NCAR's Dave Gochis installs a weather station in the Fourmile burn area. Gochis is collaborating with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Denver Urban Drainage and Flood Control District (UDFCD), and National Weather Service (NWS) to place three new, state-of-the-art weather stations that measure standard hydrometeorological conditions in the Fourmile Fire burn area just outside Boulder. A major fire can leave charred soil hydrophobic (water-repellent), which increases the risk of rapid runoff and flooding once the rains return.