Fire and Environmental Research Applications Team

Savannah River Site

In collaboration with Savannah River Site staff, FERA is working with the Southern Research Station at the Savannah River Site in Georgia to assess fuels and fire hazard, and the potential for fuels consumption. We are developing and analyzing a matrix of FCCS fuelbeds and fire behavior predictions (table 1) that represent the range of current and anticipated surface fire behavior and crown fire potentials in each of 7 land cover and stand age types.

Fuelbeds will be described that predict surface fire behavior near each of the thresholds important to fire managers. Where ecologically appropriate in a cover type and surface fire behavior level, a family of fuelbeds will be described that have distinctly different mixtures of shrub, nonwoody, litter, and woody fuel components. These are the critical fuelbed layers that control surface fire spread. The FCCS will also provide a set of standard crown fire and available fuel potentials for each fuelbed (fuel consumption potentials based on an index rating of 0 to 9).

Updates

FERA CREW SAMPLING TREATED FUEL SITES AT SAVANNAH RIVER SITE (March 2010)--The FERA field crew spent 14 days inventorying fuels at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina during March. The sites inventoried represented various fuel treatments including a control, chipping, prescribed fire, and herbicide.  The data will be used to develop FCCS fuelbeds and calculate FCCS fire potentials and surface fire behavior estimates for evaluating the fuels treatment effectiveness. (March 18, 2010)

TESTING AND DEVELOPMENT OF FCCS CONTINUES AT SAVANNAH RIVER (August 2008)-- Investment in various developmental aspects of the Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) continues to meet the needs of Forest Service fire managers responsible for forest management at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. A new study will use the FCCS and a fuelbed building tool to construct fuelbeds and their associated fire behavior predictions. This will permit mapping and analysis of the spatial extent, distribution and continuity of fire hazard, and identify areas where fire hazard threatens infrastructure or other sensitive areas. In addition, we will compare fire hazard and surface fire behavior predicted by FCCS with values generated from FlamMap, strategic placement of treatments (SPOTS), LANDFIRE, and the southern wildfire risk assessment (SWFRA).

Publications

Parrasol, Bernard R.; Shea, Dan; Ottmar, Roger. 2006. Creating a fuels baseline and establishing fire frequency relationships to develop a landscape management strategy at the Savannah River site. In: Andrews, Patricia L.; Butler, Bret W., comps. 2006. Fuels Management-How to Measure Success: Conference Proceedings. 28-30 March 2006; Portland, OR. Proceedings RMRS-P-41. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 351-366
Abstract and full text [.html]

Progress Report (October 2008)

Maier, Brian; Ottmar, Roger; Wright, Clint. 2004. Forest floor bulk density and depth at Savannah River -- draft final report. Available from: U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Wildland Fire Scences Laboratory, 400 N 34th Street, Seattle WA 98103.
Full text [.pdf 708 kb]

Project Leader: Roger Ottmar

Cooperators: Southern Research Station and the Department of Energy - Savannah River Operations Office.

This research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy