Santiago Fire Ash Poisons the Land

Posted on December 4, 2007 in Santiago Fire

Pretty soon, when storms dump water on the mountains that were burned over in the Santiago Fire, the streams below my neighborhood will be fit for hazardous waste cleanup. The ash from the fires is going to wash off the hillsides and concentrate in Aliso Creek, meaning that the local wildlife will may turn sick to its stomach from the arsenic and other contaminants. Thus spake the USGS:

Samples collected from two residential areas burned by the Grass Valley and Harris wildfiresindicate that the ash contains caustic alkali materials and can contain somewhat elevated levels of metals such as arsenic, lead, zinc and copper. Ash from burned wildlands can also contain caustic alkali materials, though at lower levels than the residential ash.

“These findings are consistent with the scientific knowledge about wildfire ash that has led counties in California to issue advisories regarding appropriate precautionary measures to avoid health problems associated with exposure to the ash,” said Dr. Geoffrey Plumlee, a USGS lead author of the study.

“The study results also indicate that rain-water runoff from burned areas may adversely affect ecosystems and the quality of surface drinking water supplies,” said Deborah Martin, a USGS wildfire ash specialist and study co-author. Additionally, critical habitat for some aquatic species may be affected by spikes in alkalinity as rainwater mixes with ash to form surface runoff.

This goes to show that a disaster doesn’t end when firemen douse the last flames. The more spectacular catastrophes end up as geological features such as [[Channeled_scablands|Washington State’s Scablands]] (the result of a flood) or The Sinks in my neighborhood (an ancient landslide). Mix that ash with fertilizer residues and oil and you’ll have plenty of little pockets of poison water.

You won’t see me drinking groundwater any time soon.

[tags]disasters, groundwater, water, California, Southern California, California wildfires, wildfires, hazardous waste, poison, pollution[/tags]