Wildfires and water quality

Recent Findings and Future Prospects for Water Quality Effects from Catastrophic Wildfires in California, USA

Clifford N. Dahm, Denise D. Colombano, Randy A. Dahlgren

Article link: Forthcoming

California's mega-fires (burning areas larger than 25,000 acres) are increasingly large, frequent, and severe. The eight largest wildfires in the state since 1932 occurred between 2017 and 2024. Mega-fires impact various aspects of water quality, including water temperature, sediment load, dissolved oxygen, nutrient runoff, and organic and metal contaminants. Water quality impairment increases linearly with burn area and exponentially with burn severity. Urban areas, in particular, are hot spots for pollutant production and transport.