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Understanding where and how a wildfire is likely to burn saves
lives and money, and allows decisionmakers to strategically place
fuel-reduction treatments in areas where they are most likely to
modify fire behavior.
Fire behavior is influenced by weather, the amount and type of
available fuel, and topography. These factors determine the intensity
of the fire, how fast it will move, and in what direction. A dense,
dry stand where dead branches litter the ground and vegetation
and small trees create a continuous ladder of woody vegetation
to the upper canopy will burn differently than a dry stand where
mechanical thinning or a controlled, prescribed burn has reduced
the amount of available fuel.
Scientists at the Pacific Northwest Research Station study different
aspects of fire behavior. The information and tools based on this
research are being used locally, nationally, and internationally
to protect public health and manage for fire-resilient landscapes.
Research Examples:
A researcher stands in burned stand.
(Photo by Julia Biermann)
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Tools
Fuelbed maps for continental United States and Alaska
The Fuel
Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) was designed to build
and catalogue fuels, from the ground to the canopy,
based on inventory data, photo series, or literature. The system
predicts flame length, rate of spread and surface fire behavior,
crown fire, and available fuel potential using a 9-point index.
Version 2.1 was released in 2010 with refined fire behavior
equations and a total carbon calculator. Another improvement includes
mapped
FCCS fuelbeds for the continental United States.
The FCCS is
becoming a widely used tool to build and characterize fuels for
specified areas at any scale. For example, FCCS fuel
beds have been created for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National
Forest, central Oregon, and Lake Tahoe basin, and associated fire
behavior
predictions and total carbon represented by the fuelbeds have
been mapped. This information is being used for fire hazard
planning
and evaluating fuel treatment effectiveness. The FCCS version
2.1 is available online.
Learn more: http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera/fccs/maps.shtml
------------------------------------------------------------- Consume v. 3.0 predicts fuel consumption, pollutant emissions,
and heat release
Consume
v. 3.0 is
software designed to assist resource managers in planning
for prescribed fire and wildfire. This latest version reflects
an improved understanding
of fuel consumption and emissions in wildland fire across
major fuel types in the United States. Consume predicts fuel consumption,
pollutant emissions, and heat release based on a number of
factors, including fuel loadings, fuel moisture, and other
environmental
factors. Using these predictions, resource managers can determine
when and where to conduct a prescribed burn or plan for a
wildland
fire to achieve desired objectives, while reducing the impact
on other resources.
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Digital Fuels Photo Series
The Digital
Photo Series is
an electronic version of the popular natural fuels photo series.
It allows users to assess to assess landscape conditions by appraising
live and dead fuels and stand characteristics. This information
can them be used in strategic planning, project implementation,
and modeling efforts. Although designed for online use, this photo
series can also be run from the computer desktop when an Internet
connection is unavailable. The application is robust and flexible,
allowing for additions of other published photo series or photo-accompanied
fuel data.
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