Overview of the NASA Systems Approach to Crashworthiness Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Lisa E.

2002-01-01

The NASA Aviation Safety Program was developed in response to the federal government's goal to reduce the fatal accident rate for aviation by 80% within 10 years. Accident Mitigation is a primary element of the Aviation Safety Program. The overall Accident Mitigation goal is to provide technology to the air transport industry to enable a decrease in the rate of fatalities and injury from crash loads and from in-flight and post-crash explosion and/or fire. Accident Mitigation is divided into two main elements - Fire Prevention and Systems Approach to Crashworthiness. The Systems Approach to Crashworthiness goal is to develop and promote technology that will increase the human survival rate or reduce the fatality rate in survivable accidents. The technical background and planning, selected technical activities, and summary of future efforts will be presented in this paper.

Coupling the biophysical and social dimensions of wildfire risk to improve wildfire mitigation planning

Treesearch

Alan A. Ager; Jeffrey D. Kline; A. Paige Fisher

2015-01-01

We describe recent advances in biophysical and social aspects of risk and their potential combined contribution to improve mitigation planning on fire-prone landscapes. The methods and tools provide an improved method for defining the spatial extent of wildfire risk to communities compared to current planning processes. They also propose an expanded role for social...

Integrated Performance Criteria for Housing and Building Hazard Mitigation.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-07-01

PAGES . Washington, D.C. 20472 15 14. MONITORING AGENCY NAME A ADORESS(If dil fnt from Controlling Ofice) IS. SECURITY CLASS. (of this report...not harm their neighbors In doing so. I As another example, In the case of fire, It would seem that initial attention was given to controlling flame...Francisco Earthquake. From there, efforts moved toward avoiding and controlling fires at the level of Individual structures, and more recently, of spaces

Forest fire management to avoid unintended consequences: a case study of Portugal using system dynamics.

PubMed

Collins, Ross D; de Neufville, Richard; Claro, João; Oliveira, Tiago; Pacheco, Abílio P

2013-11-30

Forest fires are a serious management challenge in many regions, complicating the appropriate allocation to suppression and prevention efforts. Using a System Dynamics (SD) model, this paper explores how interactions between physical and political systems in forest fire management impact the effectiveness of different allocations. A core issue is that apparently sound management can have unintended consequences. An instinctive management response to periods of worsening fire severity is to increase fire suppression capacity, an approach with immediate appeal as it directly treats the symptom of devastating fires and appeases the public. However, the SD analysis indicates that a policy emphasizing suppression can degrade the long-run effectiveness of forest fire management. By crowding out efforts to preventative fuel removal, it exacerbates fuel loads and leads to greater fires, which further balloon suppression budgets. The business management literature refers to this problem as the firefighting trap, wherein focus on fixing problems diverts attention from preventing them, and thus leads to inferior outcomes. The paper illustrates these phenomena through a case study of Portugal, showing that a balanced approach to suppression and prevention efforts can mitigate the self-reinforcing consequences of this trap, and better manage long-term fire damages. These insights can help policymakers and fire managers better appreciate the interconnected systems in which their authorities reside and the dynamics that may undermine seemingly rational management decisions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trying not to get burned: understanding homeowners' wildfire risk-mitigation behaviors.

PubMed

Brenkert-Smith, Hannah; Champ, Patricia A; Flores, Nicholas

2012-12-01

Three causes have been identified for the spiraling cost of wildfire suppression in the United States: climate change, fuel accumulation from past wildfire suppression, and development in fire-prone areas. Because little is likely to be performed to halt the effects of climate on wildfire risk, and because fuel-management budgets cannot keep pace with fuel accumulation let alone reverse it, changing the behaviors of existing and potential homeowners in fire-prone areas is the most promising approach to decreasing the cost of suppressing wildfires in the wildland-urban interface and increasing the odds of homes surviving wildfire events. Wildfire education efforts encourage homeowners to manage their property to decrease wildfire risk. Such programs may be more effective with a better understanding of the factors related to homeowners' decisions to undertake wildfire risk-reduction actions. In this study, we measured whether homeowners had implemented 12 wildfire risk-mitigation measures in 2 Colorado Front Range counties. We found that wildfire information received from local volunteer fire departments and county wildfire specialists, as well as talking with neighbors about wildfire, were positively associated with higher levels of mitigation. Firsthand experience in the form of preparing for or undertaking an evacuation was also associated with a higher level of mitigation. Finally, homeowners who perceived higher levels of wildfire risk on their property had undertaken higher levels of wildfire-risk mitigation on their property.

Temperate and boreal forest mega-fires: characteristics and challenges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stephens, Scott L.; Burrows, Neil; Buyantuyev, Alexander; Gray, Robert W.; Keane, Robert E.; Kubian, Rick; Liu, Shirong; Seijo, Francisco; Shu, Lifu; Tolhurst, Kevin G.; Van Wagtendonk, Jan W.

2014-01-01

Mega-fires are often defined according to their size and intensity but are more accurately described by their socioeconomic impacts. Three factors – climate change, fire exclusion, and antecedent disturbance, collectively referred to as the “mega-fire triangle” – likely contribute to today's mega-fires. Some characteristics of mega-fires may emulate historical fire regimes and can therefore sustain healthy fire-prone ecosystems, but other attributes decrease ecosystem resiliency. A good example of a program that seeks to mitigate mega-fires is located in Western Australia, where prescribed burning reduces wildfire intensity while conserving ecosystems. Crown-fire-adapted ecosystems are likely at higher risk of frequent mega-fires as a result of climate change, as compared with other ecosystems once subject to frequent less severe fires. Fire and forest managers should recognize that mega-fires will be a part of future wildland fire regimes and should develop strategies to reduce their undesired impacts.

The Science of Firescapes: Achieving Fire-Resilient Communities.

PubMed

Smith, Alistair M S; Kolden, Crystal A; Paveglio, Travis B; Cochrane, Mark A; Bowman, David Mjs; Moritz, Max A; Kliskey, Andrew D; Alessa, Lilian; Hudak, Andrew T; Hoffman, Chad M; Lutz, James A; Queen, Lloyd P; Goetz, Scott J; Higuera, Philip E; Boschetti, Luigi; Flannigan, Mike; Yedinak, Kara M; Watts, Adam C; Strand, Eva K; van Wagtendonk, Jan W; Anderson, John W; Stocks, Brian J; Abatzoglou, John T

2016-02-01

Wildland fire management has reached a crossroads. Current perspectives are not capable of answering interdisciplinary adaptation and mitigation challenges posed by increases in wildfire risk to human populations and the need to reintegrate fire as a vital landscape process. Fire science has been, and continues to be, performed in isolated "silos," including institutions (e.g., agencies versus universities), organizational structures (e.g., federal agency mandates versus local and state procedures for responding to fire), and research foci (e.g., physical science, natural science, and social science). These silos tend to promote research, management, and policy that focus only on targeted aspects of the "wicked" wildfire problem. In this article, we provide guiding principles to bridge diverse fire science efforts to advance an integrated agenda of wildfire research that can help overcome disciplinary silos and provide insight on how to build fire-resilient communities.

Implementation of National Fire Plan treatments near the wildland-urban interface in the western United States.

PubMed

Schoennagel, Tania; Nelson, Cara R; Theobald, David M; Carnwath, Gunnar C; Chapman, Teresa B

2009-06-30

Because of increasing concern about the effects of catastrophic wildland fires throughout the western United States, federal land managers have been engaged in efforts to restore historical fire behavior and mitigate wildfire risk. During the last 5 years (2004-2008), 44,000 fuels treatments were implemented across the western United States under the National Fire Plan (NFP). We assessed the extent to which these treatments were conducted in and near the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where they would have the greatest potential to reduce fire risk in neighboring homes and communities. Although federal policies stipulate that significant resources should be invested in the WUI, we found that only 3% of the area treated was within the WUI, and another 8% was in an additional 2.5-km buffer around the WUI, totaling 11%. Only 17% of this buffered WUI is under federal ownership, which significantly limits the ability of federal agencies to implement fire-risk reduction treatments near communities. Although treatments far from the WUI may have some fire mitigation benefits, our findings suggest that greater priority must be given to locating treatments in and near the WUI, rather than in more remote settings, to satisfy NFP goals of reducing fire risk to communities. However, this may require shifting management and policy emphasis from public to private lands.

Exploring local perceptions and attributions of 'extreme' wildfire impacts in Rural Montana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, M.; Paveglio, T.; Kallman, D.

2013-12-01

To date there have been few systematic efforts to uncover the criteria that local stakeholders use to perceive of and make judgments about the severity of wildfire impacts to the social-ecological systems they are a part of. The study presented here sought to uncover expanded understandings of perceived social and ecological impacts from a wildfire in rural Montana and the underlying causes for those perceived impacts. Such efforts could lead to more comprehensive social impact assessment concerning wildfires or other hazards and help better understand how local perceptions might influence residents' ongoing attitudes toward fire risk or mitigation efforts. The study presented here explored local perceptions of impact from the 2012 Dahl fire near Roundup, MT. The Dahl Fire burned 73 permanent structures, 150 outbuilding and 22,000 acres of predominantly private lands in the rural Bull Mountains. Members of the project team interviewed approximately 50 stakeholders impacted by or involved in the management for the Dahl Fire. Interviews took place in the summer of 2013 and included a variety of residents, emergency personnel, firefighters, local community officials and land management professionals. Results suggest that residents considered the Dahl fire especially impactful given the number of private residences and structures that were burned and the number of people displaced or disrupted by the event (either directly, through efforts to help those affected, or through indirect impacts to community function). The extremity of the firefighting conditions (e.g. wind, relative humidity, terrain), the rapidity of fire spread through populated areas and the damages sustained given previous fires in the area all surprised stakeholders and contributed to their perceptions of impact severity. Conflicts over access to properties during and immediately following the fire, and the variable perception that personal wildfire mitigations did little to reduce damages from the fire also contributed to perceptions about the level of wildfire impact. Many respondents felt that impacts from the Dahl Fire were the result of historic development patterns that allowed for mid-sized, rural subdivisions in heavily forested draws and along rough roads. Residents in these areas often moved to the Bull Mountains for privacy and to exercise significant property rights. Other residents felt the fire was not attacked quickly enough. Resident response to the impacts was almost universally perceived as well organized and effective. It was predicated on the collaborative capacity of local groups, community ties and experience with historic floods the year prior to the fire. Unexpected longer-term impacts such as high levels of erosion and flash-flooding have kept the fire in the minds of residents and contributed to their perceptions of impact. Respondents (including those with homes that burned) indicated that a significant portion of those whose property was damaged did not intend to return or rebuild. This is somewhat unique in response to wildfires and should be explored in future fires perceived by locals as extreme in order to test for emerging trends.

Gaseous emissions and toxic hazards associated with plastics in fire situations: A literature review

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Junod, T. L.

1976-01-01

The hazards of plastics in fire situations, the gases emitted, the factors influencing the nature of these emissions, the characteristics of toxic gases, and the results of laboratory studies, are discussed. The literature pertaining to the pyrolysis and oxidation of plastics was reviewed. An effort was made to define the state of the art for determining the toxic gases emitted by plastics under fire conditions. Recommendations are made and research needs defined as a result of this review.

"Fire Moss" Cover and Function in Severely Burned Forests of the Western United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grover, H.; Doherty, K.; Sieg, C.; Robichaud, P. R.; Fulé, P. Z.; Bowker, M.

