Reconstruction of the Spring Hill Wildfire and Exploration of Alternate Management Scenarios Using QUIC-Fire

This open-access article was published Oct 15, 2021 in the journal Fire

Access the article through the permanent web address (DOI)

Abstract

New physics-based fire behavior models are poised to revolutionize wildland fire planning and training; however, model testing against field conditions remains limited. We tested the ability of QUIC-Fire, a fast-running and computationally inexpensive physics-based fire behavior model to numerically reconstruct a large wildfire that burned in a fire-excluded area within the New York–Philadelphia metropolitan area in 2019. We then used QUIC-Fire as a tool to explore how alternate hypothetical management scenarios, such as prescribed burning, could have affected fire behavior. The results of our reconstruction provide a strong demonstration of how QUIC-Fire can be used to simulate actual wildfire scenarios with the integration of local weather and fuel information, as well as to efficiently explore how fire management can influence fire behavior in specific burn units. Our results illustrate how both reductions of fuel load and specific modification of fuel structure associated with frequent prescribed fire are critical to reducing fire intensity and size. We discuss how simulations such as this can be important in planning and training tools for wildland firefighters, and for avenues of future research and fuel monitoring that can accelerate the incorporation of models like QUIC-Fire into fire management strategies. View Full-Text

Keywords: prescribed fire; wildfire; QUIC-Fire; coupled fire-atmospheric models; fuels

Citation

Gallagher, Michael R., Zachary Cope, Daniel Rosales Giron, Nicholas S. Skowronski, Trevor Raynor, Thomas Gerber, Rodman R. Linn, and John Kevin Hiers. "Reconstruction of the Spring Hill Wildfire and Exploration of Alternate Management Scenarios Using QUIC-Fire." Fire 4, no. 4 (2021): 72.

"Thermocouple Probe Orientation Affects Prescribed Fire Behavior Estimation"

Published December 14, 2017

Abstract:

Understanding the relationship between fire intensity and fuel mass is essential information for scientists and forest managers seeking to manage forests using prescribed fires. Peak burning temperature, duration of heating, and area under the temperature profile are fire behavior metrics obtained from thermocouple-datalogger assemblies used to characterize prescribed burns. Despite their recurrent usage in prescribed burn studies, there is no simple protocol established to guide the orientation of thermocouple installation. Our results from dormant and growing season burns in coastal longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) forests in South Carolina suggest that thermocouples located horizontally at the litter-soil interface record significantly higher estimates of peak burning temperature, duration of heating, and area under the temperature profile than thermocouples extending 28 cm vertically above the litter-soil interface (p < 0.01). Surprisingly, vertical and horizontal estimates of these measures did not show strong correlation with one another (r2 ≤ 0.14). The horizontal duration of heating values were greater in growing season burns than in dormant season burns (p < 0.01), but the vertical values did not indicate this difference (p = 0.52). Field measures of fuel mass and depth before and after fire showed promise as significant predictive variables (p ≤ 0.05) for the fire behavior metrics. However, all correlation coefficients were less than or equal to r2 = 0.41. Given these findings, we encourage scientists, researchers, and managers to carefully consider thermocouple orientation when investigating fire behavior metrics, as orientation may affect estimates of fire intensity and the distinction of fire treatment effects, particularly in forests with litter-dominated surface fuels.

Citation:

Coates, T. A., A. T. Chow, D. L. Hagan, T. A. Waldrop, G. G. Wang, W. C. Bridges, M. Rogers, and J. H. Dozier. 2017. Thermocouple Probe Orientation Affects Prescribed Fire Behavior Estimation. J. Environ. Qual. 0. doi:10.2134/jeq2017.02.0055

Corresponding author: Alex T. Chow (achow "at" clemson.edu)