NEWS FEATURE
12 January 2022

The devastating mudslides that follow forest fires

Regions that never used to burn are now suffering from forest fires — and that raises the risks of dangerous mudslides that are hard to forecast.

Jane Palmer⁰

Jane Palmer
1. Jane Palmer is a freelance journalist in Colorado.
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Mud and debris from a mudslide on Interstate-70 through Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, US has broken a guardrail and is in the road. — Intense rain triggered mudslides in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, during June and July last year — one year after a fire scorched the area. Credit: AP/Shutterstock

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The summer of 2021 brought ideal fire weather to southern British Columbia in Canada. A dome of hot, high-pressure air settled over the area, sending temperatures soaring into record territory after months of drought.

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Nature 601, 184-186 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00028-3

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