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Richard Piatt ReportingFirefighters on Salt Lake City's east bench are planning to have the Devonshire Fire fully contained by six o'clock tonight, but putting out the fire now brings up another worry for that neighborhood.
In these foothills, all the vegetation has been burned away and that leaves open the possibility of a mudslide, that is, if a heavy enough rainstorm hits. There simply isn't anything to stop it.
Geologists say the terrain is steep enough that even a garden variety rainstorm could cause debris to slide. Firefighters did a good job putting the Devonshire fire out and protecting homes, but now those same homeowners need at least a 'heads up' about what could happen next.
The terrain on Salt Lake's east bench is very similar to the terrain in Farmington. In April of 2004, a slide happened in an area where a fire had burned the plants away.
A formal assessment will be crucial. It will take into account the 150 acres burned, which is a small fire; and the 'basins', which might help catch the debris.
Rich Giraud, Utah Geological Survey: "The potential for impact on houses needs to be assessed, that will be done in the next few days, and the results communicated to the home owners. However, there is a record of any kind of significant rainfall after an event like this will cause a debris flow."
Back in Santaquin in 2002, there were 10 separate debris slides in the early part of September. Homeowners were digging out and cleaning up for weeks. Between 2000 and 2004, there have been 26 similar debris flows that happened after seven fires.
The good news is that it looks like the potential for a big slide here is low, but any slide could cause some damage.
