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<br />I <br />I. <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />COWRADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />DARIES C. LILE <br />DIRECTOR <br /> <br />DATE: <br /> <br />July 25, 1996 <br /> <br />TO: <br /> <br />Larry, Brian, and Mark <br /> <br />FROM: <br /> <br />J J . <br /> <br />RE: <br /> <br />Effects of Fire (Burned Areas) on Streamflows <br /> <br />Bob Jarrett faxed me portions of a U.S. Forest Service publication that documents the <br />effects of fIre on streamflow characteristics. The publication discusses the downstream <br />effects on total discharge, peak flows, base flows, and timing of flows. Studies were done <br />in California, Arizona, and other states. Following is a summary of some of the key <br />points of the publication. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Location of study Hydrologic response during first year after the fire <br />California # I Stormflows were increased by 3 to 5 times during normal rainy <br /> season <br />California # 2 First major storm of the season increased the peak flow by 4 <br /> orders of magnitude <br />Arizona # I Storm discharge was more than 10 times greater than prior to the <br /> fIre <br />Arizona # 2 Peak flows increased by 8 times during heavy rain on a severely <br /> burned watershed <br />Arizona # 3 Peak discharge on a severely burned watershed as a result of <br /> rainfall was 58 times greater than from the unburned control <br /> during the wettest October on record <br />Arizona # 4 Peak flows were increased bv 5 to 15 times during summer <br />Multiple sites <br />across U.S. Peak flows were increased by 2 to 45 times normal <br /> <br />I found these results to be very interesting! If anyone would like to read the actual <br />document, I have a copy of it in my offIce. <br /> <br />. <br />