Proactive Planning Tool to Reduce Wildfire Sedimentation Risks

Details

• Creators:
  David, Scott R ; Belmont, Patrick ; Murphy, Brendan
• Corporate Creators:
  Utah State University. Department of Watershed Sciences
• Corporate Contributors:
  Utah Department of Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Disaster preparedness
  • Disaster resilience
  • Infrastructure
  • Risk management
  • Sedimentation
  • Wildfires
  • Debris flows
  • Post-Wildfire Geohazards
  • Proactive Planning
  • Random Forest
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  UT-25.13
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Utah ; United States
• Edition:
  Final August 2022-May 2025
• Corporate Publisher:
  Utah Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  The geospatial modeling framework includes Direct Geohazard Impact Tools, which estimate debris flow triggering rainfall intensities and sediment erosion along transportation corridors based on predicted wildfire burn severity scenarios, and Downstream Impact Tools, which assess sediment delivery from hillslope erosion and debris flows to river networks. The outputs from these analyses are structured for seamless integration with watershed-scale sediment transport models, such as the Network Sediment Transporter (NST), to further evaluate downstream infrastructure risks. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, it was applied to five high-risk transportation corridors across Utah. These case studies illustrate how proactive assessments can inform infrastructure planning by identifying locations most vulnerable to post-fire sedimentation impacts. The proactive planning framework outlined in this report provides transportation agencies with a scientifically robust and user-friendly method for mitigating future wildfire-induced sediment hazards, enhancing infrastructure resilience, and supporting data-driven decision-making.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  23-8196
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/85294/dot_85294_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.11 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:293759d76ab070995fa4b8668fbeb944d83069dafde0ded63b3e5b9f95e2df721d4d29cea59b310a11f1a3fb635798a0baec490e3341955d47f3bd64359c6083