Abstract
The South Canyon Fire of July 1994 burned 800 ha of vegetation on Storm King Mountain near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA. On the night of 1 September 1994, in response to torrential rains, debris flows inundated seven areas along a 5-km length of Interstate Highway 70. Mapping from aerial photographs, along with field observations and measurements, shows that the September rainstorm eroded unconsolidated, burned surficial soil from the hillsides, flushed dry-ravel deposits from the tributary channels, and transported loose, large material from the main channels. The hyperconcentrated flows and debris flows inundated 14 ha of Interstate Highway 70 with 70 000 m3 of material. Although the burned area was seeded in November 1994, the potential for continuing debris-flow activity remains. Incision and entrainment of channel alluvium, as well as erosion of loose material from the hillslopes could result in future debris- and hyperconcentrated-flow activity.
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Received: 15 October 1996 / Accepted: 25 June 1997
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Cannon, S., Powers, P. & Savage, W. Fire-related hyperconcentrated and debris flows on Storm King Mountain, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, USA. Environmental Geology 35, 210–218 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002540050307
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002540050307