A Devastating Look at the Impacts of Wildfires Beyond the Burn

Water Pollution

Wildfires are linked to lower water quality. Debris-filled water rushes across a street following the 2018 Woolsey Fire in Southern California. Photo: Reed Saxon (AP)

Because of the added risk of flooding, erosion, and landslides, wildfires can imperil drinking water quality. Soot, mud, and other run-off streams into rivers and reservoirs when rain falls on burn scars.

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