2017-12-01

With wildfires increasing in severity and extent throughout the Western United States, land managers need new tools to stabilize recently burned ecosystems. "Fire moss" consists of three species, Ceratodon purpureus, Funaria hygrometrica, and Bryum argentum. These mosses colonize burned landscapes quickly, aggregate soils, have extremely high water holding capacity, and can be grown rapidly ex-situ. In this talk, I will focus on our efforts to understand how Fire Moss naturally interacts with severely burned landscapes. We examined 14 fires in Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, and Idaho selecting a range of times since fire, and stratified plots within each wildfire by winter insolation and elevation. At 75+ plots we measured understory plant cover, ground cover, Fire Moss cover, and Fire Moss reproductive effort. On plots in the Southwest, we measured a suite of soil characteristics on moss covered and adjacent bare soil including aggregate stability, shear strength, compressional strength, and infiltration rates. Moss cover ranged from 0-75% with a mean of 16% across all plots and was inversely related to insolation (R2 = .32, p = <.01), directly related to elevation (R2 = .13, p = .02), and not related to slope (R2 = .02, p =.41). Moss covered areas had twice as much shear strength and compressional strength, and three times higher aggregate stability and infiltration rates as adjacent bare ground. These results will allow us to model locations where Fire Moss will naturally increase postfire hillslope soil stability, locations for targeting moss restoration efforts, and suggest that Fire Moss could be a valuable tool to mitigate post wildfire erosion.

The Science of Firescapes: Achieving Fire-Resilient Communities

PubMed Central

Smith, Alistair M.S.; Kolden, Crystal A.; Paveglio, Travis B.; Cochrane, Mark A.; Bowman, David MJS; Moritz, Max A.; Kliskey, Andrew D.; Alessa, Lilian; Hudak, Andrew T.; Hoffman, Chad M.; Lutz, James A.; Queen, Lloyd P.; Goetz, Scott J.; Higuera, Philip E.; Boschetti, Luigi; Flannigan, Mike; Yedinak, Kara M.; Watts, Adam C.; Strand, Eva K.; van Wagtendonk, Jan W.; Anderson, John W.; Stocks, Brian J.; Abatzoglou, John T.

2016-01-01

Abstract Wildland fire management has reached a crossroads. Current perspectives are not capable of answering interdisciplinary adaptation and mitigation challenges posed by increases in wildfire risk to human populations and the need to reintegrate fire as a vital landscape process. Fire science has been, and continues to be, performed in isolated “silos,” including institutions (e.g., agencies versus universities), organizational structures (e.g., federal agency mandates versus local and state procedures for responding to fire), and research foci (e.g., physical science, natural science, and social science). These silos tend to promote research, management, and policy that focus only on targeted aspects of the “wicked” wildfire problem. In this article, we provide guiding principles to bridge diverse fire science efforts to advance an integrated agenda of wildfire research that can help overcome disciplinary silos and provide insight on how to build fire-resilient communities. PMID:29593361

Curve Number and Peakflow Responses Following the Cerro Grande Fire on a Small Watershed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Springer, E. P.; Hawkins, Richard H.

The Curve Number (CN) method is routinely used to estimate runoff and peakflows following forest fires, but there has been essentially no literature on the estimated value and temporal variation of CNs following wildland fires. In May 2000, the Cerro Grande Fire burned the headwaters of the major watersheds that cross Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a stream gauging network presented an opportunity to assess CNs following the fire. Analysis of rainfall-runoff events indicated that the pre-fire watershed response was complacent or limited watershed area contributed to runoff. The post-fire response indicated that the complacent behavior continued so the watershedmore » response was not dramatically changed. Peakflows did increase by 2 orders of magnitude following the fire, and this was hypothesized to be a function of increase in runoff volume and changes in watershed network allowing more efficient delivery of runoff. More observations and analyses following fires are needed to support definition of CNs for post-fire response and mitigation efforts.« less

Dynamic Resource Allocation in Disaster Response: Tradeoffs in Wildfire Suppression

PubMed Central

Petrovic, Nada; Alderson, David L.; Carlson, Jean M.

2012-01-01

Challenges associated with the allocation of limited resources to mitigate the impact of natural disasters inspire fundamentally new theoretical questions for dynamic decision making in coupled human and natural systems. Wildfires are one of several types of disaster phenomena, including oil spills and disease epidemics, where (1) the disaster evolves on the same timescale as the response effort, and (2) delays in response can lead to increased disaster severity and thus greater demand for resources. We introduce a minimal stochastic process to represent wildfire progression that nonetheless accurately captures the heavy tailed statistical distribution of fire sizes observed in nature. We then couple this model for fire spread to a series of response models that isolate fundamental tradeoffs both in the strength and timing of response and also in division of limited resources across multiple competing suppression efforts. Using this framework, we compute optimal strategies for decision making scenarios that arise in fire response policy. PMID:22514605

Coupling the Biophysical and Social Dimensions of Wildfire Risk to Improve Wildfire Mitigation Planning.

PubMed

Ager, Alan A; Kline, Jeffrey D; Fischer, A Paige

2015-08-01

We describe recent advances in biophysical and social aspects of risk and their potential combined contribution to improve mitigation planning on fire-prone landscapes. The methods and tools provide an improved method for defining the spatial extent of wildfire risk to communities compared to current planning processes. They also propose an expanded role for social science to improve understanding of community-wide risk perceptions and to predict property owners' capacities and willingness to mitigate risk by treating hazardous fuels and reducing the susceptibility of dwellings. In particular, we identify spatial scale mismatches in wildfire mitigation planning and their potential adverse impact on risk mitigation goals. Studies in other fire-prone regions suggest that these scale mismatches are widespread and contribute to continued wildfire dwelling losses. We discuss how risk perceptions and behavior contribute to scale mismatches and how they can be minimized through integrated analyses of landscape wildfire transmission and social factors that describe the potential for collaboration among landowners and land management agencies. These concepts are then used to outline an integrated socioecological planning framework to identify optimal strategies for local community risk mitigation and improve landscape-scale prioritization of fuel management investments by government entities. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

College's hot topics? Wildfire and Hazards' risk perception among university's population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wuerzer, T.

2014-12-01

This research presents a novel perspective on college students and their risk perception in a fire prone US State; Idaho. Idaho was "top #1" in burned lands by acreage in 2012 with approximate 15% of all US burned lands; in 2013 "top #2". Past studies have conducted surveys on residents in high wildfire risk communities to learn what factors make homeowners more likely to engage in mitigation activities and therefore increase communities' resiliency. This research emphasis is on a population that deals with the threat of fire but is likely less invested through property ownership and other investment of risk; yet, equally threatened in quality of life. Are college students the left-out population in the 'planning for wildfires' and its communication process? Main hypothesis is that a college population will have a different perception and awareness (and therefore mitigation actions) than i.e. residents invested in the wild land urban interface (WUI). Dominant research methodologies in past studies are identified as surveys, focus groups, or interviews focusing on homeowners in fire prone areas that have witnessed wildfire or are exposed to increasing fire risk. Yet again, research on population that has no property ownership, investments at stake, and therefore no direct monetary values associated (but potentially non-monetary), is found little to none in these studies. The university population based study and its findings offers a contrast to current literature related to these traditional residents surveys/interviews. The study's survey and interactive spatial assessment of risk perception with allocation of perceived hazards zones promotes understanding of where risk is apparent for participants. Results are used to inform agencies such as campus emergency management, regional wild fire mitigation efforts, and to enhance public communication. Lessons learned include the challenges of a comprehensive inclusion process when mitigating for hazards and building resiliency in a region with development pressures.

Fire effects on temperate forest soil C and N storage.

PubMed

Nave, Lucas E; Vance, Eric D; Swanston, Christopher W; Curtis, Peter S

2011-06-01

Temperate forest soils store globally significant amounts of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Understanding how soil pools of these two elements change in response to disturbance and management is critical to maintaining ecosystem services such as forest productivity, greenhouse gas mitigation, and water resource protection. Fire is one of the principal disturbances acting on forest soil C and N storage and is also the subject of enormous management efforts. In the present article, we use meta-analysis to quantify fire effects on temperate forest soil C and N storage. Across a combined total of 468 soil C and N response ratios from 57 publications (concentrations and pool sizes), fire had significant overall effects on soil C (-26%) and soil N (-22%). The impacts of fire on forest floors were significantly different from its effects on mineral soils. Fires reduced forest floor C and N storage (pool sizes only) by an average of 59% and 50%, respectively, but the concentrations of these two elements did not change. Prescribed fires caused smaller reductions in forest floor C and N storage (-46% and -35%) than wildfires (-67% and -69%), and the presence of hardwoods also mitigated fire impacts. Burned forest floors recovered their C and N pools in an average of 128 and 103 years, respectively. Among mineral soils, there were no significant changes in C or N storage, but C and N concentrations declined significantly (-11% and -12%, respectively). Mineral soil C and N concentrations were significantly affected by fire type, with no change following prescribed burns, but significant reductions in response to wildfires. Geographic variation in fire effects on mineral soil C and N storage underscores the need for region-specific fire management plans, and the role of fire type in mediating C and N shifts (especially in the forest floor) indicates that averting wildfires through prescribed burning is desirable from a soils perspective.

Climate Change, Wildland Fires and Public Health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cascio, W. E.

2016-12-01

Climate change is contributing to an increase in the severity of wildland fires. The annual acreage burned in the U.S. has risen steadily since 1985, and the fire season has lengthened. Wildland fires impair air quality by producing massive quantities of particulate air pollutants and ozone precursors. Together particles and ozone exposures increase the risk of premature death and acute and chronic cardiovascular and respiratory morbidity among vulnerable individuals. Future wildfires are predicted to be larger, more severe and more frequent in some regions of the U.S and will contribute to an even greater proportion of the ambient air pollution, the disease burden and healthcare costs.While the projected magnitude of the public health impact of climate change-related wildfire events is uncertain, it is clear that the proportion of the U.S. population vulnerable to the adverse health effects of wildland fire and its smoke is increasing. An aging population with chronic respiratory diseases and increasing obesity and diabetes that heralds more cardiovascular disease will increase the vulnerability of the population to the adverse effects of wildfire smoke and associated stressors. Additionally, physiological changes attendant to aging decrease the capacity of aged-adults to tolerate wildfire smoke, heat, humidity, evacuation and recovery. Expansion of our cities into the wildland-urban interface is also placing a greater proportion of the population in closer proximity to wildland fire emissions with its associated health risks. The public health community has an opportunity to contribute to the broader national effort to mitigate climate change and wildland fire risk by working closely with the healthcare community to facilitate adaptive responses to climate change. Adaptation will increase the resilience of individuals and their communities and is anticipated to help mitigate the adverse health effects of wildland fire. This abstract does not reflect USEPA policy.

Assessing impacts of fire and post-fire on runoff and erosion from rangelands mitigation

Treesearch

Frederick B. Pierson; C. Jason Williams; Pete Robichaud

2015-01-01

To provide an overview of the immediate and short-term hydrologic impacts of fire on infiltration, runoff, and erosion by water, and of the effectiveness of various mitigation treatments in the reduction of runoff and erosion in the years following the fire.

Army and Marine Corps Active Protection System (APS) Efforts

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-23

with hard or soft kill capabilities to a variety of threats, including rocket -propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). APS...of threats, including rocket -propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). APS technologies are not new, and a number of nations...training. 1 RPGs are basically single man-portable, shoulder-fired, unguided rockets . RPGs have been widely proliferated but can be mitigated to a

Status of native fishes in the western United States and issues for fire and fuels management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rieman, B.; Lee, D.; Burns, D.; Gresswell, Robert E.; Young, M.; Stowell, R.; Rinne, J.; Howell, P.

