Collaborative Research: RAPID: Investigating the magnitude and timing of post-fire sediment transport in the Texas Panhandle

The largest wildfires in Texas history recently burned more than 1.1 million acres (4,450 square kilometers), and have devastated livestock, crops, wildlife, homes, and ranching infrastructure across the Texas Panhandle.

The effects of wildfire on sediment transport are well studied, and indicate that the absence of vegetation and hydrophobic characteristics of burned soils create conditions that intensify overland flow during subsequent rain events and can mobilize large volumes of fine sediment and initiate debris flows.

However, much of this understanding of post-fire hydrologic and geomorphic processes is derived from steep (>30 degrees) and forested landscapes. Post-fire processes in the lower-slope (