Floods + Fire – Mitigating Risk in Montecito

In recent years, the United States has experienced frequent and severe natural disasters, driven in part by climate change, from devastating wildfires to powerful hurricanes, communities across the country are grappling with profound impacts of these events.

The consequences extend beyond immediate destruction, encompassing economic loss, displacement of populations and long-term environmental damage.

As these disasters become more prevalent, there’s a growing urgency for proactive measures in disaster preparedness, mitigation and climate resilience to safeguard lives and livelihoods.

Communities are anxious to recover from disasters. However, the risks have changed. Performing detailed risk studies can take time, but delaying the rebuilding process is not a favorable option. The community wants to recover. How can we rebuild quickly, comply with laws/rules, and in a more resilient manner?

In this episode, we’ll discuss the interaction between wildfires and flooding and how new technology and computing power (timing of event, confluence of technology, LiDAR, alluvial fans, 2D modeling) can make a real difference.

Join Moderator Shirshant Sharma, Senior Project Manager for Water resources, AtkinsRéalis.

Linda Potter, registered professional engineer and certified floodplain manager, AtkinsRéalis with over 30 years of experience. She has worked on risk discovery and mitigation in numerous communities in the southwest and California, including flood and debris flow modeling, mitigation master planning, and infrastructure design solutions. 

Selena Forman has 34 years of experience. She specializes in hydrology, hydraulics, scour analysis, channel design, and contaminant transport at AtkinsRéalis. She is a registered professional engineer, Project Management Professional, and has a Ph.D. in environmental engineering sciences.  

Iwan Thomas has 20 years of experience in a wide range of hydrologic and engineering capacities. He’s a registered professional engineer specializing in two-dimensional modeling, hydrology, and hydraulics. His work at AtkinsRéalis includes post-fire and debris flow evaluations.