2003-01-01

Conservation of native fishes and changing patterns in wildfire and fuels are defining challenges for managers of forested landscapes in the western United States. Many species and populations of native fishes have declined in recorded history and some now occur as isolated remnants of what once were larger more complex systems. Land management activities have been viewed as one cause of this problem. Fires also can have substantial effects on streams and riparian systems and may threaten the persistence of some populations of fish, particularly those that are small and isolated. Despite that, major new efforts to actively manage fires and fuels in forests throughout the region may be perceived as a threat rather than a benefit to conservation of native fishes and their habitats. The management of terrestrial and aquatic resources has often been contentious, divided among a variety of agencies with different goals and mandates. Management of forests, for example, has generally been viewed as an impact on aquatic systems. Implementation of the management-regulatory process has reinforced a uniform approach to mitigate the threats to aquatic species and habitats that may be influenced by management activities. The problems and opportunities, however, are not the same across the landscapes of interest. Attempts to streamline the regulatory process often search for generalized solutions that may oversimplify the complexity of natural systems. Significant questions regarding the influence of fire on aquatic ecosystems, changing fire regimes, and the effects of fire-related management remain unresolved and contribute to the uncertainty. We argue that management of forests and fishes can be viewed as part of the same problem, that of conservation and restoration of the natural processes that create diverse and productive ecosystems. We suggest that progress toward more integrated management of forests and native fishes will require at least three steps: (1) better integration and development of a common conceptual foundation and ecological goals; (2) attention to landscape and ecological context; and (3) recognition of uncertainty.

Fire and Flood - Extending NOAA Resources to the Classroom and the Citizen Science for Resilient and Informed Communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, M. A.; Schranz, S.

2017-12-01

The Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado is a region particularly susceptable to both wildfire and flash flooding. As the population of Colorado continues to boom, it is critical to enhance the familiarity of resources that are available to the general public to understand, predict, and react to these dangers. At the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), a NOAA Cooperative Institute in partnership with Colorado State University, several research products related fire and precipitation processes have been evaluated and developed for public use. As part of a pilot program under development at CIRA, extensive use of CIRA public-facing products are now being used as part of teacher professional development programs available to educators on an ad-hoc basis along the Front Range. These PD programs address state standards in weather prediction, hazard mitigation, and natural disaster awareness, and are designed to incorporate NOAA resources into the classroom, including use of satellite imagery products such as the Satellite Loop Interactive Data Explorer in Real-Time (SLIDER) package, fire weather products developed at the Earth Systems Research Laboratory, and others. Resilience-focused efforts are drawn from fire weather training resources developed for and used by NWS IMET teams, and state suggestions for fire and flood mitigation efforts, tying in these concepts to the basic science made observable using NOAA products. Teachers become proficient in using products as teaching elements in the classroom, with the end goal of improving both awareness and resiliency while improving the awareness of NOAA products. Citizen science programs also incorporate these elements in ad-hoc presentations to museum groups and through partnerships with citizen science networks along the Front Range. Subject-matter expert presentations to community members of local organizations such as the Soaring Eagle Ecology Center and the Anythink Library Network stimulates interest and helps build community connections to increase awareness about the dangers of fire flood and drought. Examples and lessons learned from both programs will be presented.

Direct and indirect effects of fires on the carbon balance of tropical forest ecosystems (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randerson, J. T.; Tosca, M. G.; Ward, D. S.; Kasibhatla, P. S.; Mahowald, N. M.; Hess, P. G.

2013-12-01

Fires influence the carbon budget of tropical forests directly because they account for a significant component of net emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. They also have indirect effects on nearby intact forests by modifying regional climate, atmospheric composition, and patterns of nutrient deposition. These latter pathways are not well understood and are often ignored in climate mitigation efforts such as the United Nations Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Here we used the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM5) and the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED3) to quantify the impacts of fire-emitted aerosols on the productivity of tropical forests. Across the tropical forest biome, fire-emitted aerosols reduced surface temperatures and increased the diffuse solar insolation fraction. These changes in surface meteorology increased gross primary production (GPP) in the Community Land Model. However, these drivers were more than offset in many regions by reductions in soil moisture and total solar radiation. The net effect of fire aerosols caused GPP to decrease by approximately 8% in equatorial Asia and 6% in the central Africa. In the Amazon, decreases in photosynthesis in the western part of the basin were nearly balanced by increases in the south and east. Using additional CAM5 and GEOS-Chem model simulations, we estimated fire contributions to surface concentrations of ozone. Using empirical relationships between ozone exposure and GPP from field studies and models, we estimated how tropical forest GPP was further modified by fire-induced ozone. Our results suggest that efforts to reduce the fire component of tropical land use fluxes may have sustainability benefits that extend beyond the balance sheet for greenhouse gases.

Estimation of wildfire size and risk changes due to fuels treatments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cochrane, M.A.; Moran, C.J.; Wimberly, M.C.; Baer, A.D.; Finney, M.A.; Beckendorf, K.L.; Eidenshink, J.; Zhu, Z.

2012-01-01

Human land use practices, altered climates, and shifting forest and fire management policies have increased the frequency of large wildfires several-fold. Mitigation of potential fire behaviour and fire severity have increasingly been attempted through pre-fire alteration of wildland fuels using mechanical treatments and prescribed fires. Despite annual treatment of more than a million hectares of land, quantitative assessments of the effectiveness of existing fuel treatments at reducing the size of actual wildfires or how they might alter the risk of burning across landscapes are currently lacking. Here, we present a method for estimating spatial probabilities of burning as a function of extant fuels treatments for any wildland fire-affected landscape. We examined the landscape effects of more than 72 000 ha of wildland fuel treatments involved in 14 large wildfires that burned 314 000 ha of forests in nine US states between 2002 and 2010. Fuels treatments altered the probability of fire occurrence both positively and negatively across landscapes, effectively redistributing fire risk by changing surface fire spread rates and reducing the likelihood of crowning behaviour. Trade offs are created between formation of large areas with low probabilities of increased burning and smaller, well-defined regions with reduced fire risk.

Community owned solutions for fire management in tropical ecosystems: case studies from Indigenous communities of South America

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Fire plays an increasingly significant role in tropical forest and savanna ecosystems, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and impacting on biodiversity. Emerging research shows the potential role of Indigenous land-use practices for controlling deforestation and reducing CO2 emissions. Analysis of satellite imagery suggests that Indigenous lands have the lowest incidence of wildfires, significantly contributing to maintaining carbon stocks and enhancing biodiversity. Yet acknowledgement of Indigenous peoples' role in fire management and control is limited, and in many cases dismissed, especially in policy-making circles. In this paper, we review existing data on Indigenous fire management and impact, focusing on examples from tropical forest and savanna ecosystems in Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. We highlight how the complexities of community owned solutions for fire management are being lost as well as undermined by continued efforts on fire suppression and firefighting, and emerging approaches to incorporate Indigenous fire management into market- and incentive-based mechanisms for climate change mitigation. Our aim is to build a case for supporting Indigenous fire practices within all scales of decision-making by strengthening Indigenous knowledge systems to ensure more effective and sustainable fire management. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The interaction of fire and mankind’. PMID:27216507

Community owned solutions for fire management in tropical ecosystems: case studies from Indigenous communities of South America.

PubMed

Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Bilbao, Bibiana A; Berardi, Andrea

2016-06-05

Fire plays an increasingly significant role in tropical forest and savanna ecosystems, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and impacting on biodiversity. Emerging research shows the potential role of Indigenous land-use practices for controlling deforestation and reducing CO2 emissions. Analysis of satellite imagery suggests that Indigenous lands have the lowest incidence of wildfires, significantly contributing to maintaining carbon stocks and enhancing biodiversity. Yet acknowledgement of Indigenous peoples' role in fire management and control is limited, and in many cases dismissed, especially in policy-making circles. In this paper, we review existing data on Indigenous fire management and impact, focusing on examples from tropical forest and savanna ecosystems in Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. We highlight how the complexities of community owned solutions for fire management are being lost as well as undermined by continued efforts on fire suppression and firefighting, and emerging approaches to incorporate Indigenous fire management into market- and incentive-based mechanisms for climate change mitigation. Our aim is to build a case for supporting Indigenous fire practices within all scales of decision-making by strengthening Indigenous knowledge systems to ensure more effective and sustainable fire management.This article is part of the themed issue 'The interaction of fire and mankind'. © 2016 The Author(s).

A tale of two fires: The relative effectiveness of past wildfires in mitigating wildfire behavior and effects

Treesearch

Robert W. Gray; Susan J. Prichard

2015-01-01

The incidence of large, costly landscape-scale fires in western North America is increasing. To combat these fires, researchers and managers have expressed increased interest in investigating the effectiveness of past, stand-replacing wildfires as bottom-up controls on fire spread and severity. Specifically, how effective are past wildfires in mitigating the behavior...

Controllability analysis and testing of a novel magnetorheological absorber for field gun recoil mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouyang, Qing; Zheng, Jiajia; Li, Zhaochun; Hu, Ming; Wang, Jiong

2016-11-01

This paper aims to analyze the effects of combined working coils of magnetorheological (MR) absorber on the shock mitigation performance and verify the controllability of MR absorber as applied in the recoil system of a field gun. A physical scale model of the field gun is established and a long-stroke MR recoil absorber with four-stage parallel electromagnetic coils is designed to apply separate current to each stage and generate variable magnetic field distribution in the annular flow channel. Based on dynamic analysis and firing stability conditions of the field gun, ideal recoil force-stroke profiles of MR absorber at different limiting firing angles are obtained. The experimental studies are carried out on an impact test rig under different combinations of current loading: conventional unified control mode, separate control mode and timing control mode. The fullness degree index (FDI) is defined as the quantitative evaluation criterion of the controllability of MR absorber during the whole recoil motion. The results show that the force-stroke profile of the novel MR absorber can approach the ideal curve within 25 degrees of the limiting firing angle through judicious exploitation of the adjustable rheological properties of MR fluid.

Desertification and other ecological impacts produced by the historic Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire of 2000, Arizona, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neary, D.; Ffolliott, P.; Stropki, C.

2009-04-01

The Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire - the largest in Arizona's history - damaged or destroyed ecosystem resources and disrupted ecosystem functioning in a largely mosaic pattern throughout the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests exposed to the burn. Impacts of this wildfire on tree overstories were studied on two watersheds in the area burned; one watershed burned by a high severity (stand-replacing) fire, while the other watershed burned by a low severity (stand-modifying) fire. The Rodeo-Chediski wildfire damaged or destroyed ecosystem resources and disrupted the ecological functioning on much of the 189,015 ha impacted by the burning. Intermingling chaparral shrub communities and pinyon-juniper woodlands at lower elevations and ponderosa pine forests at high elevations were located within the burned area. The wildfire was caused by two human ignitions that merged into one inferno. The Rodeo Fire was started by an arsonist on June 18, 2002, while the Chediski Fire was ignited as a signal fire by a stranded motorist on June 20th. The two fires merged on June 26, 2002, to become the Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire. The combined wildfires were contained on July 7th at a suppression (firefighting) cost of about €37.9 million (USA 50 million). However, the estimated costs associated with property losses; losses of ecosystem, anthropological, and cultural resources; and post-fire rehabilitation efforts increased the costs of the wildfire to over €114 million (USA 150 million). About one-half of the total area that was burned by the Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire experienced a high-severity fire, other areas burned at a low- to medium-severity fire, and still other areas were largely unburned according to a Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) report and fire severity map prepared shortly after containment of the wildfire. A mosaic of areas burned at varying fire severities within intermingling unburned areas resulted. Post-fire rehabilitation efforts, including establishment of water bars, wattles, k-rails, and aerial seeding and mulching of herbaceous plants to mitigate that anticipated accelerated post-fire soil erosion, began immediately after the fire was extinguished and it was declared safe for people to enter the burned area and initiate rehabilitation. An assessment of the impacts of the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire on soil erosion was carried out on two watersheds situated at the headwaters of the Little Colorado River. One of the watersheds experienced a high severity burn and the other a low-to-medium severity burn. Estimates of soil erosion on a watershed-basis and relative to physiographic characteristics on the two watersheds following the (a) high-intensity summer monsoonal rains and (2) low-intensity winter precipitation and spring snowmelt-runoff events are presented and compared with estimates of soil erosion following other wildfires in the region. Monitoring of soil erosion and other hydrologic and ecological parameters is continuing to obtain a longer, more comprehensive picture of the impacts of this catastrophic wildfire event. The Rodeo-Chediski Wildfire altered the species composition and impacted the production of herbaceous plants on the burned watersheds studied. Effects of the post-fire vegetation changes reduced the capabilities of watersheds to support livestock and some of the other larger herbivores in the region. When these watersheds will return to pre-fire conditions is largely unknown. Not only must the forage resources be restored but the magnitude of post-fire soil erosion and accompanying nutrient losses must be mitigated. Post-fire rehabilitation efforts including the seeding of herbaceous species and installation of controls to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation processes have helped to accelerate this recovery to some extent. A much longer time will obviously be required for severely burned areas to recover than those areas burned by at a low severity. Portions of the latter have already returned to pre-fire conditions.

