After the CZU Lightning Complex fires tore through the counties of San Mateo and Santa Cruz in 2020, over 86,000 acres of land were left ravaged in its wake. Now, scientists from UC Santa Cruz are looking into the aftermath of the wildfires in nearby watersheds.
One month after the fires, coastal hydrologist Christina Richardson organized a team and scoured the mountains to assess any variance in the stream water composition. They spent over two years taking samples and analyzing water chemistry across four different sources: San Lorenzo River, Laguna Creek, Majors Creek and Scott Creek. The post-fire results were then compared with pre-fire data obtained from partnerships with organizations such as the Santa Cruz Water Department.
“With climate change, wildfires are becoming more common,” said Richardson.