Fire Suppression Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Every year worldwide some extraordinary wildfires occur, overwhelming suppression capabilities, causing substantial damages, and often resulting in fatalities. Given their increasing frequency, there is a debate about how to address these... more
Every year worldwide some extraordinary wildfires occur, overwhelming suppression capabilities, causing substantial damages, and often resulting in fatalities. Given their increasing frequency, there is a debate about how to address these wildfires with significant social impacts, but there is no agreement upon terminology to describe them. The concept of extreme wildfire event (EWE) has emerged to bring some coherence on this kind of events. It is increasingly used, often as a synonym of other terms related to wildfires of high intensity and size, but its definition remains elusive. The goal of this paper is to go beyond drawing on distinct disciplinary perspectives to develop a holistic view of EWE as a social-ecological phenomenon. Based on literature review and using a transdisciplinary approach, this paper proposes a definition of EWE as a process and an outcome. Considering the lack of a consistent " scale of gravity " to leverage extreme wildfire events such as in natural hazards (e.g., tornados, hurricanes and earthquakes) we present a proposal of wildfire classification with seven categories based on measurable fire spread and behavior parameters and suppression difficulty. The categories 5 to 7 are labeled as EWE.
Due to increased fuel loading as a result of fire suppression, land managers in the American west are in need of precise information about the fuels they manage, including canopy fuels. Canopy fuel metrics such as canopy height (CH),... more
Due to increased fuel loading as a result of fire suppression, land managers in the American west are in need of precise information about the fuels they manage, including canopy fuels. Canopy fuel metrics such as canopy height (CH), canopy base height (CBH), canopy bulk density (CBD) and available canopy fuel (ACF) are specific inputs for wildfire behavior models such as FARSITE and emission models such as FOFEM. With finer spatial resolution data, accurate quantification of these metrics with detailed spatial heterogeneity can be accomplished. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and color near-infrared imagery are active and passive systems, respectively, that have been utilized for measuring a range of forest structure characteristics at high resolution. The objective of this research was to determine which remote sensing dataset can estimate canopy fuels more accurately and whether a fusion of these datasets produces more accurate estimates. Regression models were developed for ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stand representative of eastern Washington State using field data collected in the Ahtanum State Forest and metrics derived from LiDAR and imagery. Strong relationships were found with LiDAR alone and LiDAR was found to increase canopy fuel accuracy compared to imagery. Fusing LiDAR with imagery and/or LiDAR intensity led to small increases in estimation accuracy over LiDAR alone. By improving the ability to estimate canopy fuels at higher spatial resolutions, spatially explicit fuel layers can be created and used in wildfire behavior and smoke emission models leading to more accurate estimations of crown fire risk and smoke related emissions.
- by Andrew Youngblood and +1
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- Forestry, Conservation Biology, Prescribed Fire, Biodiversity
Classic ecological concepts and forestry language regarding old growth are not well suited to frequent-fire landscapes. In frequent-fire, old-growth landscapes, there is a symbiotic relationship between the trees, the understory... more
Classic ecological concepts and forestry language regarding old growth are not well suited to frequent-fire landscapes. In frequent-fire, old-growth landscapes, there is a symbiotic relationship between the trees, the understory graminoids, and fire that results in a healthy ecosystem. Patches of old growth interspersed with younger growth and open, grassy areas provide a wide variety of habitats for animals, and
- by Carol Chambers and +1
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- Climate Change, Human Values, Treatment, Wildfire
Road tunnels are critical components of most transportation systems around the world. Ensuring fire safety in road tunnels is more challenging than ever due to the specific features of the tunnels, increased traffic and inadequate safety... more
Road tunnels are critical components of most transportation systems around the world. Ensuring fire safety in road tunnels is more challenging than ever due to the specific features of the tunnels, increased traffic and inadequate safety rules. The analysis of actual fire incidents has indicated that fires in tunnels tend to be hotter, last longer, and to be more destructive
- by zhigang liu
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- Engineering, Water, Fire, Oil
- by Robert Feick and +1
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- Forestry, Decision Making, Modeling, Forest Ecology And Management
- by Daniel Dey and +1
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- Environmental Monitoring, Biodiversity, Multidisciplinary, Land Use
Road tunnels are critical components of most transportation systems around the world. Ensuring fire safety in road tunnels is more challenging than ever due to the specific features of the tunnels, increased traffic and inadequate safety... more
Road tunnels are critical components of most transportation systems around the world. Ensuring fire safety in road tunnels is more challenging than ever due to the specific features of the tunnels, increased traffic and inadequate safety rules. The analysis of actual fire incidents has indicated that fires in tunnels tend to be hotter, last longer, and to be more destructive than was generally expected. This made rescue operations and fire extinguishment by the fire services more difficult. Les tunnels routiers sont des éléments critiques de la plupart des réseaux de transport dans le monde. Or, il est plus problématique que jamais d'assurer la sécurité incendie dans ces tunnels, en raison des caractéristiques propres à ces ouvrages, de l'augmentation de la circulation routière et de l'inadéquation des règles de sécurité. L?analyse d'incendies réels nous apprend que les incendies dans les tunnels ont tendance à présenter une combustion plus vive, à brûler plus longte...
- by Bruce Blackwell and +1
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- Air Quality, Climate Change, Decision Making, Critical Thinking
Ecological and social factors shaped old-growth forests of the western United States before Euro-American settlement, and will, in large part, determine their future. In this article, we focus on the social factors that affected the... more
Ecological and social factors shaped old-growth forests of the western United States before Euro-American settlement, and will, in large part, determine their future. In this article, we focus on the social factors that affected the forest's ecological structure and function, review the changing cultural influences through law and policy of public land management and use, and discuss the changing public