Kate Mickelson climbs up large boulders that follow a stream. Along the side of the water, ashy stumps are scattered around, marking the devastation that hit the area a little more than one year prior. Mickelson is walking through the Bolt Creek burn scar. The fire started in September of 2022 and burned just shy of 15,000 acres north of Highway 2 in Washington, about halfway between Seattle and Stevens Pass. Kate works for the Department of Natural Resources as the manager of the Landslide Hazards Program for the Washington Geological Survey. Her job is to monitor this area, among others in the state, for the new risk that now looms after the fire: debris flows. She describes debris flows as a landslide triggered by heavy rain and can move 10 to 30 mph downstream, usually following the path of a waterway, while picking up large boulders and debris along the way. Read more: https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/environment/pnw-timeline-debris-flow-risk-after-wildfires/281-47337894-3a26-4e39-8fef-93e62af0f880