1997 Southern California Wildfires
WARNING: Provisional Report, Subject to Revision
Click blue names on map for details.
The wildfire perimeters enclose areas that can undergo extreme surface run-off from hillslopes. Areas downslope from the burned areas could potentially experience flooding and debris flows in the event of significant rainfall. Large debris flows might overwhelm flood control facilities where they exist.
Detailed maps showing drainages that can potentially experience flooding and/or debris flows are available for the Santiago and Baker fires. These maps were constructed by delineating the primary drainages both within, and extending from, the burned areas using either 30-m or 10-m Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of topographic data, depending on availability. A computer program for identifying stream networks was used to define the flow paths through the burned areas. A conservative estimate of the maximum downslope extent of potential debris flows was obtained by applying the following criteria:
- where the flow path is no longer confined to a discrete channel,
- the flow path reached a confluence with a relatively high discharge stream, or
- the flow path extended a distance of approximately 1.5 miles downstream from the fire perimeter.
Baker
Santiago
