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Wildfires threaten water quality for up to eight years after they burn

Wildfires don’t just leave behind scorched earth—they leave a toxic legacy in Western rivers that can linger for nearly a decade. A sweeping new study analyzed over 100,000 water samples from more than 500 U.S. watersheds and revealed that contaminants like nitrogen, phosphorus, organic carbon, and sediment remain elevated for up to eight years after a blaze.

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