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In the early fall 2024, the Elk Fire burned nearly 100,000 acres along the eastern edge of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest. Less than one year later, on the evening of July 15, 2025, thunderstorms swept across the burned area, triggering floods and debris flows in several steep watersheds.
This geonarrative explores why the Elk Fire left the landscape vulnerable to flooding and debris flows and documents the resulting impacts using maps, videos, and field photographs.
A debris flow recorded by a USGS Landslide Monitoring Station in the 2024 Elk Fire burn area near Dayton, Wyoming. The flow was triggered by intense rainfall during a thunderstorm on the evening of July 15, 2025.
A debris flow recorded by a USGS Landslide Monitoring Station in the 2024 Elk Fire burn area near Dayton, Wyoming. The flow was triggered by intense rainfall during a thunderstorm on the evening of July 15, 2025.
In the early fall 2024, the Elk Fire burned nearly 100,000 acres along the eastern edge of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming’s Bighorn National Forest. Less than one year later, on the evening of July 15, 2025, thunderstorms swept across the burned area, triggering floods and debris flows in several steep watersheds.
This geonarrative explores why the Elk Fire left the landscape vulnerable to flooding and debris flows and documents the resulting impacts using maps, videos, and field photographs.
A debris flow recorded by a USGS Landslide Monitoring Station in the 2024 Elk Fire burn area near Dayton, Wyoming. The flow was triggered by intense rainfall during a thunderstorm on the evening of July 15, 2025.
A debris flow recorded by a USGS Landslide Monitoring Station in the 2024 Elk Fire burn area near Dayton, Wyoming. The flow was triggered by intense rainfall during a thunderstorm on the evening of July 15, 2025.