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Chinese Eco-Industrial Parks by Targeting Energy Infrastructure: A Vintage Stock Model.

PubMed

Guo, Yang; Tian, Jinping; Chertow, Marian; Chen, Lujun

2016-10-03

Mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China's industrial sector is crucial for addressing climate change. We developed a vintage stock model to quantify the GHG mitigation potential and cost effectiveness in Chinese eco-industrial parks by targeting energy infrastructure with five key measures. The model, integrating energy efficiency assessments, GHG emission accounting, cost-effectiveness analyses, and scenario analyses, was applied to 548 units of energy infrastructure in 106 parks. The results indicate that two measures (shifting coal-fired boilers to natural gas-fired boilers and replacing coal-fired units with natural gas combined cycle units) present a substantial potential to mitigate GHGs (42%-46%) compared with the baseline scenario. The other three measures (installation of municipal solid waste-to-energy units, replacement of small-capacity coal-fired units with large units, and implementation of turbine retrofitting) present potential mitigation values of 6.7%, 0.3%, and 2.1%, respectively. In most cases, substantial economic benefits also can be achieved by GHG emission mitigation. An uncertainty analysis showed that enhancing the annual working time or serviceable lifetime levels could strengthen the GHG mitigation potential at a lower cost for all of the measures.

Evaluating fuel complexes for fire hazard mitigation planning in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Anne G. Andreu; Dan Shea; Bernard R. Parresol; Roger D. Ottmar

2012-01-01

Fire hazard mitigation planning requires an accurate accounting of fuel complexes to predict potential fire behavior and effects of treatment alternatives. In the southeastern United States, rapid vegetation growth coupled with complex land use history and forest management options requires a dynamic approach to fuel characterization. In this study we assessed...

Catching fire? Social interactions, beliefs, and wildfire risk mitigation behaviors

Treesearch

Katherine Dickinson; Hannah Brenkert-Smith; Patricia Champ; Nicholas Flores

2015-01-01

Social interactions are widely recognized as a potential influence on risk-related behaviors. We present a mediation model in which social interactions (classified as formal/informal and generic-fire-specific) are associated with beliefs about wildfire risk and mitigation options, which in turn shape wildfire mitigation behaviors. We test this model using survey data...

Protect Thy Neighbor: Investigating the Spatial Externalities of Community Wildfire Hazard Mitigation

Treesearch

David Butry; Geoffrey Donovan

2008-01-01

Climate change, increased wildland fuels, and residential development patterns in fire-prone areas all combine to make wildfire risk mitigation an important public policy issue. One approach to wildfire risk mitigation is to encourage homeowners to use fire-resistant building materials and to create defensible spaces around their homes. We develop a theoretical model...

Seasonal variations in methane and nitrous oxide emissions factors in northern Australian savanna woodlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, C. P.(Mick); Cook, Garry; Reisen, Fabienne; Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Maier, Stefan; Schatz, Jon; Yates, Cameron; Watt, Felicity

2010-05-01

Burning of savannas and grasslands consumes more than one third of the total annual biomass burning globally. In Australia, savanna fires emit annually from 2% to 4% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. This has led to efforts to reduce savanna burning emissions through early season prescribed burning. These programs aim to change the fire seasonality from predominantly high intensity late season fires which are characterized by low levels of patchiness and high burning efficiencies to early-season fires characterized by low intensity, a high degree of patchiness and low burning efficiency. The result is a net reduction in fire area and associated carbon emissions. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is predicated on there being little change in methane (CH4) or nitrous oxide (N2O) emission factors (EFs) as the fire season progresses, however, recent analysis of the emission characteristics of African savanna fires by Korontzi et al., indicates CH4-EF, in particular, could decline substantially as the fire season progresses. If this also occurs in Australian savanna woodlands, then the current mitigation strategy could be ineffective. To address the issue a series of field campaigns were undertaken in the savanna woodlands of Western Arnhem land, Australia to quantify the variability in CH4 and N2O EFs throughout the fire season. This study compared CH4 and N2O EFs measured in smoke sampled from prescribed burning in late June/early July with those from late season fires in early October. It concentrated on the two major vegetation classes in Western Arnhemland; eucalypt open woodland, in which the fuel is composed predominantly tree leaf-litter supplemented by senescent native Sorghum, and sandstone heaths which are dominated by Spinifex hummocks. There were no significant differences in CH4 EFs between early or late season fires, however there were substantial differences between vegetation classes. The woodland emitted 0.3% of fuel carbon as CH4 compared to 0.15% in the sandstone heathland and pure Spinifex and Sorghum swords. The lower emission factors from the grasses compared to leaf litter can be entirely explained by higher combustion efficiency of grass fires. Emission of N2O were less dependent on combustion conditions; approximately 0.5% of fuel nitrogen was emitted as N2O, however there were no differences between early and late season fires or between vegetation classes. These results compare favorably with previous studies; the CH4-EF is similar to earlier measurements in open woodland, although the N2O-EF is lower than the value of 0.8% reported in previous work. Therefore we conclude that the proposed mitigation strategy is feasible and but the variation in EF with vegetation class calls for further quantification of EFs across all major vegetation types in the savanna regions.

Fighting fire with fire: estimating the efficacy of wildfire mitigation programs using propensity scores

Treesearch

David T. Butry

2009-01-01

This paper examines the effect wildfire mitigation has on broad-scale wildfire behavior. Each year, hundreds of million of dollars are spent on fire suppression and fuels management applications, yet little is known, quantitatively, of the returns to these programs in terms of their impact on wildfire extent and intensity. This is especially true when considering that...

Tactical Firefighter Teams: Pivoting Toward the Fire Service’s Evolving Homeland Security Mission

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-01

critical response command C-TECC Committee on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care EMS emergency medical services EMT emergency medical technician ESU...Interagency Tactical Response Model: Integrating Fire and EMS with Law Enforcement to Mitigate Mumbai-Style Terrorist Attacks (New York: FDNY Center...the assailants, several traditional fire and EMS activities must often occur simultaneously to successfully mitigate the threat. Although rare

Institutionalizing fire safety in making land use and development decisions

Treesearch

Marie-Annette Johnson; Marc Mullenix

1995-01-01

Because of three major wildland fires in the past 5 years along the Front Range of the Boulder County area in Colorado, current and potential residents should be told of steps that can reduce the risks of these fire hazards. The Wildfire Hazard Identification and Mitigation System (WHIMS) is used by the county and city to assist in the identification and mitigation of...

Cyber Friendly Fire: Research Challenges for Security Informatics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Greitzer, Frank L.; Carroll, Thomas E.; Roberts, Adam D.

This paper addresses cognitive implications and research needs surrounding the problem of cyber friendly fire (FF). We define cyber FF as intentional offensive or defensive cyber/electronic actions intended to protect cyber systems against enemy forces or to attack enemy cyber systems, which unintention-ally harms the mission effectiveness of friendly or neutral forces. Just as with combat friendly fire, maintaining situation awareness (SA) is paramount to avoiding cyber FF incidents. Cyber SA concerns knowledge of a system’s topology (connectedness and relationships of the nodes in a system), and critical knowledge elements such as the characteristics and vulnerabilities of the components thatmore » comprise the system and its nodes, the nature of the activities or work performed, and the available defensive and offensive countermeasures that may be applied to thwart network attacks. Mitigation strategies to combat cyber FF— including both training concepts and suggestions for decision aids and visualization approaches—are discussed.« less

Prediction and Mitigation of the Effects of Catastrophic Fire on Water Supplies: Science for Risk Reduction and Planning for Future Scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, D. A.; Tindall, J.

2008-12-01

Precipitation falling on forests and grasslands provides much of the water to communities across the United States. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that over 3,400 communities are served by water draining land under its jurisdiction alone. Much of this land is subject to wildland fires, which have been increasing in size and severity in the western United States in response to climatic forcing and increased ignitions from human sources. Runoff from burned landscapes can present a significant risk to municipal and agricultural water supplies from ash, sediment, contaminants from burned structures, and fire-fighting chemicals. Several municipalities, including Denver, Colorado, have experienced both short-term and long-term degradation of their water supplies in the aftermath of fires in watersheds upstream from drinking water reservoirs. Scientific efforts to predict and mitigate the effects of catastrophic fire on water supplies have focused on three areas. The first consists of data collection and carefully designed experiments to understand the change of the hydrologic behavior of burned watersheds in response to rain with different intensities, durations, and trajectories as the watersheds recover. Results from these studies are used to validate models that predict watershed response under different initial conditions constrained by remotely-sensed burn severity, topography, rainfall-intensity recurrence probabilities and other factors. These predictions are the basis for rehabilitation measures applied to the landscape to minimize post-fire runoff and erosion. Efforts are under way to incorporate the chemical effects of ash and fire-fighting compounds in decision-support tools. A second area of scientific focus is the characterization of the chemical and physical properties of ash from wildland fire, including ash from structures consumed by fire. The ash chemistry is correlated to remotely- sensed data, type of vegetation that burned, and the underlying geology. Ash affects the hydraulic properties and behavior of soils in burned watersheds while it still mantles the hillslopes, but it is easily delivered to water bodies by rain and wind as a flush of material that affects water chemistry and properties like turbidity and temperature. A third thrust is to identify watersheds that are critical to the function of municipal water supplies and infrastructure to determine their vulnerability to fire and post-fire effects. This information can be used to prioritize areas for fuel treatments or land management practices to minimize the probability of high severity fire and hence the effects of post-fire runoff. Scientific studies are providing crucial information about such topics as changes in soil erodibility, infiltration and runoff after fire, and the effects of vegetation recovery. Even in watersheds where land management actions are limited by topography or land use designation, such as wilderness areas, knowledge of the potential response of burned areas allows water providers to develop rapid-response and long-term plans based on scientific data and tools. Some climate change models are predicting hotter, drier temperatures in certain areas of the United States and a higher probability of larger, more severe wildfires. These predictions have a direct bearing on the potential risk of impairment of water supplies by post-fire runoff and erosion. In an era when water availability and quality are of utmost importance, careful scientific studies focused on the effects of wildland fire on water supplies will continue to inform public policy and decision making on topics of vulnerability and risk reduction.

FireHose Streaming Benchmarks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karl Anderson, Steve Plimpton

2015-01-27

The FireHose Streaming Benchmarks are a suite of stream-processing benchmarks defined to enable comparison of streaming software and hardware, both quantitatively vis-a-vis the rate at which they can process data, and qualitatively by judging the effort involved to implement and run the benchmarks. Each benchmark has two parts. The first is a generator which produces and outputs datums at a high rate in a specific format. The second is an analytic which reads the stream of datums and is required to perform a well-defined calculation on the collection of datums, typically to find anomalous datums that have been created inmore » the stream by the generator. The FireHose suite provides code for the generators, sample code for the analytics (which users are free to re-implement in their own custom frameworks), and a precise definition of each benchmark calculation.« less

Development of a Test Protocol for Spacecraft Post-Fire Atmospheric Cleanup and Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zuniga, David; Hornung, Steven D.; Haas, Jon P.; Graf, John C.

