The Impact of Residential Development Pattern on Wildland Fire Suppression Expenditures

A method for estimating the socioeconomic impact of Earth observations is proposed and deployed. The core of the method is the analysis of outcomes of hypothetical fire suppression scenarios generated using a coupled atmosphere–fire behaviour model, based on decisions made by an experienced wildfire incident management team with and without the benefits of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite observations and the WRF-SFIRE wildfire behaviour simulation system. The scenarios were based on New Mexico’s 2011 Las Conchas fire. For each scenario, fire break line location decisions served as inputs to the model, generating fire progression outcomes. Fire model output was integrated with a property database containing thousands of coordinates and property values and other asset values to estimate the total losses associated with each scenario. An attempt to estimate the socioeconomic impact of satellite and modelling data used during the decision-making process was made. We analysed the impact of Earth observations and include considerations for estimating other socioeconomic impacts.

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Preceding Fall Drought Conditions and Overwinter Precipitation Effects on Spring Wildland Fire Activity in Canada

Fire ◽

10.3390/fire3020024 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 24

Author(s):

Chelene Hanes ◽

Mike Wotton ◽

Douglas G. Woolford ◽

David L. Martell ◽

Mike Flannigan

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forests ◽

Wildland Fire ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Fire Season ◽

Fire Weather Index ◽

Area Burned ◽

Fire Activity ◽

Drought Conditions ◽

Carry Over ◽

The Impact

Spring fire activity has increased in parts of Canada, particularly in the west, prompting fire managers to seek indicators of potential activity before the fire season starts. The overwintering adjustment of the Canadian Fire Weather Index System’s Drought Code (DC) is a method to adjust and carry-over the previous season’s drought conditions into the spring and potentially point to what lies ahead. The occurrence of spring fires is most strongly influenced by moisture in fine fuels. We used a zero-inflated Poisson regression model to examine the impact of the previous end of season Drought Code (DCf) and overwinter precipitation (Pow) while accounting for the day-to-day variation in fine fuel moisture that drives ignition potential. Impacts of DCf and Pow on area burned and fire suppression effectiveness were also explored using linear and logistic regression frameworks. Eight fire management regions across the boreal forests were analyzed using data from 1979 to 2018. For the majority of regions, drier fall conditions resulted in more human-caused spring fires, but not in greater area burned or reduced suppression effectiveness. The influence of Pow was much more variable pointing to the conclusion that Pow alone is not a good indicator of spring drought conditions.

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Indicators of the Tourist Attractiveness of Urban–Rural Communes and Sustainability of Peripheral Areas

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13126968 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 6968

Author(s):

Natalia Świdyńska ◽

Mirosława Witkowska-Dąbrowska

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Regional Development ◽

Development Pattern ◽

Urban Centers ◽

Global Trends ◽

Urban Rural ◽

Tourist Infrastructure ◽

Peripheral Areas ◽

The Impact ◽

New Jobs

The elements which determine a peripheral area’s level of tourist attractiveness, such as tourist infrastructure and tourist values, should be developed in urban–rural communes in peripheral areas, where tourism may be one of the forces capable of stimulating sustainable development. This study covered urban–rural communes of the province of Warmia and Mazury in Poland. Urban–rural communes are specific areas where urban–rural linkages are often important. The research was carried out in accordance with Hellwig’s taxonomic development pattern method. The study found no complementary relationship between tourism values and tourism infrastructure with regards to creating tourism attractiveness. Tourism attractiveness was found to be more affected by tourism infrastructure. However, in units with larger urban centers, tourist values were found to significantly contribute to tourist attractiveness. The presented results provide a good basis for further research on the impact of global trends on regional development. At the same time, the analyzed framework provides guidance for ensuring the development of local tourism, and the study’s suggested priorities and measures could lead to the development of tourism in peripheral regions, which should in turn attract new investments, create new jobs, and thus develop the economy and the welfare of the population.

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Minimizing the cost of wildland fire suppression: a model with uncertainty in predicted flame length and fire-line width produced

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x94-164 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 1253-1259 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Romain Mees ◽

David Strauss ◽

Richard Chase

Keyword(s):

Line Width ◽

Wildland Fire ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Flame Length ◽

Burned Area ◽

Expected Cost ◽

Control Time ◽

The Cost ◽

Attack Strategy

We describe a model that estimates the optimal total expected cost of a wildland fire, given uncertainty in both flame length and fire-line width produced. In the model, a sequence of possible fire-line perimeters is specified, each with a forecasted control time. For a given control time and fire line, the probability of containment of the fire is determined as a function of the fire-fighting resources available. Our procedure assigns the resources to the fire line so as to minimize the total expected cost. A key feature of the model is that the probabilities reflect the degree of uncertainty in (i) the width of fire line that can be built with a given resource allocation, and (ii) the flame length of the fire. The total expected cost associated with a given choice of fire line is the sum of: the loss or gain of value of the area already burned; the cost of the resources used in the attack; and the expected loss or gain of value beyond the fire line. The latter is the product of the probability that the chosen attack strategy fails to contain the fire and the value of the additional burned area that would result from such a failure. The model allows comparison of the costs of the different choices of fire line, and thus identification of the optimal strategy. A small case study is used to illustrate the procedure.

