Storm water that carries burn-scar silt into a Chico house, and how the damage is read and dried.
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Post-fire runoff flood damage is water and sediment that storm rain pushes off a burned area into homes and yards. In Chico, the Park Fire began in Bidwell Park on July 24, 2024. Calls are answered 24/7 and a crew reads the water, extracts it and dries the structure.
Rain on burned ground behaves differently from rain on healthy ground. A burn removes the plants and the organic litter that normally slow water down, so the surface sheds rain faster and picks up more soil and ash on the way. Water that once soaked in now runs off, and it carries that material into the drainage below. That is the mechanism behind post-fire runoff, and it does not depend on the size of the storm alone.
The Park Fire began in Bidwell Park on July 24, 2024. A Butte County technical memo, dated November 25, 2024, estimated that the Five-Mile diversion overtops at about 1,950 cubic feet per second under pre-fire conditions, and that post-fire flows could reach 10,510 cubic feet per second for a 2-year storm and 18,810 for a 10-year storm. Those estimates describe the diversion system. They are not a map of which Chico house will take water.
When storm water reaches a house after a fire, the damage can look like ordinary flooding but the material it leaves is different. Silt sits in the wall base and under the floor, and it holds moisture longer than clean water does. If you see water or silt inside the house after a storm, call (833) 490-5225. The line is answered 24/7, and a crew is sent as fast as one is available.
Post-fire runoff carries more soil and ash and arrives faster, because the burned ground no longer slows it down. The silt it leaves is heavier and holds moisture longer, so the drying must reach deeper than it would for clean rainwater.
Ordinary storm water is mostly clean when it lands on a roof and mostly clean when it runs across lawn. Water that crosses burned ground is laden with fine soil and ash, which settles out on every surface it reaches. The silt is fine enough to enter gaps that clean water would not, and it packs into the space behind the base molding.
Silt also changes how material dries. A clean surface releases moisture as it dries, but a layer of silt traps moisture beneath it and keeps the surface looking dry while the material behind stays wet. That is why the crew reads the materials with meters rather than trusting the appearance of the surface.
The County memo estimates flow at the Five-Mile diversion, which is a system-scale figure. It does not say which house or street will take water, so the crew reads each house on its own ground.
The memo of November 25, 2024 gives estimates for the diversion, including the level at which it overtops under pre-fire conditions and the much higher flows estimated after the fire. Those are the numbers planners use to think about the whole system. They are not a forecast for a particular lot.
What a homeowner can take from them is the scale of the change. A system that once handled a storm within its capacity may be asked to carry far more water and silt after a burn. Whether that reaches your house depends on the grade, the drainage and the structure, and the crew answers it by reading the water on your property.
Drying length depends on how deep the silt and water reached and how many layers of material it soaked. The job ends when the readings reach the dry target in the scope, not when a set number of days passes.
Silt and water together soak into drywall, subfloor and insulation, and each layer dries at its own rate. A thin film on a hard floor dries quickly once it is removed. A layer that has wicked up a wall or soaked into a subfloor takes longer, because the moisture has to move out of the material and into the air.
The crew sets the dry target in the scope and records each reading until the target is met. A house that is dry to the eye may still hold moisture in its cavities, so the log is the only honest measure of when the work is done.
Price moves with the amount of silt and water removed, the number of materials that must be opened, the depth the moisture reached and the time the drying takes. The price is explained and approved on site before any work begins.
The first factor is the amount of silt that must be cleaned, since a thick deposit takes more time than a film. The second is how many walls, floors and cavities must be opened, because each opening adds removal and a second set of readings. The third is the depth of moisture, which decides how far the drying equipment must reach.
No figure is given on this page. The crew explains each factor for the house in front of it, and it states the scope and the price before any work starts. A written scope lets you compare the work with any other estimate you obtain.
Keep people and pets out of the silt, turn off power to affected outlets if you can do it safely, and photograph the silt and the water line. Keep the damaged materials until your insurer has seen them.
Silt that dries on a floor can be stirred into the air when it is walked on. Keep the area closed off, and avoid sweeping or vacuuming it with household equipment, which spreads fine particles. Let the crew remove it with methods suited to fine sediment.
Write down when you first noticed the silt and where it was. Photograph it from several angles, including the wall base, the floor and any debris line. Those records help the crew explain what it found and help the insurer review the loss.
Do not enter a room with fresh silt and standing water without a dust mask rated for fine particles and gloves, and do not sweep silt into the air with a dry broom. Keep electrical equipment off the wet floor and do not run household fans in damp rooms, which can spread particles. Wash exposed skin and clothing after contact, and keep children and pets clear of the silt until the crew confirms the area is safe.