2009-01-01

Detecting and extinguishing fires, along with post-fire atmospheric cleaning and monitoring, are vital components of a spacecraft fire response system. Preliminary efforts focused on the technology evaluation of these systems under realistic conditions are described in this paper. While the primary objective of testing is to determine a smoke mitigation filter s performance, supplemental evaluations measuring the smoke-filled chamber handheld commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) atmospheric monitoring devices (combustion product monitors) are also conducted. The test chamber consists of a 1.4 cubic meter (50 cu. ft.) volume containing a smoke generator. The fuel used to generate the smoke is a mixture of polymers in quantities representative of materials involved in a circuit board fire as a typical spacecraft fire. Two fire conditions were examined: no flame and flame. No flame events are produced by pyrolyzing the fuel mixture in a quartz tube furnace with forced ventilation to produce a white, lingering-type smoke. Flame events ignite the smoke at the outlet of the tube furnace producing combustion characterized by a less opaque smoke with black soot. Electrochemical sensor measurements showed carbon monoxide is a major indicator of each fire. Acid gas measurements were recorded, but cross interferents are currently uncharacterized. Electrochemical sensor measurements and sample acquisition techniques from photoacoustic sensors are being improved. Overall, this research shows fire characterization using traditional analytical chemistry techniques is required to verify measurements recorded using COTS atmospheric monitoring devices.

Fire service and first responder thermal imaging camera (TIC) advances and standards

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konsin, Lawrence S.; Nixdorff, Stuart

2007-04-01

Fire Service and First Responder Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) applications are growing, saving lives and preventing injury and property damage. Firefighters face a wide range of serious hazards. TICs help mitigate the risks by protecting Firefighters and preventing injury, while reducing time spent fighting the fire and resources needed to do so. Most fire safety equipment is covered by performance standards. Fire TICs, however, are not covered by such standards and are also subject to inadequate operational performance and insufficient user training. Meanwhile, advancements in Fire TICs and lower costs are driving product demand. The need for a Fire TIC Standard was spurred in late 2004 through a Government sponsored Workshop where experts from the First Responder community, component manufacturers, firefighter training, and those doing research on TICs discussed strategies, technologies, procedures, best practices and R&D that could improve Fire TICs. The workshop identified pressing image quality, performance metrics, and standards issues. Durability and ruggedness metrics and standard testing methods were also seen as important, as was TIC training and certification of end-users. A progress report on several efforts in these areas and their impact on the IR sensor industry will be given. This paper is a follow up to the SPIE Orlando 2004 paper on Fire TIC usage (entitled Emergency Responders' Critical Infrared) which explored the technological development of this IR industry segment from the viewpoint of the end user, in light of the studies and reports that had established TICs as a mission critical tool for firefighters.

Non-supervised method for early forest fire detection and rapid mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artés, Tomás; Boca, Roberto; Liberta, Giorgio; San-Miguel, Jesús

2017-09-01

Natural hazards are a challenge for the society. Scientific community efforts have been severely increased assessing tasks about prevention and damage mitigation. The most important points to minimize natural hazard damages are monitoring and prevention. This work focuses particularly on forest fires. This phenomenon depends on small-scale factors and fire behavior is strongly related to the local weather. Forest fire spread forecast is a complex task because of the scale of the phenomena, the input data uncertainty and time constraints in forest fire monitoring. Forest fire simulators have been improved, including some calibration techniques avoiding data uncertainty and taking into account complex factors as the atmosphere. Such techniques increase dramatically the computational cost in a context where the available time to provide a forecast is a hard constraint. Furthermore, an early mapping of the fire becomes crucial to assess it. In this work, a non-supervised method for forest fire early detection and mapping is proposed. As main sources, the method uses daily thermal anomalies from MODIS and VIIRS combined with land cover map to identify and monitor forest fires with very few resources. This method relies on a clustering technique (DBSCAN algorithm) and on filtering thermal anomalies to detect the forest fires. In addition, a concave hull (alpha shape algorithm) is applied to obtain rapid mapping of the fire area (very coarse accuracy mapping). Therefore, the method leads to a potential use for high-resolution forest fire rapid mapping based on satellite imagery using the extent of each early fire detection. It shows the way to an automatic rapid mapping of the fire at high resolution processing as few data as possible.

Assessment of boreal forest historical C dynamics in the Yukon River Basin: relative roles of warming and fire regime change.

PubMed

Yuan, F M; Yi, S H; McGuire, A D; Johnson, K D; Liang, J; Harden, J W; Kasischke, E S; Kurz, W A

2012-12-01

Carbon (C) dynamics of boreal forest ecosystems have substantial implications for efforts to mitigate the rise of atmospheric CO2 and may be substantially influenced by warming and changing wildfire regimes. In this study we applied a large-scale ecosystem model that included dynamics of organic soil horizons and soil organic matter characteristics of multiple pools to assess forest C stock changes of the Yukon River Basin (YRB) in Alaska, USA, and Canada from 1960 through 2006, a period characterized by substantial climate warming and increases in wildfire. The model was calibrated for major forests with data from long-term research sites and evaluated using a forest inventory database. The regional assessment indicates that forest vegetation C storage increased by 46 Tg C, but that total soil C storage did not change appreciably during this period. However, further analysis suggests that C has been continuously lost from the mineral soil horizon since warming began in the 1970s, but has increased in the amorphous organic soil horizon. Based on a factorial experiment, soil C stocks would have increased by 158 Tg C if the YRB had not undergone warming and changes in fire regime. The analysis also identified that warming and changes in fire regime were approximately equivalent in their effects on soil C storage, and interactions between these two suggests that the loss of organic horizon thickness associated with increases in wildfire made deeper soil C stocks more vulnerable to loss via decomposition. Subbasin analyses indicate that C stock changes were primarily sensitive to the fraction of burned forest area within each subbasin and that boreal forest ecosystems in the YRB are currently transitioning from being sinks to sources at -0.7% annual area burned. We conclude that it is important for international mitigation efforts focused on controlling atmospheric CO2 to consider how climate warming and changes in fire regime may concurrently affect the CO2 sink strength of boreal forests. It is also important for large-scale biogeochemical and earth system models to include organic soil dynamics in applications to assess regional C dynamics of boreal forests responding to warming and changes in fire regime.

Assessment of boreal forest historical C dynamics in Yukon River Basin: relative roles of warming and fire regime change

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yuan, Fengming; Yi, Shuhua; McGuire, A. David

2012-01-01

Carbon (C) dynamics of boreal forest ecosystems have substantial implications for efforts to mitigate the rise of atmospheric CO2 and may be substantially influenced by warming and changing wildfire regimes. In this study we applied a large-scale ecosystem model that included dynamics of organic soil horizons and soil organic matter characteristics of multiple pools to assess forest C stock changes of the Yukon River Basin (YRB) in Alaska, USA, and Canada from 1960 through 2006, a period characterized by substantial climate warming and increases in wildfire. The model was calibrated for major forests with data from long-term research sites andmore » evaluated using a forest inventory database. The regional assessment indicates that forest vegetation C storage increased by 46 Tg C, but that total soil C storage did not change appreciably during this period. However, further analysis suggests that C has been continuously lost from the mineral soil horizon since warming began in the 1970s, but has increased in the amorphous organic soil horizon. Based on a factorial experiment, soil C stocks would have increased by 158 Tg C if the YRB had not undergone warming and changes in fire regime. The analysis also identified that warming and changes in fire regime were approximately equivalent in their effects on soil C storage, and interactions between these two suggests that the loss of organic horizon thickness associated with increases in wildfire made deeper soil C stocks more vulnerable to loss via decomposition. Subbasin analyses indicate that C stock changes were primarily sensitive to the fraction of burned forest area within each subbasin and that boreal forest ecosystems in the YRB are currently transitioning from being sinks to sources at ;0.7% annual area burned. We conclude that it is important for international mitigation efforts focused on controlling atmospheric CO2 to consider how climate warming and changes in fire regime may concurrently affect the CO2 sink strength of boreal forests. It is also important for large-scale biogeochemical and earth system models to include organic soil dynamics in applications to assess regional C dynamics of boreal forests responding to warming and changes in fire regime.« less

Assessment of boreal forest historical C dynamics in the Yukon River Basin: relative roles of warming and fire regime change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yuan, F.M.; Yi, S.H.; McGuire, A.D.; Johnson, K.D.; Liang, J.; Harden, J.W.; Kasischke, E.S.; Kurz, W.A.

2012-01-01

Carbon (C) dynamics of boreal forest ecosystems have substantial implications for efforts to mitigate the rise of atmospheric CO2 and may be substantially influenced by warming and changing wildfire regimes. In this study we applied a large-scale ecosystem model that included dynamics of organic soil horizons and soil organic matter characteristics of multiple pools to assess forest C stock changes of the Yukon River Basin (YRB) in Alaska, USA, and Canada from 1960 through 2006, a period characterized by substantial climate warming and increases in wildfire. The model was calibrated for major forests with data from long-term research sites and evaluated using a forest inventory database. The regional assessment indicates that forest vegetation C storage increased by 46 Tg C, but that total soil C storage did not change appreciably during this period. However, further analysis suggests that C has been continuously lost from the mineral soil horizon since warming began in the 1970s, but has increased in the amorphous organic soil horizon. Based on a factorial experiment, soil C stocks would have increased by 158 Tg C if the YRB had not undergone warming and changes in fire regime. The analysis also identified that warming and changes in fire regime were approximately equivalent in their effects on soil C storage, and interactions between these two suggests that the loss of organic horizon thickness associated with increases in wildfire made deeper soil C stocks more vulnerable to loss via decomposition. Subbasin analyses indicate that C stock changes were primarily sensitive to the fraction of burned forest area within each subbasin and that boreal forest ecosystems in the YRB are currently transitioning from being sinks to sources at ∼0.7% annual area burned. We conclude that it is important for international mitigation efforts focused on controlling atmospheric CO2 to consider how climate warming and changes in fire regime may concurrently affect the CO2 sink strength of boreal forests. It is also important for large-scale biogeochemical and earth system models to include organic soil dynamics in applications to assess regional C dynamics of boreal forests responding to warming and changes in fire regime.

Consequences of Fire: The Killing Fumes

MedlinePlus

... Electric Vehicles Fire Fighter Safety and Response for Solar Power Systems Fire Fighting Tactics Under Wind Driven ... Protection Devices Development of Fire Mitigations Solutions for PV Systems Installed on Building Roofs - Phase 1 Electric/ ...

