeds, the more fire. The more fire, the more weeds.

Many techniques are used to promote rehabilitation and restoration of the land. They can be as simple as breaking up the hydrophobic soils with rakes or mulching charcoal into the earth to help soak up water. Other methods include seeding, planting trees, trenching to slow down and divert water, constructing temporary dams or placing straw bales in gullies.

Restoration and rehabilitation may take years to complete, and for results to be seen. It’s critical that local communities become involved and help direct restoration work. Without the support, help and advice from the people who live closest to the land, restoration and rehabilitation work will not be totally successful.

The destruction caused by wildland fires is only part of the story. Nature may eventually restore burned areas, but when communities, local agencies and the federal agencies team up, it virtually assures the natural legacy of the land will continue.