Soil Burn Severity

Description

Assesses soil burn severity for a fire incident using dNBR (differenced Normalized Burn Ratio) values and field indicators. Provides severity classification, affected acreage breakdown, and BAER assessment recommendations. This is the Burn Analyst's primary tool for understanding fire impact on soil resources.

Triggers

When should the agent invoke this skill?

•User asks about burn severity for a specific fire
•Query mentions "soil burn" or "burn severity"
•Request for BAER (Burned Area Emergency Response) assessment data
•Questions about fire impact on soil or watershed
•dNBR analysis or interpretation requests
•Severity classification or breakdown requests
•Fire damage assessment queries

Instructions

Step-by-step reasoning for the agent:

•
Load Fire Data: Retrieve burn severity data for the specified fire
- •Accept fire_id parameter to identify the fire
- •Load from Cedar Creek fixtures or provided data
- •Validate that sector data includes dNBR values
•
Classify Each Sector: Apply dNBR thresholds to determine severity
- •UNBURNED: dNBR < 0.1
- •LOW: 0.1 ≤ dNBR < 0.27
- •MODERATE: 0.27 ≤ dNBR < 0.66
- •HIGH: dNBR ≥ 0.66
•
Calculate Acreage Breakdown: Sum acres by severity class
- •Total acres for each severity level
- •Percentage distribution
•
Assess Risk Factors: Evaluate erosion and recovery concerns
- •High severity + steep slopes = critical erosion risk
- •Watershed proximity increases priority
- •Old-growth or seed source considerations
•
Generate Reasoning Chain: Document each classification decision
- •Include sector names and dNBR values
- •Note special concerns from priority_notes
•
Calculate Confidence: Based on data quality
- •Complete fixture data: 0.92 base confidence
- •Reduce for missing fields or stale imagery

Inputs

Input	Type	Required	Description
fire_id	string	Yes	Unique fire identifier (e.g., "cedar-creek-2022")
sectors	array	No	Optional pre-loaded sector data (uses fixtures if not provided)
include_geometry	boolean	No	Whether to include GeoJSON in response (default: false)

Outputs

Output	Type	Description
fire_id	string	The analyzed fire identifier
fire_name	string	Display name of the fire
total_acres	number	Total burned acres assessed
severity_breakdown	object	Acres and percentage by severity class
sectors	array	Sector-level assessments with severity and concerns
priority_sectors	array	Sectors requiring immediate attention
reasoning_chain	array	Step-by-step classification decisions
confidence	number	Assessment confidence (0-1)
data_sources	array	Sources used (e.g., MTBS, imagery date)
recommendations	array	BAER assessment recommendations

Reasoning Chain

Step-by-step reasoning for the agent:

•First, identify the fire by ID and load sector-level burn data
•Then, classify each sector using standardized dNBR thresholds
•Next, aggregate acreage by severity class with percentages
•Then, evaluate each sector for risk factors (slope, watershed, access)
•Finally, generate prioritized recommendations for BAER team deployment

Resources

•resources/severity-indicators.json - dNBR thresholds and field indicators

Scripts

•
scripts/assess_severity.py - Python implementation of severity assessment
- •Function: execute(inputs: dict) -> dict
- •Inputs: {"fire_id": "cedar-creek-2022"}
- •Returns: Complete severity assessment with breakdown and recommendations

Examples

Example 1: Basic Severity Query

Input:

json

{
  "fire_id": "cedar-creek-2022"
}

Output:

json

{
  "fire_id": "cedar-creek-2022",
  "fire_name": "Cedar Creek Fire",
  "total_acres": 127341,
  "severity_breakdown": {
    "high": {
      "acres": 81041,
      "percentage": 63.6,
      "sector_count": 4
    },
    "moderate": {
      "acres": 37900,
      "percentage": 29.8,
      "sector_count": 3
    },
    "low": {
      "acres": 8400,
      "percentage": 6.6,
      "sector_count": 1
    }
  },
  "priority_sectors": [
    {
      "id": "CORE-1",
      "name": "Central Fire Origin",
      "severity": "HIGH",
      "dnbr_mean": 0.81,
      "acres": 27001,
      "concern": "Fire origin area. Complete stand replacement. Seed source planning critical."
    },
    {
      "id": "SW-1",
      "name": "Hills Creek Drainage",
      "severity": "HIGH",
      "dnbr_mean": 0.76,
      "acres": 21500,
      "concern": "Highest priority salvage. Commercial timber value. Critical road access needed."
    }
  ],
  "reasoning_chain": [
    "Loaded 8 sectors for Cedar Creek Fire (127,341 total acres)",
    "CORE-1 (Central Fire Origin): dNBR 0.81 >= 0.66 -> HIGH severity",
    "SW-1 (Hills Creek Drainage): dNBR 0.76 >= 0.66 -> HIGH severity",
    "NW-1 (Waldo Lake North): dNBR 0.72 >= 0.66 -> HIGH severity",
    "NW-2 (Waldo Lake South): dNBR 0.68 >= 0.66 -> HIGH severity",
    "SE-1 (Odell Lake Corridor): dNBR 0.48 in [0.27, 0.66) -> MODERATE severity",
    "NE-1 (Charlton Lake Area): dNBR 0.45 in [0.27, 0.66) -> MODERATE severity",
    "NE-2 (Bobby Lake Basin): dNBR 0.42 in [0.27, 0.66) -> MODERATE severity",
    "SW-2 (Timpanogas Lake Area): dNBR 0.22 in [0.1, 0.27) -> LOW severity",
    "High severity dominates (63.6%) - significant BAER resources needed"
  ],
  "confidence": 0.92,
  "data_sources": ["MTBS", "Imagery date: 2022-09-15"],
  "recommendations": [
    "Deploy BAER team to CORE-1 (Central Fire Origin) - highest dNBR with complete stand replacement",
    "Prioritize erosion control at SW-1 (Hills Creek Drainage) - 45° average slope with high severity",
    "Assess watershed impacts at NW-1 (Waldo Lake North) - critical watershed protection area"
  ]
}

Example 2: Specific Sector Query

Input:

json

{
  "fire_id": "cedar-creek-2022",
  "sectors": [
    {
      "id": "SW-1",
      "name": "Hills Creek Drainage",
      "dnbr_mean": 0.76,
      "acres": 21500,
      "slope_avg": 45
    }
  ]
}

Output:

json

{
  "fire_id": "cedar-creek-2022",
  "fire_name": "Cedar Creek Fire",
  "total_acres": 21500,
  "severity_breakdown": {
    "high": {
      "acres": 21500,
      "percentage": 100.0,
      "sector_count": 1
    }
  },
  "sectors": [
    {
      "id": "SW-1",
      "name": "Hills Creek Drainage",
      "severity": "HIGH",
      "severity_class": 4,
      "dnbr_mean": 0.76,
      "acres": 21500,
      "slope_avg": 45,
      "erosion_risk": "CRITICAL",
      "reasoning": "dNBR 0.76 >= 0.66 -> HIGH. Steep slope (45°) + high severity = critical erosion risk."
    }
  ],
  "reasoning_chain": [
    "Analyzing 1 sector for Cedar Creek Fire",
    "SW-1: dNBR 0.76 >= 0.66 -> HIGH severity (class 4)",
    "SW-1: Slope 45° + HIGH severity -> CRITICAL erosion risk"
  ],
  "confidence": 0.92,
  "data_sources": ["User-provided sector data"]
}

References

•MTBS Classification: https://www.mtbs.gov/
•BAER Program: https://www.fs.usda.gov/naturalresources/watershed/burnedareas.shtml
•dNBR Thresholds: Key & Benson (2006) landscape assessment protocol
•Cedar Creek Fire Fixture: data/fixtures/cedar-creek/burn-severity.json