On arrival the technician looks at where the water came from, how high it reached and what it left behind. Silt color and texture, and whether debris is mixed in, tell the crew how the water moved across the ground and whether it reached the house as clean flow or as sediment-laden runoff.
The crew follows the path from the outside of the house inward, checking the foundation, the threshold, the vents and any window well. Where the water entered is the place to open first, because the material there has been wet the longest and is most likely to hold silt.
Standing water is pumped out and the silt is removed with it, rather than being pushed into corners. Sediment left to dry on a floor hardens and holds moisture underneath, so the crew clears it while it is still loose and records what it removed.
Drywall is cut at the height the water reached, and the cavity is read with moisture meters. Silt inside a wall wicks moisture upward, so the readings are taken above the visible line, and the wall is dried from the cavity side rather than only the surface.
Air movers and dehumidifiers run until the structure reaches the dry target in the scope. The moisture log records each point over time, and the homeowner receives it at the end, so the progress of the drying can be checked against what was promised.
Runoff that crosses the yard and reaches the foundation is the most common route after a storm. It often leaves silt along the foundation and in the gap at the base of the wall. The crew checks the foundation first, then the threshold, and records where the silt is thickest, because that marks where the water stood.
Vents and window wells take in runoff that pools against them, and fine silt can pass through openings that clean water would not reach. The crew clears the wells and the vent path, then reads the framing and the cavity behind the nearest wall, since the sediment often travels along the inside of the foundation.
A crawl space that takes in runoff through its vents can hold silt in a thin layer on the soil and the framing. That layer keeps the framing damp after the surface looks dry. The crew reads the framing, the subfloor and the insulation, and removes the silt where the readings show it is holding moisture.
Tell us what's happening and we'll tell you honestly whether it's a quick fix, and what post-fire runoff flood damage should cost.
Chico's burn-scar runoff is a Chico story, and it starts in Bidwell Park. The Park Fire began there on July 24, 2024, and the creek drainage that the Five-Mile Basin was built to manage carries storm water from the hills toward town. A crew that works a Chico house after a storm reads the silt against that background, because the silt tells it how the water arrived.
The County's post-fire estimates are the reason the question is being asked seriously. A November 2024 memo gives the diversion's pre-fire overtopping point and the much larger post-fire flows it estimated for storms of different return periods. Those figures describe the system at the city. They do not decide which lot takes water, and a crew is clear about that when it talks through a house with you.
The City of Chico's General Plan update, in its draft environmental impact report under section 4.9 on hydrology and water quality, covers the same drainage system. A homeowner who wants to understand the planning picture can read that section. The crew's work is narrower and more immediate: it finds the water and silt in your house and dries them.
Water and silt from the Five-Mile Basin during high flows, and how a crew reads and dries the damage.
Pumping creek water out of a Chico house before it soaks the walls, floors and subfloor.
Drying walls, floors and framing to a measured dry standard after a water loss in a Chico house.
Removing creek and runoff water from a crawl space, and drying the framing before the floor is rebuilt.
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After the Park Fire began in Bidwell Park on July 24, 2024, burned ground sheds rain faster and carries more sediment.
The Five-Mile Basin is a flood-control system that the U.S.
It can be. Runoff from a burned area carries more soil and ash, arrives faster and leaves a silt that holds moisture longer. The crew reads the material it finds and changes the drying plan to match, so the same storm can leave a different kind of damage.
No. The estimate is for the Five-Mile diversion as a system. It does not identify which houses or lots take water, so the crew reads your property on site rather than relying on the memo.
It runs until the readings reach the dry target in the scope. Silt can hold moisture longer than clean water, so the job often takes longer than the surface suggests. No finish date is promised on any call.
Avoid sweeping or vacuuming it with household equipment, because fine particles spread. A crew removes silt with methods suited to it and records what it removed. Keep the silt on the floor photographed until the crew arrives.
The policy and the insurer decide what is covered, and the coverage can differ between flood, surface water and other causes. Keep the photographs, the crew's written scope and the damaged materials, and let the insurer review them before anything is discarded.
The crew assesses the silt and the water on arrival, and it says what it sees. If you are concerned about a specific contaminant, ask the crew what it can confirm on site and what needs a separate test.
It depends on the extent of the work and whether the air is clear of fine silt. The crew tells you which rooms are safe to use and which should stay closed while equipment runs.