Quantifying soil burn severity for hydrologic modeling to assess post-fire effects on sediment delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobre, Mariana; Brooks, Erin; Lew, Roger; Kolden, Crystal; Quinn, Dylan; Elliot, William; Robichaud, Pete

2017-04-01

Soil erosion is a secondary fire effect with great implications for many ecosystem resources. Depending on the burn severity, topography, and the weather immediately after the fire, soil erosion can impact municipal water supplies, degrade water quality, and reduce reservoirs' storage capacity. Scientists and managers use field and remotely sensed data to quickly assess post-fire burn severity in ecologically-sensitive areas. From these assessments, mitigation activities are implemented to minimize post-fire flood and soil erosion and to facilitate post-fire vegetation recovery. Alternatively, land managers can use fire behavior and spread models (e.g. FlamMap, FARSITE, FOFEM, or CONSUME) to identify sensitive areas a priori, and apply strategies such as fuel reduction treatments to proactively minimize the risk of wildfire spread and increased burn severity. There is a growing interest in linking fire behavior and spread models with hydrology-based soil erosion models to provide site-specific assessment of mitigation treatments on post-fire runoff and erosion. The challenge remains, however, that many burn severity mapping and modeling products quantify vegetation loss rather than measuring soil burn severity. Wildfire burn severity is spatially heterogeneous and depends on the pre-fire vegetation cover, fuel load, topography, and weather. Severities also differ depending on the variable of interest (e.g. soil, vegetation). In the United States, Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC) maps, derived from Landsat satellite images, are used as an initial burn severity assessment. BARC maps are classified from either a Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) or differenced Normalized Burned Ratio (dNBR) scene into four classes (Unburned, Low, Moderate, and High severity). The development of soil burn severity maps requires further manual field validation efforts to transform the BARC maps into a product more applicable for post-fire soil rehabilitation activities. Alternative spectral indices and modeled output approaches may prove better predictors of soil burn severity and hydrologic effects, but these have not yet been assessed in a model framework. In this project we compare field-verified soil burn severity maps to satellite-derived and modeled burn severity maps. We quantify the extent to which there are systematic differences in these mapping products. We then use the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) hydrologic soil erosion model to assess sediment delivery from these fires using the predicted and observed soil burn severity maps. Finally, we discuss differences in observed and predicted soil burn severity maps and application to watersheds in the Pacific Northwest to estimate post-fire sediment delivery.

Upper Stage Tank Thermodynamic Modeling Using SINDA/FLUINT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schallhorn, Paul; Campbell, D. Michael; Chase, Sukhdeep; Piquero, Jorge; Fortenberry, Cindy; Li, Xiaoyi; Grob, Lisa

2006-01-01

Modeling to predict the condition of cryogenic propellants in an upper stage of a launch vehicle is necessary for mission planning and successful execution. Traditionally, this effort was performed using custom, in-house proprietary codes, limiting accessibility and application. Phenomena responsible for influencing the thermodynamic state of the propellant have been characterized as distinct events whose sequence defines a mission. These events include thermal stratification, passive thermal control roll (rotation), slosh, and engine firing. This paper demonstrates the use of an off the shelf, commercially available, thermal/fluid-network code to predict the thermodynamic state of propellant during the coast phase between engine firings, i.e. the first three of the above identified events. Results of this effort will also be presented.

Satellite data based method for general survey of forest insect disturbance in British Columbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranson, J.; Montesano, P.

2008-12-01

Regional forest disturbances caused by insects are important to monitor and quantify because of their influence on local ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. Local damage to forest trees disrupts food supplies and shelter for a variety of organisms. Changes in the global carbon budget, its sources and its sinks affect the way the earth functions as a whole, and has an impact on global climate. Furthermore, the ability to detect nascent outbreaks and monitor the spread of regional infestations helps managers mitigate the damage done by catastrophic insect outbreaks. While detection is needed at a fine scale to support local mitigation efforts, detection at a broad regional scale is important for carbon flux modeling on the landscape scale, and needed to direct the local efforts. This paper presents a method for routinely detecting insect damage to coniferous forests using MODIS vegetation indices, thermal anomalies and land cover. The technique is validated using insect outbreak maps and accounts for fire disturbance effects. The range of damage detected may be used to interpret and quantify possible forest damage by insects.

Detection and Characterization of Low Temperature Peat Fires during the 2015 Fire Catastrophe in Indonesia Using a New High-Sensitivity Fire Monitoring Satellite Sensor (FireBird)

PubMed Central

Atwood, Elizabeth C.; Englhart, Sandra; Lorenz, Eckehard; Halle, Winfried; Wiedemann, Werner; Siegert, Florian

2016-01-01

Vast and disastrous fires occurred on Borneo during the 2015 dry season, pushing Indonesia into the top five carbon emitting countries. The region was affected by a very strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomenon, on par with the last severe event in 1997/98. Fire dynamics in Central Kalimantan were investigated using an innovative sensor offering higher sensitivity to a wider range of fire intensities at a finer spatial resolution (160 m) than heretofore available. The sensor is onboard the TET-1 satellite, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) FireBird mission. TET-1 images (acquired every 2–3 days) from the middle infrared were used to detect fires continuously burning for almost three weeks in the protected peatlands of Sebangau National Park as well as surrounding areas with active logging and oil palm concessions. TET-1 detection capabilities were compared with MODIS active fire detection and Landsat burned area algorithms. Fire dynamics, including fire front propagation speed and area burned, were investigated. We show that TET-1 has improved detection capabilities over MODIS in monitoring low-intensity peatland fire fronts through thick smoke and haze. Analysis of fire dynamics revealed that the largest burned areas resulted from fire front lines started from multiple locations, and the highest propagation speeds were in excess of 500 m/day (all over peat > 2m deep). Fires were found to occur most often in concessions that contained drainage infrastructure but were not cleared prior to the fire season. Benefits of implementing this sensor system to improve current fire management techniques are discussed. Near real-time fire detection together with enhanced fire behavior monitoring capabilities would not only improve firefighting efforts, but also benefit analysis of fire impact on tropical peatlands, greenhouse gas emission estimations as well as mitigation measures to reduce severe fire events in the future. PMID:27486664

Detection and Characterization of Low Temperature Peat Fires during the 2015 Fire Catastrophe in Indonesia Using a New High-Sensitivity Fire Monitoring Satellite Sensor (FireBird).

PubMed

Atwood, Elizabeth C; Englhart, Sandra; Lorenz, Eckehard; Halle, Winfried; Wiedemann, Werner; Siegert, Florian

2016-01-01

Vast and disastrous fires occurred on Borneo during the 2015 dry season, pushing Indonesia into the top five carbon emitting countries. The region was affected by a very strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate phenomenon, on par with the last severe event in 1997/98. Fire dynamics in Central Kalimantan were investigated using an innovative sensor offering higher sensitivity to a wider range of fire intensities at a finer spatial resolution (160 m) than heretofore available. The sensor is onboard the TET-1 satellite, part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) FireBird mission. TET-1 images (acquired every 2-3 days) from the middle infrared were used to detect fires continuously burning for almost three weeks in the protected peatlands of Sebangau National Park as well as surrounding areas with active logging and oil palm concessions. TET-1 detection capabilities were compared with MODIS active fire detection and Landsat burned area algorithms. Fire dynamics, including fire front propagation speed and area burned, were investigated. We show that TET-1 has improved detection capabilities over MODIS in monitoring low-intensity peatland fire fronts through thick smoke and haze. Analysis of fire dynamics revealed that the largest burned areas resulted from fire front lines started from multiple locations, and the highest propagation speeds were in excess of 500 m/day (all over peat > 2m deep). Fires were found to occur most often in concessions that contained drainage infrastructure but were not cleared prior to the fire season. Benefits of implementing this sensor system to improve current fire management techniques are discussed. Near real-time fire detection together with enhanced fire behavior monitoring capabilities would not only improve firefighting efforts, but also benefit analysis of fire impact on tropical peatlands, greenhouse gas emission estimations as well as mitigation measures to reduce severe fire events in the future.

Optimization of carbon mitigation paths in the power sector of Shenzhen, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xin; Hu, Guangxiao; Duan, Ying; Ji, Junping

2017-08-01

This paper studied the carbon mitigation paths of the power sector in Shenzhen, China from a supply-side perspective. We investigated the carbon mitigation potentials and investments of seventeen mitigation technologies in the power sector, and employed a linear programming method to optimize the mitigation paths. The results show that: 1) The total carbon mitigation potential is 5.95 MtCO2 in 2020 in which the adjustment of power supply structure, technical improvements of existing coal- and gas-fired power plant account for 87.5%,6.5% and 6.0%, respectively. 2) In the optimal path, the avoided carbon dioxide to meet the local government’s mitigation goal in power sector is 1.26 MtCO2.The adjustment of power supply structure and technical improvement of the coal-fired power plants are the driving factors of carbon mitigation, with contributions to total carbon mitigation are 72.6% and 27.4%, respectively.

Fire management, managed relocation, and land conservation options for long-lived obligate seeding plants under global changes in climate, urbanization, and fire regime.

PubMed

Bonebrake, Timothy C; Syphard, Alexandra D; Franklin, Janet; Anderson, Kurt E; Akçakaya, H Resit; Mizerek, Toni; Winchell, Clark; Regan, Helen M

2014-08-01

Most species face multiple anthropogenic disruptions. Few studies have quantified the cumulative influence of multiple threats on species of conservation concern, and far fewer have quantified the potential relative value of multiple conservation interventions in light of these threats. We linked spatial distribution and population viability models to explore conservation interventions under projected climate change, urbanization, and changes in fire regime on a long-lived obligate seeding plant species sensitive to high fire frequencies, a dominant plant functional type in many fire-prone ecosystems, including the biodiversity hotspots of Mediterranean-type ecosystems. First, we investigated the relative risk of population decline for plant populations in landscapes with and without land protection under an existing habitat conservation plan. Second, we modeled the effectiveness of relocating both seedlings and seeds from a large patch with predicted declines in habitat area to 2 unoccupied recipient patches with increasing habitat area under 2 projected climate change scenarios. Finally, we modeled 8 fire return intervals (FRIs) approximating the outcomes of different management strategies that effectively control fire frequency. Invariably, long-lived obligate seeding populations remained viable only when FRIs were maintained at or above a minimum level. Land conservation and seedling relocation efforts lessened the impact of climate change and land-use change on obligate seeding populations to differing degrees depending on the climate change scenario, but neither of these efforts was as generally effective as frequent translocation of seeds. While none of the modeled strategies fully compensated for the effects of land-use and climate change, an integrative approach managing multiple threats may diminish population declines for species in complex landscapes. Conservation plans designed to mitigate the impacts of a single threat are likely to fail if additional threats are ignored. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Public engagement in neighbourhood level wildfire mitigation and preparedness: case studies from Canada, the US and Australia.

PubMed

McGee, T K

2011-10-01

This study examined neighbourhood level wildfire mitigation programs being implemented in neighbourhoods in Canada (FireSmart-ForestWise), Australia (Community Fireguard) and the US (Firewise Communities). Semi-structured interviews were completed with 19 residents participating in the programs. A wide range of activities were completed as part of the three programs. Despite differences between the three programs, participants appeared to participate in the programs for three main reasons: Fire experience, agency involvement, and personal and family protection. A fire therefore provides a window of opportunity to engage residents in neighbourhood level wildfire mitigation programs. The neighbourhood level wildfire mitigation programs helped to reduce the wildfire risk, but also enhanced both community resilience and relationships between residents and government agencies. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling post-fire hydro-geomorphic recovery in the Waldo Canyon Fire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinoshita, Alicia; Nourbakhshbeidokhti, Samira; Chin, Anne

2016-04-01

Wildfire can have significant impacts on watershed hydrology and geomorphology by changing soil properties and removing vegetation, often increasing runoff and soil erosion and deposition, debris flows, and flooding. Watershed systems may take several years or longer to recover. During this time, post-fire channel changes have the potential to alter hydraulics that influence characteristics such as time of concentration and increase time to peak flow, flow capacity, and velocity. Using the case of the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado (USA), this research will leverage field-based surveys and terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to parameterize KINEROS2 (KINematic runoff and EROSion), an event oriented, physically-based watershed runoff and erosion model. We will use the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool, which is a GIS-based hydrologic modeling tool that uses commonly available GIS data layers to parameterize, execute, and spatially visualize runoff and sediment yield for watersheds impacted by the Waldo Canyon Fire. Specifically, two models are developed, an unburned (Bear Creek) and burned (Williams) watershed. The models will simulate burn severity and treatment conditions. Field data will be used to validate the burned watersheds for pre- and post-fire changes in infiltration, runoff, peak flow, sediment yield, and sediment discharge. Spatial modeling will provide insight into post-fire patterns for varying treatment, burn severity, and climate scenarios. Results will also provide post-fire managers with improved hydro-geomorphic modeling and prediction tools for water resources management and mitigation efforts.

