fire then flood

Brennan Linsley Aug. 13, 2013

First fire, then floods in besieged Western forest

It had been more than a year since the enormous Waldo Canyon Fire roared across the slopes above. But its burn scar is just beginning to recover, with little plant material _ living or dead _ to absorb this year's late-summer rains.
So when the storm came on Aug. 9, the runoff raced down, destroying or damaging 36 homes, engulfing half a dozen cars and killing John Collins, who was driving home from work. Manitou Springs was smeared with reddish mud and debris.
Wildfire burn scars have spawned flash floods up and down Colorado's Front Range and in other Western states this summer, saddling communities with millions of dollars in cleanup costs and leaving residents fearful and anxious.
In New Mexico, where fires have scorched more than 285 square miles of mountain slopes this year, flash floods killed fish and washed out roads in Pecos Canyon, a popular fishing area.
Homes near Flagstaff, Ariz., were flooded after rainfall on an area burned in 2010. Two other floods hit in July below Arizona's Yarnell Hill, where 19 firefighters were killed on June 30.
In Colorado, multiple flash floods have struck this summer in or near scars left by last year's Waldo Canyon and High Park fires.
 http://www.heraldstandard.com/united_states_ap/first-fire-then-floods-in-besieged-western-forest/article_844073c7-2cb2-5190-b322-7848a4cefa62.html