Articles | Volume 26, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-4723-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-4723-2026
Research article
 | 
02 Oct 2026
Research article |  | 02 Oct 2026

Seasonal influence on post-fire debris flow likelihood after the 2020 Lake Fire

Jeng-Hann Chong, Adit Ghosh, Brandon T. Page, Greg Jesmok, Denise V. Berg, Marlene Lopez, Deepshikha Upadhyay, David J. Stone, Scott C. Hauswirth, Eric O. Lindsey, and Louis A. Scuderi

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Climate of the Past (CP).
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Cited articles

Abatzoglou, J. T. and Williams, A. P.: Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 11770–11775, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607171113, 2016. 
Atchley, A. L. and Maxwell, R. M.: Influences of subsurface heterogeneity and vegetation cover on soil moisture, surface temperature and evapotranspiration at hillslope scales, Hydrogeol. J., 19, 289–305, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-010-0690-1, 2011. 
Bright, B. C., Hudak, A. T., Kennedy, R. E., Braaten, J. D., and Khalyani, A. H.: Examining post-fire vegetation recovery with Landsat time series analysis in three western North American forest types, Fire Ecol., 15, 8, https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-018-0021-9, 2019. 
Caine, N.: The rainfall intensity–duration control of shallow landslides and debris flows, Geogr. Ann. A, 62, 23–27, https://doi.org/10.1080/04353676.1980.11879996, 1980. 
Cannon, S. H., Bigio, E. R., and Mine, E.: A process for fire-related debris flow initiation, Cerro Grande fire, New Mexico, Hydrol. Process., 15, 3011–3023, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.388, 2001. 
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Post-fire debris flows or mudflows, can occur during intense rainfall following wildfires. Yet, it remains unclear how seasonal variation affects debris-flow initiation years after the fire. Using simulations of the 2020 Lake Fire in California, we show that debris-flow likelihood varies drastically between drier and wetter months, even four years after the fire. This study highlights the need to consider climatic and seasonal patterns in post-fire debris-flow assessment.
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