The Hayman Fire burned 137,526 acres in the watershed that supplies 80% of the water for the Denver area. The high severity burns created hydrophobic conditions that reduced the soil’s ability to absorb water. In hydrophobic conditions, water flows overland instead of infiltrating into the soil. The increased runoff combined with the highly erodible decomposed granite soils causes large quantities of sediment to reach the streams. To combat this, Denver Water crews staked straw bales into small draws to reduce sediment reaching Cheesman Reservoir.

Panorama taken July 2002