Abstract
For individual burned drainage basins, existing hazard models and readily available data can be combined in a geographic information system to rapidly estimate debris-flow-related damages following a wildfire. The results can then be integrated into an optimization model, whose output guides allocation of emergency management funds and selection of cost-optimized debris-flow management strategies for burned areas consisting of multiple drainage basins. This paper describes methods to identify and value elements-at-risk from a range of possible post-fire debris-flow scenarios, methods to integrate these results with common debris-flow mitigation techniques and best management practices, and methods to apply this information to optimize the mitigation decisions for burned areas. Despite the potential to transform the way hazard managers approach debris-flow mitigation decisions following wildfires, natural hazard and social science management models have not previously been linked in the literature. Results from Santa Barbara (California), Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado), and Colfax/Las Animas Counties (Colorado, New Mexico) study sites indicate that optimization modeling can be used to select natural hazard management methods whose benefit for mitigation of post-fire debris flows can easily outweigh the cost of implementation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bernard DR (2007) Estimation of inundation areas of post-wildfire debris flows. Colorado School of Mines
BLS (2013) Consumer price index. http://www.bls.gov/cpi/. Accessed 13 June 2013
Bowker JM, Bergstrom JC, Gill J (2007) Estimating the economic value and impacts of recreational trails: a case study of the Virginia Creeper Rail Trail. Tour Econ 13:241–260. doi:10.5367/000000007780823203
Brock RJ (2007) Controlling factors for the onset of deposition of wildfire-related debris flows. Colorado School of Mines
Calkin DE, Hyde KD, Robichaud PR, Jones JG, Ashmun LE, Loeffler D (2007) Assessing post-fire values-at-risk with a new calculation tool. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-205. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO
Cannon SH, DeGraff J (2009) The increasing wildfire and post-fire debris-flow threat in Western USA, and implications for consequences of climate change. In: Sassa K, Canuti P (eds) Landslides—disaster risk reduction. Springer, Berlin, pp 177–190. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-69970-5_9
Cannon SH, Gartner JE (2005) Wildfire-related debris flow from a hazards perspective. In: Jakob M, Hungr O (eds) Debris-flow hazards and related phenomena. Springer Praxis Books. Springer, Berlin, pp 363–385. doi:10.1007/3-540-27129-5_15
Cannon SH, Gartner JE, Wilson RC, Bowers JC, Laber JL (2008) Storm rainfall conditions for floods and debris flows from recently burned areas in southwestern Colorado and southern California. Geomorphology 96:250–269. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.03.019
Cannon SH, Gartner JE, Rupert MG, Michael JA (2010a) Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards for the 2009 la brea, jesusita, guiberson, morris, sheep, oak glen, pendleton, and cottonwood fires in Southern California. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
Cannon SH, Gartner JE, Rupert MG, Michael JA, Rea AH, Parrett C (2010b) Predicting the probability and volume of postwildfire debris flows in the intermountain western United States. Geol Soc Am Bull 122:127–144. doi:10.1130/b26459.1
Census (2012) Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER®). http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger.html. Accessed 18 Feb 2013
Crowder BM (1987) Economic costs of reservoir sedimentation: a regional approach to estimating cropland erosion and damages. J Soil Water Conserv 42:194–197
DeGraff JV (2014) Improvement in quantifying debris flow risk for post-wildfire emergency response. Geoenviron Disasters. doi:10.1186/s40677-014-0005-2
DeGraff JV, Cannon SH, Gartner JE (2015) The timing of susceptibility to post-fire debris flows in the Western United States. Environ Eng Geosci XXI:277–292
Deisenroth D, Loomis J, Bond C (2009) Non-market valuation of off-highway vehicle recreation in Larimer County, Colorado: implications for trail closures. J Environ Manag 90:3490–3497
deWolfe V (2006) An evaluation of the effectiveness of erosion control treatments after wildfire in debris-flow prone areas. Colorado School of Mines
deWolfe V, Santi P (2009) Debris-flow erosion control treatments after wildfire: an evaluation of erosion control effectiveness. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany
deWolfe VG, Santi PM, Ey J, Gartner JE (2008) Effective mitigation of debris flows at Lemon Dam, La Plata County, Colorado. Geomorphology 96:366–377
ESRI (2010) ArcGIS, 10.0 edn. ESRI, Redlands, California
Forest Service (2013) BAER imagery support data download. USDA Forest service: burned area emergency response. http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/baer/download.php. Accessed 6 June 2013
Friedman EQ, Santi PM (2014) Debris-flow hazard assessment and validation following the Medano Fire, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado. Landslides 11:1093–1113
Gartner JE, Cannon SH, Santi PM, Dewolfe VG (2008) Empirical models to predict the volumes of debris flows generated by recently burned basins in the western U.S. Geomorphology 96:339–354. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.02.033
Geobrugg (2013) Flexible ring net barriers for debris flow protection: the economic solution. http://www1.geobrugg.com/contento/Portals/35/media/Prosp_Murgang_en_screen.pdf
Gesch D, Oimoen M, Greenlee S, Nelson C, Steuck M, Tyler D (2002) The national elevation dataset. Photogram Eng Remote Sens 68:5–11
Griswold JP, Iverson RM (2008) Mobility statistics and automated hazard mapping for debris flows and rock avalanches. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston
