A recently published study on the 2021 Caldor Fire burn scar is shedding light on how fires can impact snowpacks. Often referred to as the “frozen reservoir”, the Sierra Nevada snowpack provides 30% or more of California’s water. As wildfires in the west are not only burning increasingly more acreage, but are also going higher in elevation—including into areas where snowpacks occur—it’s raising questions about what that means for one of the state’s biggest water resources. Marianne Cowherd set out to find answers, studying the Caldor Fire area during the 2022-2023 winter along with others, including UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab Director Andrew Schwartz. “These fires are massively problematic for us trying to ensure we’re managing our water correctly,” Schwartz said.

Other water and wildfire news:

• University of Nevada, Reno: A new study by University faculty addresses the impacts of wildfire on freshwater ecosystems through smoke plume modeling