The Forest Service's Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team has completed its assessment of post-fire hazards for the Horseshoe II fire in the Chiricahua Mountains and will hold a public meeting in Sierra Vista on Friday to explain the results, according to information we got in a briefing among state-federal-county-tribal agencies this morning. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the Sierra Vista Public Library. [right, Horseshoe II fire as seen from the space station. Credit, NASA]
While flooding is viewed as the most likely hazard for the recent spate of wild fires in Arizona, we note that the nearby Rattlesnake fire produced significant debris flows afterwards in similar terrain. AZGS geologist Ann Youberg has been working 16-17 hour days with the rest of the Horseshoe II BAER Team to evaluate the potential for debris flows and other hazards.