This table contains measured and modeled postfire debris flow volumes alongside the associated sources for debris flow documentation, locations, and volumes. We conducted a search of scientific literature and news media reports to find documentation of debris flows that may have followed all wildfires greater than 100 square kilometers that occurred between 1984 and 2021 in California. The wildfires listed are all the fires we found that had documented postfire debris flows. Some fires had field-measurements of debris flow volume. Where field-measurements of volume did not exist, we used model data on postfire debris-flow likelihood and volume from U.S. Geological Survey Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards Team (see Lineage section in this metadata). In some cases, exact locations (but not volumes) were known, in which case we used modeled volumes for these locations. Where debris flows were documented but not exact locations, we used the volumes from all basins with a probability greater than eighty percent of having postfire debris flows.

These data show all the postfire erosion results affiliated with this data release summed by wildfire and attached to a polygon of each fire perimeter, as defined by Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS). The results are shown as attributes for each polygon of wildfire perimeter. Some of the original MTBS data (name, ignition date, and ID) were preserved to allow for joining to other MTBS data. Results include WEPP modeling results of hillslope and channel erosion, a sum of postfire debris flow modeling results and field-based measurements, and a few derived results such as total sediment and total yield (mass per area).

These data show all the postfire erosion results affiliated with this data release summed by wildfire and attached to a polygon of each fire perimeter, as defined by Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS). The results are shown as attributes for each polygon of wildfire perimeter. Some of the original MTBS data (name, ignition date, and ID) were preserved to allow for joining to other MTBS data. Results include WEPP modeling results of hillslope and channel erosion, a sum of postfire debris flow modeling results and field-based measurements, and a few derived results such as total sediment and total yield (mass per area).

These data show model estimates of debris flow likelihood and volume that may be produced by a storm in a recently burned landscape. The scientific methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards were changed following 2015, and these shapefiles are a re-release of ten fires that occurred between 1997 and 2015 fires, using the updated methods. These ten fires were re-run to provide estimates of debris flow volumes as post-fire debris flows were documented but no field measurements were published.

These data show model estimates of debris flow likelihood and volume that may be produced by a storm in a recently burned landscape. The scientific methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey Emergency Assessment of Post-Fire Debris-Flow Hazards were changed following 2015, and these shapefiles are a re-release of ten fires that occurred between 1997 and 2015 fires, using the updated methods. These ten fires were re-run to provide estimates of debris flow volumes as post-fire debris flows were documented but no field measurements were published.

This is a shapefile containing polygons of watersheds that were burned in wildfires that occurred in California between 1984 and 2021. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model for postfire erosion was run on all watersheds for the first year following wildfire and the results of this modeling effort are included as attributes of each watershed polygon.

This is a shapefile containing polygons of watersheds that were burned in wildfires that occurred in California between 1984 and 2021. The Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model for postfire erosion was run on all watersheds for the first year following wildfire and the results of this modeling effort are included as attributes of each watershed polygon.

The data presented in this data release represent observations of postfire debris flows that have been collected from publicly available datasets. Data originate from 13 different countries: the United States, Australia, China, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, South Korea, and Japan. The data are located in the file called “PFDF_database_sortedbyReference.txt” and a description of each column header can be found in both the file “column_headers.txt” and the metadata file (“Post-fire Debris-Flow Database (Literature Derived).xml”). The observations are derived from areas that have been burned by wildfire and are global in nature. However, this dataset is synthesized from information collected by many different researchers for different purposes, and therefore not all fields are available for each of the observations. Missing information is indicated by the value “-9999” in the ”PFDF_database_sortedbyReference.txt” file. Note that the text file contains special characters and a mix of date-time formats that reflect the original data provided by the authors. The text may not be displayed correctly if it is opened by proprietary software such as Microsoft Excel but will appear correctly when opened in a text editor software.

The data presented in this data release represent observations of postfire debris flows that have been collected from publicly available datasets. Data originate from 13 different countries: the United States, Australia, China, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, South Korea, and Japan. The data are located in the file called “PFDF_database_sortedbyReference.txt” and a description of each column header can be found in both the file “column_headers.txt” and the metadata file (“Post-fire Debris-Flow Database (Literature Derived).xml”). The observations are derived from areas that have been burned by wildfire and are global in nature. However, this dataset is synthesized from information collected by many different researchers for different purposes, and therefore not all fields are available for each of the observations. Missing information is indicated by the value “-9999” in the ”PFDF_database_sortedbyReference.txt” file. Note that the text file contains special characters and a mix of date-time formats that reflect the original data provided by the authors. The text may not be displayed correctly if it is opened by proprietary software such as Microsoft Excel but will appear correctly when opened in a text editor software.

This data release includes time-series data from a monitoring site located in a small drainage basin in the Arroyo Seco watershed in Los Angeles County, CA, USA (N3788964 E389956, UTM Zone 11, NAD83). The site was established after the 2009 Station Fire and recorded a series debris flows in the first winter after the fire. The data include three types of time-series: (1) 1-minute time series of rainfall, soil water content, channel bed pore pressure and temperature, and flow stage recorded by radar and laser distance meters (ArroyoSecoContinuous.csv); (2) 10-Hz time series of flow stage recorded by the laser distance meter during rain storms (ArroyoSecoStormLaser.csv), and (3) 2-second time series of rainfall and channel bed pore pressure and temperature during rain storms (ArroyoSecoStormPressureRain.csv). The laser and radar distance meters are suspended above the pore pressure sensor mounted in the bedrock of the channel. The equations for converting the distance measurements into flow stage above the pressure sensor (or stage of the stationary bed surface during times of no flow) are given by the equations Stage_laser (meters) = 2.107 meters – Distance_laser (meters), and Stage_radar (meters) = 2.156 meters – Distance_radar (feet)*0.3048 Details of this study are described in the journal article: Kean, J. W., D. M. Staley, and S. H. Cannon (2011), In situ measurements of post-fire debris flows in southern California: Comparisons of the timing and magnitude of 24 debris-flow events with rainfall and soil moisture conditions, J. Geophys. Res., 116, F04019, doi:10.1029/2011JF002005.