A preliminary study of wildland fire pattern indicator reliability following an experimental fire

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 359-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Simeoni ◽  
Zachary C Owens ◽  
Erik W Christiansen ◽  
Abid Kemal ◽  
Michael Gallagher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Fire Investigation ◽  
Experimental Protocol ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Infrared Cameras

An experimental fire was conducted in 2016, in the Pinelands National Reserve of New Jersey, to assess the reliability of the fire pattern indicators used in wildland fire investigation. Objects were planted in the burn area to support the creation of the indicators. Fuel properties and environmental data were recorded. Video and infrared cameras were used to document the general fire behavior. This work represents the first step in the analysis by developing an experimental protocol suitable for field studies and describing how different fire indicators appeared in relation to fire behavior. Most of the micro- and macroscale indicators were assessed. The results show that some indicators are highly dependent on local fire conditions and may contradict the general fire spread. Overall, this study demonstrates that fire pattern indicators are a useful tool for fire investigators but that they must be interpreted through a general analysis of the fire behavior with a good understanding of fire dynamics.

Numerical Prediction of the Fire Spread in Vegetative Fuels Using NISTWFDS Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 177-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadj Miloua
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Radiation Heat Transfer ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Reaction Diffusion ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
Wind Climate

Current study focuses to the application of an advanced physics-based (reaction–diffusion) fire behavior model to the fires spreading through surface vegetation such as grasslands and elevated vegetation such as trees present in forest stands. This model in three dimensions, called Wildland Fire Dynamics Simulator WFDS, is an extension, to vegetative fuels, of the structural FDS developed at NIST. For simplicity, the vegetation was assumed to be uniformly distributed in a tree crown represented by a well defined geometric shape. This work on will focus on predictions of thermal function such as the radiation heat transfer and and thermal function for diverse cases of spatial distribution of vegetation in forest stands. The influence of wind, climate characteristics and terrain topography will also be used to extend and validate the model. The results obtained provide a basis to carry out a risk analysis for fire spread in the studied vegetative fuels in the Mediterranean forest fires.

Review of Basic Models in Fire Dynamics

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeong-Jin Kim ◽  
David G. Lilley
Keyword(s):  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Scientific Understanding ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
Topic Area ◽  
Background Theory ◽  
Burning Rates ◽  
Main Components ◽  
Structural Fires ◽  
In Fire

Abstract The ultimate goal of this study is to improve scientific understanding of fire behavior leading to flashover in structural fires. This document summarizes important information in five topic areas: burning rates, radiant ignition, fire spread rates, ventilation limit imposed by size of opening, and flashover criteria. These are the main components related to the scientific understanding of the fire growth and flashover problem involved in real-world structural fires. Within each topic area, there are four subsections dealing with background, theory, comments, and references. Main components of the study are to develop improved mathematical simulations so as to improve the accuracy of theoretical calculation and to develop and extend the range of knowledge and modeling capability so as to extend the range of available experimental data.

scholarly journals Advancing the Science of Wildland Fire Dynamics Using Process-Based Models

Fire ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad Hoffman ◽  
Carolyn Sieg ◽  
Rodman Linn ◽  
William Mell ◽  
Russell Parsons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Empirical Models ◽  
Discovery Process ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
Synergistic Approach ◽  
Measurement Strategies ◽  
Prior Experiences ◽  
Process Based Models

As scientists and managers seek to understand fire behavior in conditions that extend beyond the limits of our current empirical models and prior experiences, they will need new tools that foster a more mechanistic understanding of the processes driving fire dynamics and effects. Here we suggest that process-based models are powerful research tools that are useful for investigating a large number of emerging questions in wildland fire sciences. These models can play a particularly important role in advancing our understanding, in part, because they allow their users to evaluate the potential mechanisms and interactions driving fire dynamics and effects from a unique perspective not often available through experimentation alone. For example, process-based models can be used to conduct experiments that would be impossible, too risky, or costly to do in the physical world. They can also contribute to the discovery process by inspiring new experiments, informing measurement strategies, and assisting in the interpretation of physical observations. Ultimately, a synergistic approach where simulations are continuously compared to experimental data, and where experiments are guided by the simulations will profoundly impact the quality and rate of progress towards solving emerging problems in wildland fire sciences.