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation... wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347...

Development at the wildland-urban interface and the mitigation of forest-fire risk.

PubMed

Spyratos, Vassilis; Bourgeron, Patrick S; Ghil, Michael

2007-09-04

This work addresses the impacts of development at the wildland-urban interface on forest fires that spread to human habitats. Catastrophic fires in the western United States and elsewhere make these impacts a matter of urgency for decision makers, scientists, and the general public. Using a simple fire-spread model, along with housing and vegetation data, we show that fire size probability distributions can be strongly modified by the density and flammability of houses. We highlight a sharp transition zone in the parameter space of vegetation flammability and house density. Many actual fire landscapes in the United States appear to have spreading properties close to this transition. Thus, the density and flammability of buildings should be taken into account when assessing fire risk at the wildland-urban interface. Moreover, our results highlight ways for regulation at this interface to help mitigate fire risk.

Examining the sources of public support for wildland fire policies

Treesearch

J.D. Absher; J.J. Vaske

2007-01-01

Recent severe wildfires have reinforced the need for successful mitigation strategies to be coordinated across all levels of government that address the needs and concerns of homeowners who live in the wildland/urban interface (WUI). Despite the growing body of social science literature on agency-initiated wildland fire policies and homeowner mitigation strategies,...

Living with wildfire in Telluride Fire Protection District, Colorado

Treesearch

James R. Meldrum; Lilia C. Falk; Jamie Gomez; Christopher M. Barth; Hannah Brenkert-Smith; Travis Warziniack; Patricia A. Champ

2017-01-01

Residents in the wildland-urban interface can play an important role in reducing wildfires’ negative effects by performing wildfire risk mitigation on their properties. This report offers insight into the wildfire risk mitigation activities and related considerations such as attitudes, experiences, and concern about wildfire, for residents of the Telluride Fire...

Ural-Tweed Bighorn Sheep Wildlife Mitigation Project, 1984-1990 Final Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Young, Lewis R.; Yde, Chris A.

The results of habitat improvement project activities accomplished under contract No.84-38 for bighorn sheep mitigation along Koocanusa Reservoir from September 1, 1984, through June 30, 1990, are reported here. Habitat treatments were applied to ten areas and covered 1100 acres. Treatments used were prescribed fire, slashing combined with prescribed fire, and fertilization. Several variations in season or intensity were used within the slashing and prescribed fire treatments. This project was coordinated with and complemented concurrent Kootenai National Forest habitat improvement activities.

Climate change effects on wildland fire risk in the Northeastern and Great Lakes states predicted by a downscaled multi-model ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerr, Gaige Hunter; DeGaetano, Arthur T.; Stoof, Cathelijne R.; Ward, Daniel

2018-01-01

This study is among the first to investigate wildland fire risk in the Northeastern and the Great Lakes states under a changing climate. We use a multi-model ensemble (MME) of regional climate models from the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) together with the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System (CFFWIS) to understand changes in wildland fire risk through differences between historical simulations and future projections. Our results are relatively homogeneous across the focus region and indicate modest increases in the magnitude of fire weather indices (FWIs) during northern hemisphere summer. The most pronounced changes occur in the date of the initialization of CFFWIS and peak of the wildland fire season, which in the future are trending earlier in the year, and in the significant increases in the length of high-risk episodes, defined by the number of consecutive days with FWIs above the current 95th percentile. Further analyses show that these changes are most closely linked to expected changes in the focus region's temperature and precipitation. These findings relate to the current understanding of particulate matter vis-à-vis wildfires and have implications for human health and local and regional changes in radiative forcings. When considering current fire management strategies which could be challenged by increasing wildland fire risk, fire management agencies could adapt new strategies to improve awareness, prevention, and resilience to mitigate potential impacts to critical infrastructure and population.

Web service tools in the era of forest fire management and elimination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poursanidis, Dimitris; Kochilakis, Giorgos; Chrysoulakis, Nektarios; Varella, Vasiliki; Kotroni, Vassiliki; Eftychidis, Giorgos; Lagouvardos, Kostas

2014-10-01

Wildfires in forests and forested areas in South Europe, North America, Central Asia and Australia are a diachronic threat with crucial ecological, economic and social impacts. Last decade the frequency, the magnitude and the intensity of fires have increased even more because of the climate change. An efficient response to such disasters requires an effective planning, with an early detection system of the ignition area and an accurate prediction of fire propagation to support the rapid response mechanisms. For this reason, information systems able to predict and visualize the behavior of fires, are valuable tools for fire fighting. Such systems, able also to perform simulations that evaluate the fire development scenarios, based on weather conditions, become valuable Decision Support Tools for fire mitigation planning. A Web-based Information System (WIS) developed in the framework of the FLIRE (Floods and fire risk assessment and management) project, a LIFE+ co-funded by the European Commission research, is presented in this study. The FLIRE WIS use forest fuel maps which have been developed by using generalized fuel maps, satellite data and in-situ observations. Furthermore, it leverages data from meteorological stations and weather forecast from numerical models to feed the fire propagation model with the necessary for the simulations inputs and to visualize the model's results for user defined time periods and steps. The user has real-time access to FLIRE WIS via any web browser from any platform (PC, Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone).

Tropical peatland carbon dynamics simulated for scenarios of disturbance and restoration and climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frolking, S. E.; Warren, M.; Dai, Z.; Kurnianto, S.; Hagen, S. C.

2015-12-01

Tropical peatlands contain a globally significant carbon pool. Southeast Asian peatlands are being deforested, drained and burned at very high rates, mostly for conversion to industrial oil palm or pulp and paper plantations. The climate mitigation potential of tropical peatlands has gained increasing attention in recent years as persistent greenhouse gas emissions can be avoided or decreased if peatlands remain intact or are rehabilitated. In addition, peatland conservation or rehabilitation for climate mitigation also includes multiple co-benefits such as maintenance of ecosystem services, biodiversity, and air quality from reduced fire occurrence. Inventory guidelines and methodologies have only recently become available, and are based on few data from a limited number of sites. Few heuristic tools are available to evaluate the impact of management practices on carbon dynamics in tropical peatlands, and the potential climate mitigation benefits of peatland restoration. We used a process based dynamic tropical peatland model to explore the C dynamics of several peatland management trajectories represented by hypothetical scenarios, within the context of simulated 21st century climate change. All scenarios with land use, including those with optimal restoration, simulate C loss over the 21st century, with C losses ranging from 10% to essentially 100% of pre-disturbance values. Fire, either prescribed as part of a crop rotation cycle, or stochastic occurrences in sub-optimally managed degraded land can be the dominant C-loss pathway, particularly in the drier climate scenario we tested. A single 25-year oil palm rotation, with a prescribed initial burn, lost 40-50 kg C/m2, equivalent to accumulation during the previous 500 years, 10-30% of which was restored in 75 years of optimal restoration. Our results indicate that even under the most optimistic scenario of hydrological and forest restoration and the wettest climate regime, only about one-third of the carbon lost to the atmosphere from 25 years of oil palm cultivation can be recovered within the next 75 years. In addition, peat fire suppression is the most effective management tool to maintain peatland carbon stocks, and should be a high priority for climate mitigation efforts on peatlands.

Large-Scale Spacecraft Fire Safety Tests

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, David; Ruff, Gary A.; Ferkul, Paul V.; Olson, Sandra; Fernandez-Pello, A. Carlos; T'ien, James S.; Torero, Jose L.; Cowlard, Adam J.; Rouvreau, Sebastien; Minster, Olivier;

Using high-resolution phosphorus data to investigate mitigation measures in headwater river catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, J. M.; Jordan, P.; Arnscheidt, J.

2015-01-01

This study reports the use of high-resolution water quality monitoring to assess the influence of changes in land use management on total phosphorus (TP) transfers in two 5 km2 agricultural sub-catchments. Specifically, the work investigates the issue of agricultural soil P management and subsequent diffuse transfers at high river flows over a 5-year timescale. The work also investigates the phenomenon of low flow P pollution from septic tank systems (STSs) and mitigation efforts - a key concern for catchment management. Results showed an inconsistent response to soil P management over 5 years with one catchment showing a convergence to optimum P concentrations and the other an overall increase. Both catchments indicated an overall increase in P concentration in defined high flow ranges. Low flow P concentration showed little change or higher P concentrations in defined low flow ranges despite replacement of defective systems and this is possibly due to a number of confounding reasons including increased housing densities due to new-builds. The work indicates fractured responses to catchment management advice and mitigation and that the short to medium term may be an insufficient time to expect the full implementation of policies (here defined as convergence to optimum soil P concentration and mitigation of STSs) and also to gauge their effectiveness.

Using high-resolution phosphorus data to investigate mitigation measures in headwater river catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, J. M.; Jordan, P.; Arnscheidt, J.

2014-09-01

This study reports the use of high resolution water quality monitoring to assess the influence of changes in landuse management on total phosphorus (TP) transfers in two 5 km2 agricultural sub-catchments. Specifically, the work investigates the "wicked problem" of agricultural soil P management and subsequent diffuse transfers at high river flows over a five year timescale. The work also investigates the phenomenon of low flow P pollution from septic tank systems (STS) and mitigation efforts - here termed the "filthy issue" of rural catchment management. Results showed an inconsistent response to soil P management over five years with one catchment showing a convergence to optimum P concentrations and the other an overall increase. Both catchments indicated an overall increase in P concentration in defined high flow ranges. Low flow P concentration showed little change or higher P concentrations in defined low flow ranges despite replacement of defective systems and this is possibly due to a number of confounding reasons including increased housing densities due to new-builds. The work indicates fractured responses to catchment management advice and mitigation and that the short to medium term may be an insufficient time to expect the full implementation of policies (here defined as convergence to optimum soil P concentration and mitigation of STS) and also to gauge their effectiveness.

Understanding the transmission of wildfire risk on a fire prone landscape - A Case study from Central Oregon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ager, Alan; Barros, Ana; Day, Michelle; Preisler, Haiganoush; Evers, Cody

2015-04-01

We develop the idea of risk transmission from large wildfires and apply network analyses to understand its importance within the 3.2 million ha Fire-People-Forest study area in central Oregon, US. Historic wildfires within the study and elsewhere in the western US frequently burn over long distances (e.g., 20-50 km) through highly fragmented landscapes with respect to ownership, fuels, management intensity, population density, and ecological conditions. The collective arrangement of fuel loadings in concert with weather and suppression efforts ultimately determines containment and the resulting fire perimeter. While spatial interactions among land parcels in terms of fire spread and intensity have been frequently noted by fire managers, quantifying risk and exposure transmission is not well understood. In this paper we used simulation modeling to quantify wildfire transmission and built a transmission network among and within land owners and communities within the study area. The results suggested that 84% of the predicted area burned within the 25 communities in the study area was from simulated fires that ignited on federal lands. The wildland urban interface surrounding the communities was predicted to burn at a rate of 2 % per year, with 57% of the area burned from fires ignited on federal lands. The node degree for communities indicated that simulated fires originated on about 6 different landowners. Network analyses in general revealed independent variation in transmitted fire among landowners in terms of both node degree (diversity of landowners exchanging fire) and transmitted fire, indicating that both the spatial grain of land ownership and wildfire topology contribute to transmission among land parcels. We discuss how network analyses of wildfire transmission can inform fire management goals for creating fire adapted communities, conserving biodiversity, and resolving competing demands for fire-prone ecosystem services. We also discuss how biophysical fire networks can potentially be coupled with social fire networks to improve wildfire mitigation planning.

