Wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense. After their initial danger, what they leave behind can create problems that pose more significant risks.
What's happening?
The resort town of Ruidoso, New Mexico, has been repeatedly hit by flash floods. Recent rainfall events have prompted flash flood emergencies and advisories, forcing the evacuation of some residents from the town of nearly 8,000 and causing officials to close a portion of U.S. Highway 70.
"It's going to be a long road to recovery," said Kerry Gladden, a public information officer for the Village of Ruidoso, per the New York Times, after heavy rainfall at the end of June. "This is going to continue to happen each time we get a heavy rainfall."
Indeed, flash floods again hit the area on July 9, as the Washington Post reported.
The town was left vulnerable to flash flooding after wildfires left "burn scars" — the scorched land surface left behind after a wildfire. The darker soil surfaces with little vegetation can no longer absorb heavy rainfall. This can lead to not only flash floods but debris flows and mudslides, too.
Why is flash flooding on burn-scarred surfaces important?
More parts of the country see burn-scarred surfaces as wildfires proliferate in our warming world.
A study by the University of Tasmania in Australia revealed that extreme wildfire events have more than doubled in frequency and magnitude over the past two decades worldwide, as the Post summarized. The study noted that six of the most extreme wildfires have happened in the past seven years. The wildfires in New Mexico that preceded their flooding were not a surprise to scientists.
"Portions of the Southwest will have above normal significant fire potential through August, focused on New Mexico, as well as portions of central and south Florida in June," according to the North American Seasonal Fire Assessment and Outlook issued by the National Interagency Fire Center on June 14.
"Above normal significant fire potential will develop over much of the northern Great Basin, southeast Oregon, northwest Washington, southeast Colorado, and western Kansas in July, continuing into August."
Wildfires pose many risks to people. Recent research says wildfire smoke exposure contributes to nearly 16,000 deaths a year in our country, as PBS News detailed. After the fire, flash flooding that can strike burn-scarred surfaces can be deadly. According to the National Weather Service, flooding has been the second-leading cause of weather-related deaths over the past 30 years.
What's being done about this type of flash flooding?
Reducing the amount of burn-scarred surface will reduce the risk of flash flooding in those areas, while the abundance of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere has heightened the risk of wildfires. That means we need to reduce wildfires and find ways to reduce the pollutants that are helping to heat our planet.
We can start at home by weatherizing our house, installing a heat pump, and using clean energy alternatives like solar panels.
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