Holmes TP, Bergstrom JC, Huszar E, Kask SB, Orr Iii F (2004) Contingent valuation, net marginal benefits, and the scale of riparian ecosystem restoration. Ecol Econ 49:19–30. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2003.10.015
Iverson RM, Schilling SP, Vallance JW (1998) Objective delineation of lahar-inundation hazard zones. Geol Soc Am Bull 110:972–984. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1998)110<0972:odolih>2.3.co;2
Jakob M, Stein D, Ulmi M (2012) Vulnerability of buildings to debris flow impact. Nat Hazards 60:241–261. doi:10.1007/s11069-011-0007-2
Kallrath J, Rebennack S (2014) Computing area-tight piecewise linear overestimators, underestimators and tubes for univariate functions. In: Butenko S, Floudas CA, Russians TM (eds) Optimization in science and engineering. Springer, Berlin, pp 273–292
Lee EM, Jones DKC (2014) Landslide risk assessment, 2nd edn. ICE Publishing, London
Mackie B (2014) Warning fatigue is not a myth. Brushfire CRC Fire Notes Issue 122:1–4
McCoy K, Santi P, Kaffine D, Krasko V (2014) GIS modeling to assess economic risk from post-fire debris-flows. In: Strickland JA, Wiltshire RL, Goss CM (eds) Rocky mountain geo-conference 2014, Lakewood, Colorado, 7 Nov 2014. ASCE Publications Geotechnical Practice Publication No. 9, pp 9–30
Means RS (1999a) Heavy construction cost data, 13th Annual edn. R.S. Means Company, Inc, Kingston
Means RS (1999b) Site work & landscape cost data, 18th Annual edn. R.S. Means Company, Inc, Kingston
Napper C (2006) Burned area emergency response treatments catalog (BAERCAT) vol 625. USDA Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program, Watershed, Soil, Air Management, San Dimas Technology & Development Center, San Dimas, California
National Park Service (1995) Economic impacts of protecting rivers, trails, and greenway corridors. A resource book, 4 edn. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/pwro/rtca/econ_index.htm
NOAA (2013) Precipitation frequency data server. http://dipper.nws.noaa.gov/hdsc/pfds/. Accessed 4 June 2013
Rebennack S, Kallrath J (2015) Continuous piecewise linear delta-approximations for univariate functions: computing minimal breakpoint systems. J Optim Theory Appl 167:617–643
Robichaud PR, Pierson FB, Brown RE, Wagenbrenner JW (2008a) Measuring effectiveness of three postfire hillslope erosion barrier treatments, western Montana, USA. Hydrol Process 22:159–170
Robichaud PR, Wagenbrenner JW, Brown RE (2008b) Evaluating the effectiveness of contour-felled log erosion barriers as a post-fire runoff and erosion mitigation treatment in the western United States. Int J Wildland Fire 17:255–273
Robichaud PR, Ashmin LE, Simms BD (2010) Post-fire treatment effectiveness for hillslope stabilization. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-240. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO
Robichaud PR, Lewis SA, Wagenbrenner JW, Ashmun LE, Brown RE (2013a) Post-fire mulching for runoff and erosion mitigation part I: effectiveness at reducing hillslope erosion rates. Catena 105:75–92
Robichaud PR, Wagenbrenner JW, Lewis SA, Ashmun LE, Brown RE, Wohlgemuth PM (2013b) Post-fire mulching for runoff and erosion mitigation part II: effectiveness in reducing runoff and sediment yields from small catchments. Catena 105:93–111
Rupert MG, Cannon SH, Gartner JE, Michael JA, Helsel DR (2008) Using logistic regression to predict the probability of debris flows in areas burned by wildfires, Southern California, 2003–2006. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
Santi PM, Morandi L (2013) Comparison of debris-flow volumes from burned and unburned areas. Landslides 10:757–769
Santi PM, deWolfe VG, Higgins JD, Cannon SH, Gartner JE (2008) Sources of debris flow material in burned areas. Geomorphology 96:310–321
Santi PM, Hewitt K, VanDine DF, Cruz EB (2011) Debris-flow impact, vulnerability, and response. Nat Hazards 56:371–402
Schilling SP (1998) LAHARZ: GIS programs for automated mapping of lahar-inundation hazard zones. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Vancouver, Washington
Soil Survey Staff (2014) Soil data viewer. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/soils/home/?cid=nrcs142p2_053620. Accessed 30 April 2014
Staley DM, Kean JW, Cannon SH, Schmidt KM, Laber JL (2013) Objective definition of rainfall intensity-duration thresholds for the initiation of post-fire debris flows in southern California. Landslides 10:547–562
Standard-Examiner (2011) Debris basin will safeguard homes. Standard-Examiner, Ogden, UT
Tillery AC, Darr MJ, Cannon SH, Michael JA (2011) Postwildfire debris flow hazard assessment for the area burned by the 2011 track fire, northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado vol Open-File Report 2011-1257. United States Geological Survey
Times LA (2009) Storm to test Southern California debris basins. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California
USGS (2014) Scientific background. http://landslides.usgs.gov/current/postfire_debrisflow/background.php. Accessed 30 April 2014
VanDine DF (1996) Debris flow control structures for forest engineering. British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Victoria, BC
Acknowledgments
Funding for work described in this paper was provided by the Joint Fire Science Program, National Interagency Fire Center Project 12-2-01-35, and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Grant DGE-1057607. The authors would like to thank Joe Gartner, Dennis Staley, Sue Cannon, and John Michael of the United States Geological Survey for valuable input and guidance in the use of the debris-flow probability, volume, and runout models. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments, which improved this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McCoy, K., Krasko, V., Santi, P. et al. Minimizing economic impacts from post-fire debris flows in the western United States. Nat Hazards 83, 149–176 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2306-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-016-2306-0