scholarly journals Pixel-level statistical analyses of prescribed fire spread

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Currie ◽  
K. Speer ◽  
J.K. Hiers ◽  
J.J. O’Brien ◽  
S. Goodrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Infrared Images ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
Efficient Tool ◽  
Ca Model ◽  
Turbulent Process

Wildland fire dynamics are a complex three-dimensional turbulent process. Cellular automata (CA) is an efficient tool to predict fire dynamics, but the main parameters of the method are challenging to estimate. To overcome this challenge, we compute statistical distributions of the key parameters of a CA model using infrared images from controlled burns. Moreover, we apply this analysis to different spatial scales and compare the experimental results with a simple statistical model. By performing this analysis and making this comparison, several capabilities and limitations of CA are revealed.

scholarly journals Wildland Fire Behaviour Case Studies and Fuel Models for Landscape-Scale Fire Modeling

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul-Antoine Santoni ◽  
Jean-Baptiste Filippi ◽  
Jacques-Henri Balbi ◽  
Frédéric Bosseur
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Fuel Models

This work presents the extension of a physical model for the spreading of surface fire at landscape scale. In previous work, the model was validated at laboratory scale for fire spreading across litters. The model was then modified to consider the structure of actual vegetation and was included in the wildland fire calculation system Forefire that allows converting the two-dimensional model of fire spread to three dimensions, taking into account spatial information. Two wildland fire behavior case studies were elaborated and used as a basis to test the simulator. Both fires were reconstructed, paying attention to the vegetation mapping, fire history, and meteorological data. The local calibration of the simulator required the development of appropriate fuel models for shrubland vegetation (maquis) for use with the model of fire spread. This study showed the capabilities of the simulator during the typical drought season characterizing the Mediterranean climate when most wildfires occur.

scholarly journals A Review of Fire Interactions and Mass Fires

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Finney ◽  
Sara S. McAllister
Keyword(s):  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Flame Temperature ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Velocity Pulsation ◽  
Interactive Behavior ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Column Dynamics ◽  
Burning Rates ◽  
In Fire

The character of a wildland fire can change dramatically in the presence of another nearby fire. Understanding and predicting the changes in behavior due to fire-fire interactions cannot only be life-saving to those on the ground, but also be used to better control a prescribed fire to meet objectives. In discontinuous fuel types, such interactions may elicit fire spread where none otherwise existed. Fire-fire interactions occur naturally when spot fires start ahead of the main fire and when separate fire events converge in one location. Interactions can be created intentionally during prescribed fires by using spatial ignition patterns. Mass fires are among the most extreme examples of interactive behavior. This paper presents a review of the detailed effects of fire-fire interaction in terms of merging or coalescence criteria, burning rates, flame dimensions, flame temperature, indraft velocity, pulsation, and convection column dynamics. Though relevant in many situations, these changes in fire behavior have yet to be included in any operational-fire models or decision support systems.

scholarly journals A Multi-Fidelity Framework for Wildland Fire Behavior Simulations over Complex Terrain

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 273
Author(s):  
Marcos Vanella ◽  
Kevin McGrattan ◽  
Randall McDermott ◽  
Glenn Forney ◽  
William Mell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immersed Boundary Method ◽  
Complex Terrain ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Chemical Species ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Immersed Boundary ◽  
Finite Volume Scheme ◽  
Boundary Method

