Pickett Fire is out but rain danger lies ahead
Wildfire burn scar concerns
The recent rains serve as a reminder for communities that have experienced wildfires this year, including the Pickett Fire in Napa County, that those charred hillsides can turn into a river of mud and debris.
POPE VALLEY, California - Even though the Bay Area has not yet reached the potential peak fire season, towns that experienced wildfires this year, have to be thinking about what comes next.
Next could very well be dirt and debris-laden water and mud.
New fire season concerns
What started just outside this town of Calistoga burned its way eight miles as the crow flies and the fire flowed to Pope Valley.
The Pickett Fire, that burned for 17 days, is out. In the process, it incinerated more than 6,800 acres, known as a burn scar.
The huge fire break that fire crews created to save some houses, did their job. But, since the whole tops of these mountains burned, these homes that were saved from fire, may not do so well with debris flows and mud flows that will come with heavy rains.
CAL FIRE minces no words.
The problem with burn scars
"The intense heat from a wildfire can leave the ground barren and baked like a brick where it's unable to absorb water and that creates conditions that are ripe for flooding, debris flows and erosion," said CAL FIRE Public Information Officer Jason Clay.
In turn, that increases the risk for flooding, mudslides, and debris flows. "Those conditions, where you can have debris flow, can present some very dangerous situations," said Clay.
As we see from other fires around the state, such slides, flows and floods can carry rocks, trees, and debris downhill, damaging or destroying homes, buildings, and infrastructure. "On the roads, getting the roads knocked out, sure that happened a couple of times, you know, rocks slid across the road," said Pope Valley resident Corey Obendorf.
Burn scars can also as well as intensify the effects of future storms. They also present a real risk of degrading water quality by carrying ash and toxic materials into streams, rivers, and wells, harming people and animals.
What they're saying:
Yet, many here feel the topography of Pope Valley is in their favor.
"As far as my house, I'm not concerned about it, the way this property is set up. I mean we have rivers and they're already cut out, just dry right now. So, when it starts pouring down rain we get a waterfall on the back property of the cliff. So, if anything did come down it would go that way down to the ravine. I'm sure it would be fine," said Obendorf.
The obvious risk to Pope Valley could become overflow of creeks from major atmospheric rivers, and creeks that could become laden with debris that restricts their flows.
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