Because the October fires left hillsides denuded of vegetation, residents of Modjeska and Williams canyons are at significant risk due to flash flooding and debris flows should moderate to heavy rains fall in the watershed, according to a report by the U.S. Forest Service BAER team (Burned Area Emergency Response). Heavy rains caused moderate mudslides in Modjeska Canyon on Friday, prompting a mandatory evacuation of the area.
Post-fire landslide hazards include fast-moving, highly destructive debris flows that can occur in the years immediately after wildfires in response to heavy rains. Post-fire debris flows are particularly hazardous because they can occur with little warning, exert great loads on objects in their paths, strip vegetation, block drainage ways, damage structures and endanger human life.
"The addition of the Web cam at the Santiago Creek gauging station will provide valuable information to the National Weather Service and emergency managers to evaluate existing conditions in the creek channel during storms," said Michael V. Shulters, director of the USGS California Water Science Center. "The visual record of flooding and potential debris flows will also provide valuable research data for USGS."
The Web cam installation is part of the USGS Multi-Hazards Demonstration Project. Shulters said USGS plans to install additional Web cams at other high-risk sites in Southern California.
The Web cam images are available to the public, providing live views of the conditions in the canyon to anyone with a Web browser. The Web cam is accessible at Web cams of the CA Water Science Center Web site.
Monitoring and research data are being collected in partnership with the National Weather Service and Orange County Fire Authority and the Orange County Environmental Resources Division (ERD). The National Weather Service uses USGS stream flow and rain data, and County ERD ALERT rain data, in analyzing flood potential and issuing Flood Watches and Warnings. FEMA and the State OES are coordinating recovery and risk assessment efforts in all burn areas in Southern California.
This is the second Web cam the USGS California Water Science Center has installed at a stream-gage site in California. A Web cam at the Truckee River went online in August. The Center operates more than 400 gages throughout California that monitor stream flows, temperature, water levels and other data. All of the information is available to the public.
For more information on the Southern California wildfires, please go to USGS Responds to Southern California Fires.
