Flash flooding developed in dramatic fashion in Manitou Springs, Colo., on Wednesday. A man drove his car into the flood and was swept down the canyon. The man is lucky to be alive today after this near brush with death.
This is an area that has seen several of these types of floods in recent months. These flash floods started after the Waldo Canyon fire in June 2012. The fire scorched 18,000 acres of hill country near Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs.
Flash floods are common after wildfires consume forests in the mountains. Not only does the fire consume surface vegetation, it is also hot enough to burn roots below the surface. The fire leaves large amounts of ash deposited on the land. When heavy rain comes, nothing stops this ash and mud from running down hillsides.
The color of the runoff from the Manitou Springs flood the color of the muddy water doesn’t match the surrounding soil types. Just looking at the muddy water shows that the burned hillsides contributed to this flood. The muddy water in this flood was charcoal colored and almost black. The unburned soil in this area is a mixture of light gray and red. It is likely this flood would not have happened if the fire had not occurred.
This type of flood behavior is not limited to Colorado. Anywhere where fire consumes hill country, and heavy rain occurs, a flash flood of mud is likely. These types of floods are most dangerous in urban areas. Recovery after a fire like this is a very slow process. Most research suggests that it takes up to 10 years for the flash flooding potential to decrease as the land is slowly restored.