Debris Flow in Tuolumne County, California

The Rim Fire burn scar area received 0.20 to over 1 of rainfall from thunderstorms on the early morning of March 6th. The ground was previously saturated due to rainfall for several days prior to this event. There were approximately 10-11 different debris flow slides along the roadway. The cost of the road repair (removal of slide material, limited necessary reconstruction of road prism and culvert function, and storm proofing) was approximately $50,000 in direct engineering contracting costs. The road had just been rebuilt to new standards prior to the slides. No loss of tree productivity costs because the slopes above and below the road were non-commercial stands.

A series of thunderstorms moved over the Rim Fire burn scar that produced between 0.20 to around an inch of rainfall in some areas over the course of a few hours. This caused several mudslides (or debris flows) along a road just south of the Tuolumne River near Lumsden.