A method for the large-eddy simulation (LES) of wildfire spread over complex terrain is presented. In this scheme, a cut-cell immersed boundary method (CC-IBM) is used to render the complex terrain, defined by a tessellation, on a rectilinear Cartesian grid. Discretization of scalar transport equations for chemical species is done via a finite volume scheme on cut-cells defined by the intersection of the terrain geometry and the Cartesian cells. Momentum transport and heat transfer close to the immersed terrain are handled using dynamic wall models and a direct forcing immersed boundary method. A new “open” convective inflow/outflow method for specifying atmospheric wind boundary conditions is presented. Additionally, three basic approaches have been explored to model fire spread: (1) Representing the vegetation as a collection of Lagrangian particles, (2) representing the vegetation as a semi-porous boundary, and (3) representing the fire spread using a level set method, in which the fire spreads as a function of terrain slope, vegetation type, and wind speed. Several test and validation cases are reported to demonstrate the capabilities of this novel wildfire simulation methodology.

scholarly journals A High Resolution Coupled Fire-Atmosphere Forecasting System to Minimize the Impacts of Wildland Fires: Applications to the Chimney Tops II Wildland Event

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro A. Jiménez ◽  
Domingo Muñoz-Esparza ◽  
Branko Kosović
Keyword(s):  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Wildland Fires ◽  
Forecasting System ◽  
Nwp Model

Wildland fires are responsible for large socio-economic impacts. Fires affect the environment, damage structures, threaten lives, cause health issues, and involve large suppression costs. These impacts can be mitigated via accurate fire spread forecast to inform the incident management team. We show that a fire forecast system based on a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model coupled with a wildland fire behavior model can provide this forecast. This is illustrated with the Chimney Tops II wildland fire responsible for large socio-economic impacts. The system is run at high horizontal resolution (111 m) over the region affected by the fire to provide a fine representation of the terrain and fuel heterogeneities and explicitly resolve atmospheric turbulence. Our findings suggest that one can use the high spatial resolution winds, fire spread and smoke forecast to minimize the adverse impacts of wildland fires.

A comparison of level set and marker methods for the simulation of wildland fire front propagation

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony S. Bova ◽  
William E. Mell ◽  
Chad M. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Level Set ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Front Propagation ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
Surface Fire ◽  
Fire Dynamics Simulator ◽  
Fire Front ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Moving Front

Simulating an advancing fire front may be achieved within a Lagrangian or Eulerian framework. In the former, independently moving markers are connected to form a fire front, whereas in the latter, values representing the moving front are calculated at points within a fixed grid. Despite a mathematical equivalence between the two methods, it is not clear that both will produce the same results when implemented numerically. Here, we describe simulations of fire spread created using a level set Eulerian approach (as implemented in the wildland–urban interface fire dynamics simulator, WFDS) and a marker method (as implemented in FARSITE). Simulations of surface fire spread, in two different fuels and over domains of increasing topographical complexity, are compared to evaluate the difference in outcomes between the two models. The differences between the results of the two models are minor, especially compared with the uncertainties inherent in the modelling of fire spread.

scholarly journals A High Resolution Coupled Fire–Atmosphere Forecasting System to Minimize the Impacts of Wildland Fires: Applications to the Chimney Tops II Wildland Event

Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Jiménez ◽  
Domingo Muñoz-Esparza ◽  
Branko Kosović
Keyword(s):  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Incident Management ◽  
Wildland Fires ◽  
Forecasting System ◽  
Nwp Model

Wildland fires are responsible for large socio-economic impacts. Fires affect the environment, damage structures, threaten lives, cause health issues, and involve large suppression costs. These impacts can be mitigated via accurate fire spread forecast to inform the incident management team. We show that a fire forecast system based on a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model coupled with a wildland fire behavior model can provide this forecast. This was illustrated with the Chimney Tops II wildland fire responsible for large socio-economic impacts. The system was run at high horizontal resolution (111 m) over the region affected by the fire to provide a fine representation of the terrain and fuel heterogeneities and explicitly resolve atmospheric turbulence. Our findings suggest that one can use the high spatial resolution winds, fire spread and smoke forecast to minimize the adverse impacts of wildland fires.

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