USGS Caldor Fire Impact Study

Extreme climate event such as persistent drought and catastrophic wildfires have the potential to change watershed processes and lake response. Wildfires can kill or stress vegetation, combust soil organic matter and change infiltration-runoff characteristics which leads to changes water quality in streams. The Caldor Fire burned more than 10,000 acres within the Upper Truckee and Trout Creek watersheds. The impact was particularly observed in upland basins of Saxon and Trout Creek watersheds, where 60 and 35 percent of the watersheds were burned, respectively. Cold creek, while having less than 1 percent burned, had 7 miles of bulldozer cuts and fire lines were used to control fire spread.