Proactive Planning for Post-fire Hazards in Pitkin County, Colorado

Dr. Andrew Earles, P.E., D.WRE, CPESC & Catherine Christoff, P.E.

This presentation will describe a project to proactively identify risks of mud and debris flows in a post-fire setting before a wildfire actually occurs. The presentation will focus on a case study from Pitkin County, Colorado where half a dozen unburned watersheds were studied to identify hydrologic and sediment transport changes that would be likely to occur if these watersheds were to burn in the future. Potential for increases in the rates and volumes of stormwater runoff and sediment yields from the watersheds were quantified using a variety of tools from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and United States Geologic Survey to quantify post-fire risk for moderate and severe burn scenarios. These results will be used to proactively plan for emergency management activities before a wildfire actually occurs. The presentation will provide an overview of the methods and results and will talk about the next phase of the study, which will evaluate potential mitigation measures that can be implemented prior to a fire (or at least staged) so that they can be implemented quickly once a fire happens.

• Understand hydrologic and mudflow risks in a post-fire setting.
• Learn about methods for quantifying post-fire mud and debris flow volumes, rates, and probabilities of occurrence.
• Learn about ways that local governments and agencies can proactively plan for these hazards before a wildfire even occurs.

Andrew Earles



Catherine Christoff

Co-Presented by Dr. Andrew Earles, P.E., D.WRE, CPESC & Catherine Christoff, P.E.

Dr. Andrew Earles, P.E., D.WRE, CPESC is the Vice President of Water Resources at Wright Water Engineers, Inc. in Denver, Colorado. Andrew has worked for Wright Water for over 20 years since completing his doctorate in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Virginia. Andrew has worked on wildfire projects in the west for most of his career including work in New Mexico, Colorado, and California.

Catherine Christoff, P.E. is the Community Development Engineer for Pitkin County. Catherine is a P.E. with over 10 years of experience including stormwater management, floodplain administration, water rights analysis, water quality sampling and analysis, hydrology, and hydraulics. Catherine has worked on post-wildfire planning projects for the City of Aspen, Garfield County, and Pitkin County.