PDS Flash Flood Emergency for Beaver, Utah Burn Scar Many…
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PDS Flash Flood Emergency for Beaver, Utah Burn Scar
Many people don’t realize that one of the deadliest wildfire hazards strikes after the flames are out, sometimes years later. A burn scar (the burned landscape left behind) sheds water almost like pavement: the vegetation that would soak up rain is gone, and the heat can bake a water-repellent layer into the soil. Rain that would be harmless on healthy ground, as little as half an inch or so in 30 minutes, can send a debris flow of ash, mud, rocks, and charred trees racing down canyons and dry washes. These flows can travel miles from where the rain fell and run directly through communities downstream, which is exactly the setup in southern Utah’s steep terrain near Beaver. I’d expect some dramatic footage out of this one... Hoping that everyone stays safe.
#science
Many people don’t realize that one of the deadliest wildfire hazards strikes after the flames are out, sometimes years later. A burn scar (the burned landscape left behind) sheds water almost like pavement: the vegetation that would soak up rain is gone, and the heat can bake a water-repellent layer into the soil. Rain that would be harmless on healthy ground, as little as half an inch or so in 30 minutes, can send a debris flow of ash, mud, rocks, and charred trees racing down canyons and dry washes. These flows can travel miles from where the rain fell and run directly through communities downstream, which is exactly the setup in southern Utah’s steep terrain near Beaver. I’d expect some dramatic footage out of this one... Hoping that everyone stays safe.
#science
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