Californian' s exhausted from surviving the wildfires must now get the word out and be read for fire-mudslides.
They are a natural outcome and present danger tonight and when the rains come. Get up and get prepared. For- Ready or Not....... Expect the Mud!
RX post putting out the fires……..expect mud flows (nicely said, debris).
But this sludge is deadly and here's why get ready and be ready.
1) The fires prime the soil to be hydrophobic….this is not a disease, but a chemical state that makes the usual absorption continue to flow.
Wired.com states: " a storm-driven debris flow that enveloped Montecito followed the fire killed 21.
2) The problem was not Santa Barbara's the pre-storm planning, but a fundamental change to the soil itself.
When a wildfire burns vegetation, it releases organic compounds. "
'These compounds are heated in the fire, volatilize, and then re-condense on soil particles,' stated Brian Ebel, a hydrologist with the USGS.
'This soil normally absorbs water, but the organic compounds turn it hydrophobic, literally meaning "fear of water." It is not an understatement: You can pour a bottle of water on this burned soil and it'll bead right off, as if the dirt were polished marble. The water will pool up and sit there, and it can take more than an hour for it to penetrate fire-scorched soil'.
You can find some stories and video in the press. Get informed. Get aware. Tell a friend.
Get a shovel. But get ready and help your neighbor.
References below about Mudslides and about info sources:
Lou Lamont today on KPCC on Larry Mantle:
www.kpcc.org
Find out about Malibu's success and tragedy with 250,000 evacuated, 3 deaths, lots of maintenance and planning helped during the concurrent Woolsey Fires:
www.malibucity.org
http://www.malibucity.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=759
Surveillance from the hills:
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-point-dume-fire-damage-woolsey-20181112-story.html
https://www.pe.com/2018/08/17/evacuations-flash-flood-warning-again-issued-for-idyllwild-area-communities/
https://www.pe.com/2018/08/17/evacuations-flash-flood-warning-again-issued-for-idyllwild-area-communities/
Woolsey Fire Info:
http://www.malibucity.org/woolsey
Hotlines in Malibu:
http://www.malibucity.org/618/Hotlines-and-Important-Numbers
Science about Sludge:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S004313541200245X
Science about Mud:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180530113243.htm
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/91573/deadly-debris-flows-in-montecito
https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=91573
https://disasters.nasa.gov/programs/landsat-8
Data sets and disaster resiliency:
https://disasters.nasa.gov/california-winter-storm-and-mudslides
Nowcast:
https://disasters.nasa.gov/datasets/global-landslide-nowcast-product
https://disasters.nasa.gov/datasets/global-flood-monitoring-system
Find out about GLOBE.gov, STEM and storybooks for fun with your phones during Thanksgiving:
https://disasters.nasa.gov/datasets/soil-moisture
https://maps.disasters.nasa.gov
www.weather.gov/losangeles
www.weather.gov/ventura
Mud Flow Debris:
https://www.sacbee.com/news/weather/article219881260.html
Watch out for mud slides after a fire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DBKCRHyXAg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbXfSvVEIY0
https://www.wired.com/story/california-fire-survivors-brace-for-debris-filled-mudslides/
Weather:
www.weather.gov/losangeles
www.weather.gov/ventura
Education:
https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/288978main_Meteorology_Guide.pdf
Start studying soil:
https://www.globe.gov/documents/348830/35487706/Soil+Book_FINAL2017.pdf/6b84e020-6215-41a5-82c7-dd9155efcdbf
The Toe of the Flow:
https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-causes-mudslides