In very high-intensity burn areas the soil becomes hydrophobic and repels water, leading to increased potential for flash floods and debris flows. Accelerated erosion harms fish and aquatic creatures and affects downstream wells. When soil loses its organic matter, the soil cohesion is greatly reduced and soil particles can’t stick together, so they rapidly erode. That loss of canopy is made worse after wildfire due to higher intensity burn areas burning up organic material in the top soil layers. More rainfall runs off the land rather than being retained by the soil, resulting in increased soil erosion, debris flows and downstream flooding. The removal of tree canopy and groundcover in wildfires allows rain to land directly on the soil rather than gently dropping off leaves and absorbing into leaf litter on the forest floor. We still have funds available for Kincade Fire survivors.
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