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The wildland - urban interface fire problem - current approaches and research needs

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf07131 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 238 ◽

Cited By ~ 207

Author(s):

William E. Mell ◽

Samuel L. Manzello ◽

Alexander Maranghides ◽

David Butry ◽

Ronald G. Rehm

Keyword(s):

Wildland Fire ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Economic Cost ◽

Field Measurements ◽

The United States ◽

Test Methods ◽

Wildland Urban Interface ◽

Fuel Treatment ◽

Treatment Techniques ◽

Exposure Conditions

Wildfires that spread into wildland–urban interface (WUI) communities present significant challenges on several fronts. In the United States, the WUI accounts for a significant portion of wildland fire suppression and wildland fuel treatment costs. Methods to reduce structure losses are focussed on fuel treatments in either wildland fuels or residential fuels. There is a need for a well-characterised, systematic testing of these approaches across a range of community and structure types and fire conditions. Laboratory experiments, field measurements and fire behaviour models can be used to better determine the exposure conditions faced by communities and structures. The outcome of such an effort would be proven fuel treatment techniques for wildland and residential fuels, risk assessment strategies, economic cost analysis models, and test methods with representative exposure conditions for fire-resistant building designs and materials.

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Waste in non-value-added suppression activities: simulation analysis of the impact of rekindles and false alarms on the forest fire suppression system

Advances in forest fire research ◽

10.14195/978-989-26-0884-6_112 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 1030-1034

Author(s):

Abílio Pereira Pacheco ◽

João Claro ◽

Tiago Oliveira

Keyword(s):

Forest Fire ◽

Simulation Analysis ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Value Added ◽

False Alarms ◽

The Impact ◽

Suppression System

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Black-Backed Woodpecker Nest Density in the Sierra Nevada, California

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12100364 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 364

Author(s):

Chad T. Hanson ◽

Tonja Y. Chi

Keyword(s):

Sierra Nevada ◽

Bark Beetles ◽

Wildland Fire ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Small Population ◽

Nest Density ◽

Conifer Forests ◽

Forest Habitat ◽

High Severity ◽

Selection Of

In the western U.S., the black-backed woodpecker has been found to be associated with dense montane conifer forests with high snag densities, typically resulting from moderate- to high-severity wildland fires. However, black-backed woodpeckers are occasionally also detected nesting in unburned forests, raising questions about the type of habitat in which they nest and the potential abundance of such habitat. We conducted intensive black-backed woodpecker nest density surveys in large plots within the middle/upper-montane conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, California, within general (undisturbed) forests, snag forest habitat from moderate/high-severity wildland fire, and unburned snag forest habitat from drought and native bark beetles. We found black-backed woodpeckers nesting only in the two snag forest conditions, mostly in burned snag forest, and their preferential selection of burned snag forest was statistically significant. No nest was found in general forests. Our spatial analysis indicates that snag forest is rare in the forests of the Sierra Nevada due to fire suppression and logging, raising concerns regarding small population size, which we estimate to be only 461 to 772 pairs in the Sierra Nevada.

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The Impact of Firefighter Physical Fitness on Job Performance: A Review of the Factors That Influence Fire Suppression Safety and Success

Safety ◽

10.3390/safety4040060 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 60

Author(s):

Cody Morris ◽

Harish Chander

Keyword(s):

Human Body ◽

Physiological Stress ◽

Fire Suppression ◽

Maximal Aerobic Capacity ◽

Life And Death ◽

Workload Capacity ◽

Body Design ◽

Physiological Impact ◽

High Degree ◽

The Impact

Purpose: The objective of this review was to analyze the physiological impact of fire suppression on the human body. Design: The literature review included studies focused on workload requirements for common firefighting tasks, effect of health status on the firefighting profession, and attempts to establish a minimum physiological workload capacity for successful performance of firefighting. Findings: The existing literature provides evidence of the high degree of physiological stress that firefighters are under during fire suppression tasks and the great degree of maximal physical capacity that firefighting often requires. Firefighters often operate close to maximal aerobic capacity while performing tasks common to the profession. This is especially true due to the added physiological stress placed on the human body while wearing personal protective equipment during firefighting. Conclusions: Future investigations are necessary to further explore markers of physiological stress during firefighting and the impact that it may have on the ability to withstand the development of disease as well as fire suppression safety. Using completion time of fire suppression tasks as a criterion of success may be an important consideration in addition to the physiological requirements of the occupation when assessing the appropriateness of an individual to be a firefighter. An important future consideration is the effect that fire suppression activities may have on reaction time in critical situations in which life-and-death decisions must be made.

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Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions

Fire ◽

10.3390/fire3030038 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 38

Author(s):

Matthew P Thompson ◽

Jude Bayham ◽

Erin Belval

Keyword(s):

Epidemic Model ◽

Wildland Fire ◽

Communicable Diseases ◽

Intervention Strategies ◽

Disease Spread ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Transient Nature ◽

Fire Incident ◽

In Fire ◽

The Impact

The global COVID-19 pandemic will pose unique challenges to the management of wildland fire in 2020. Fire camps may provide an ideal setting for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, intervention strategies can help minimize disease spread and reduce the risk to the firefighting community. We developed a COVID-19 epidemic model to highlight the risks posed by the disease during wildland fire incidents. Our model accounts for the transient nature of the population on a wildland fire incident, which poses unique risks to the management of communicable diseases in fire camps. We used the model to assess the impact of two types of interventions: the screening of a firefighter arriving on an incident, and social distancing measures. Our results suggest that both interventions are important to mitigate the risks posed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, screening is relatively more effective on short incidents, whereas social distancing is relatively more effective during extended campaigns. We conclude with a discussion of model limitations and potential extensions to the model.

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