Integrating Fire Behavior Models and Geospatial Analysis for Wildland Fire Risk Assessment and Fuel Management Planning
TLDR
The efforts to build a streamlined fuel management planning and risk assessment framework, and an integrated system of tools for designing and testing fuel treatment programs on fire-prone wildlands are described.Abstract:
Wildland fire risk assessment and fuel management planning on federal lands in the US are complex problems that require state-of-the-art fire behavior modeling and intensive geospatial analyses. Fuel management is a particularly complicated process where the benefits and potential impacts of fuel treatments must be demonstrated in the context of land management goals and public expectations. A number of fire behavior metrics, including fire spread, intensity, likelihood, and ecological risk must be analyzed for multiple treatment alternatives. The effect of treatments on wildfire impacts must be considered at multiple scales. The process is complicated by the lack of data integration among fire behavior models, and weak linkages to geographic information systems, corporate data, and desktop office software. This paper describes our efforts to build a streamlined fuel management planning and risk assessment framework, and an integrated system of tools for designing and testing fuel treatment programs on fire-prone wildlands.read more
Citations
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Wildfire Risk Assessment Framework for Land and Resource Management
TL;DR: In this article, emergency management, emergency response, emergency management/emergency preparedness, environmental issues and disasters, and wildfire management are discussed in the context of emergency preparedness.
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Assessing exposure of human and ecological values to wildfire in Sardinia, Italy
Michele Salis,Michele Salis,Alan A. Ager,Bachisio Arca,Mark A. Finney,Valentina Bacciu,Pierpaolo Duce,Donatella Spano,Donatella Spano +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used simulation modelling to analyse spatial variation in wildfire exposure relative to key social and economic features on the island of Sardinia, Italy, using historical fire data and wildfire simulations were used to estimate burn probabilities, flame length and fire size.
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A review of the applications of remote sensing in fire ecology.
TL;DR: This paper provides a broad review of the applications of remote sensing techniques in fire ecology, and emphasis is given to the roles of multispectral sensors, lidar, and emerging UAS technologies in mapping, analyzing, and monitoring various environmental properties related to fire activity.
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Wildfire risk estimation in the Mediterranean area
Alan A. Ager,Haiganoush K. Preisler,Bachisio Arca,Donatella Spano,Donatella Spano,Michele Salis,Michele Salis +6 more
TL;DR: This article analyzed wildland fire occurrence and size data from Sardinia, Italy, and Corsica, France to examine spatiotemporal patterns of fire occurrence in relation to weather, land use, anthropogenic features, and time of year.
Journal ArticleDOI
Wildfire exposure and fuel management on western US national forests.
Alan A. Ager,Michelle A. Day,Charles W. McHugh,Karen C. Short,Julie W. Gilbertson-Day,Mark A. Finney,David E. Calkin +6 more
TL;DR: An array of simulated and empirical data on wildfire activity and fuel treatment investments on the 82 western US national forests is analyzed to gain a broader understanding of wildfire exposure in the national forest system.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity
Anthony L. Westerling,Anthony L. Westerling,Hugo G. Hidalgo,Daniel R. Cayan,Daniel R. Cayan,Thomas W. Swetnam +5 more
TL;DR: It is shown that large wildfire activity increased suddenly and markedly in the mid-1980s, with higher large-wildfire frequency, longer wildfire durations, and longer wildfire seasons.
Book
A Mathematical Model for Predicting Fire Spread in Wildland Fuels
TL;DR: In this paper, a mathematical model for predicting rate of fire spread and intensity applicable to a wide range of wildland fuels is presented from the conceptual stage through evaluation and demonstration of results to hypothetical fuel models.
Journal ArticleDOI
Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments
James K. Agee,Carl N. Skinner +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarize a set of simple principles important to address in fuel reduction treatments: reduction of surface fuels, increasing the height to live crown, decreasing crown density, and retaining large trees of fire resistant species.
ReportDOI
Aids to Determining Fuel Models for Estimating Fire Behavior
TL;DR: This article presented photographic examples, tabulations, and a similarity chart to assist fire behavior officers, fuel management specialists, and other field personnel in selecting a fuel model appropriate for a specific field situation.