Hazard Science in Support of Community Resiliency: The Response of the Multi Hazards Demonstration Project to the 2009 Station Fire in Los Angeles County

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, L. M.; Bawden, G. W.; Bowers, J.; Cannon, S.; Cox, D. A.; Fisher, R.; Keeley, J.; Perry, S. C.; Plumlee, G. S.; Wood, N. J.

2009-12-01

The “Station” fire, the largest fire in the history of Los Angeles County in southern California, began on August 26, 2009 and as of the abstract deadline had burned over 150,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest. This fire creates both a demand and an opportunity for hazards science to be used by the communities directly hit by the fire, as well as those downstream of possible postfire impacts. The Multi Hazards Demonstration Project of the USGS is deploying several types of scientific response, including 1) evaluation of potential debris-flow hazards and associated risk, 2) monitoring physical conditions in burned areas and the hydrologic response to rainstorms, 3) increased streamflow monitoring, 4) ash analysis and ground water contamination, 5) ecosystem response and endangered species rescue, 6) lidar data acquisition for evaluations of biomass loss, detailed mapping of the physical processes that lead to debris-flow generation, and other geologic investigations. The Multi Hazards Demonstration Project is working with the southern California community to use the resulting information to better manage the social consequences of the fire and its secondary hazards. In particular, we are working with Los Angeles County to determine what information they need to prioritize recovery efforts. For instance, maps of hazards specific to debris flow potential can help identify the highest priority areas for debris flow mitigation efforts. These same maps together with ecosystem studies will help land managers determine whether individuals from endangered species should be removed to zoos or other refuges during the rainy months. The ash analysis will help water managers prevent contamination to water supplies. Plans are just beginning for a public information campaign with Los Angeles County about the risk posed by potential debris flows that should be underway in December. Activities from the fire response will support the development of the Wildfire Scenario in 2011, which will examine implications of land-use decisions in the frequency of fires in southern California.

Rapid Response Tools and Datasets for Post-fire Hydrological Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Mary Ellen; MacDonald, Lee H.; Billmire, Michael; Elliot, William J.; Robichaud, Pete R.

2016-04-01

Rapid response is critical following natural disasters. Flooding, erosion, and debris flows are a major threat to life, property and municipal water supplies after moderate and high severity wildfires. The problem is that mitigation measures must be rapidly implemented if they are to be effective, but they are expensive and cannot be applied everywhere. Fires, runoff, and erosion risks also are highly heterogeneous in space, so there is an urgent need for a rapid, spatially-explicit assessment. Past post-fire modeling efforts have usually relied on lumped, conceptual models because of the lack of readily available, spatially-explicit data layers on the key controls of topography, vegetation type, climate, and soil characteristics. The purpose of this project is to develop a set of spatially-explicit data layers for use in process-based models such as WEPP, and to make these data layers freely available. The resulting interactive online modeling database (http://geodjango.mtri.org/geowepp/) is now operational and publically available for 17 western states in the USA. After a fire, users only need to upload a soil burn severity map, and this is combined with the pre-existing data layers to generate the model inputs needed for spatially explicit models such as GeoWEPP (Renschler, 2003). The development of this online database has allowed us to predict post-fire erosion and various remediation scenarios in just 1-7 days for six fires ranging in size from 4-540 km2. These initial successes have stimulated efforts to further improve the spatial extent and amount of data, and add functionality to support the USGS debris flow model, batch processing for Disturbed WEPP (Elliot et al., 2004) and ERMiT (Robichaud et al., 2007), and to support erosion modeling for other land uses, such as agriculture or mining. The design and techniques used to create the database and the modeling interface are readily repeatable for any area or country that has the necessary topography, climate, soil, and land cover datasets.

Estimation of wildfire size and risk changes due to fuels treatments

Treesearch

M. A. Cochrane; C. J. Moran; M. C. Wimberly; A. D. Baer; M. A. Finney; K. L. Beckendorf; J. Eidenshink; Z. Zhu

2012-01-01

Human land use practices, altered climates, and shifting forest and fire management policies have increased the frequency of large wildfires several-fold. Mitigation of potential fire behaviour and fire severity have increasingly been attempted through pre-fire alteration of wildland fuels using mechanical treatments and prescribed fires. Despite annual treatment of...

Short- and long-term effects of fire on carbon in US dry temperate forest systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hurteau, Matthew D.; Brooks, Matthew L.

2011-01-01

Forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and in so doing can mitigate the effects of climate change. Fire is a natural disturbance process in many forest systems that releases carbon back to the atmosphere. In dry temperate forests, fires historically burned with greater frequency and lower severity than they do today. Frequent fires consumed fuels on the forest floor and maintained open stand structures. Fire suppression has resulted in increased understory fuel loads and tree density; a change in structure that has caused a shift from low- to high-severity fires. More severe fires, resulting in greater tree mortality, have caused a decrease in forest carbon stability. Fire management actions can mitigate the risk of high-severity fires, but these actions often require a trade-off between maximizing carbon stocks and carbon stability. We discuss the effects of fire on forest carbon stocks and recommend that managing forests on the basis of their specific ecologies should be the foremost goal, with carbon sequestration being an ancillary benefit. ?? 2011 by American Institute of Biological Sciences. All rights reserved.

Quantitative Risk Modeling of Fire on the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Castillo, Theresa; Haught, Megan

2014-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) Program has worked to prevent fire events and to mitigate their impacts should they occur. Hardware is designed to reduce sources of ignition, oxygen systems are designed to control leaking, flammable materials are prevented from flying to ISS whenever possible, the crew is trained in fire response, and fire response equipment improvements are sought out and funded. Fire prevention and mitigation are a top ISS Program priority - however, programmatic resources are limited; thus, risk trades are made to ensure an adequate level of safety is maintained onboard the ISS. In support of these risk trades, the ISS Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) team has modeled the likelihood of fire occurring in the ISS pressurized cabin, a phenomenological event that has never before been probabilistically modeled in a microgravity environment. This paper will discuss the genesis of the ISS PRA fire model, its enhancement in collaboration with fire experts, and the results which have informed ISS programmatic decisions and will continue to be used throughout the life of the program.

Assessing mitigation of wildfire severity by fuel treatments - An example from the coastal plain of Mississippi

Treesearch

Erik J. Martinson; Philip N. Omi

2006-01-01

Fuel treatments such as prescribed fire are a controversial tenet of wildfire management. Despite a well-established theoretical basis for their use, scant empirical evidence currently exists on fuel treatment effectiveness for mitigating the behavior and effects of extreme wildfire events. We report the results of a fire severity evaluation of an escaped prescribed...

Outreach programs, peer pressure, and common sense: What motivates homeowners to mitigate wildfire risk?

Treesearch

Sarah M. McCaffrey; Melanie Stidham; Eric Toman; Bruce Shindler

2011-01-01

In recent years, altered forest conditions, climate change, and the increasing numbers of homes built in fire prone areas has meant that wildfires are affecting more people. An important part of minimizing the potential negative impacts of wildfire is engaging homeowners in mitigating the fire hazard on their land. It is therefore important to understand what makes...

Assessing impacts of fire and post-fire mitigation on runoff and erosion from rangelands

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wildfires are a natural component of rangeland ecosystems, but fires can pose hydrologic hazards for ecological resources, infrastructure, property, and human life. There has been considerable research conducted on the effects of fire on hydrologic processes and erosion on shrublands and woodlands....

Public perspectives on the "wildfire problem."

Treesearch

Antony S. Cheng; Dennis R. Becker

2005-01-01

Just as wildland fire managers must have a working knowledge of fire behavior, they must also understand the social dimensions of wildland fire in order to effectively engage the public.Social scientists are therefore gathering information about public attitudes toward wildland fire and wildfire mitigation. How do people see the "wildfire problem"? What...

A multi-scale conceptual model of fire and disease interactions in North American forests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varner, J. M.; Kreye, J. K.; Sherriff, R.; Metz, M.

2013-12-01

One aspect of global change with increasing attention is the interactions between irruptive pests and diseases and wildland fire behavior and effects. These pests and diseases affect fire behavior and effects in spatially and temporally complex ways. Models of fire and pathogen interactions have been constructed for individual pests or diseases, but to date, no synthesis of this complexity has been attempted. Here we synthesize North American fire-pathogen interactions into syndromes with similarities in spatial extent and temporal duration. We base our models on fire interactions with three examples: sudden oak death (caused by the pathogen Phytopthora ramorum) and the native tree tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus); mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) and western Pinus spp.; and hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) on Tsuga spp. We evaluate each across spatial (severity of attack from branch to landscape scale) and temporal scales (from attack to decades after) and link each change to its coincident effects on fuels and potential fire behavior. These syndromes differ in their spatial and temporal severity, differentially affecting windows of increased or decreased community flammability. We evaluate these models with two examples: the recently emergent ambrosia beetle-vectored laurel wilt (caused by the pathogen Raffaelea lauricola) in native members of the Lauraceae and the early 20th century chestnut blight (caused by the pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica) that led to the decline of American chestnut (Castanea dentata). Some changes (e.g., reduced foliar moisture content) have short-term consequences for potential fire behavior while others (functional extirpation) have more complex indirect effects on community flammability. As non-native emergent diseases and pests continue, synthetic models that aid in prediction of fire behavior and effects will enable the research and management community to prioritize mitigation efforts to realized effects.

Mission analysis report for single-shell tank leakage mitigation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cruse, J.M.

1994-09-01

This document provides an analysis of the leakage mitigation mission applicable to past and potential future leakage from the Hanford Site`s 149 single-shell high-level waste tanks. This mission is a part of the overall missions of the Westinghouse Hanford Company Tank Waste Remediation System division to remediate the tank waste in a safe and acceptable manner. Systems engineers principles are being applied to this effort. Mission analysis supports early decision making by clearly defining program objectives. This documents identifies the initial conditions and acceptable final conditions, defines the programmatic and physical interfaces and constraints, estimates the resources to carry outmore » the mission, and establishes measures of success. The results of the mission analysis provide a consistent basis for subsequent systems engineering work.« less

Post-fire mulching for runoff and erosion mitigation; Part I: Effectiveness at reducing hillslope erosion rates

Treesearch

Peter R. Robichaud; Sarah A. Lewis; Joseph W. Wagenbrenner; Louise E. Ashmun; Robert E. Brown

2013-01-01

Mulch treatments often are used to mitigate post-fire increases in runoff and erosion rates but the comparative effectiveness of various mulches is not well established. The ability of mulch treatments to reduce sediment yields from natural rainfall and resulting overland flow was measured using hillslope plots on areas burned at high severity following four wildfires...

Goals, obstacles and effective strategies of wildfire mitigation programs in the Wildland-Urban Interface

Treesearch

Margaret A. Reams; Terry K. Haines; Cheryl R. Renner; Michael W. Wascom; Harish Kingre

2005-01-01

The dramatic expansion into the Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) places property, natural assets, and human life at risk from wildfire destruction. The U.S. National Fire Plan encourages communities to implement laws and outreach programs for pre-fire planning to mitigate the risk to area residents. Starting in 2003, we surveyed the administrators of regulatory and...

Measuring and building resilience after big storms: Lessons learned from Super-Storm Sandy for the Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Maria coasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murdoch, P. S.; Penn, K. M.; Taylor, S. M.; Subramanian, B.; Bennett, R.

2017-12-01

As we recover from recent large storms, we need information to support increased environmental and socio-economic resilience of the Nation's coasts. Defining baseline conditions, tracking effects of mitigation actions, and measuring the uncertainty of resilience to future disturbance are essential so that the best management practices can be determined. The US Dept. of the Interior invested over $787 million dollars in 2013 to understand and mitigate coastal storm vulnerabilities and enhance resilience of the Northeast coast following Super-Storm Sandy. Several lessons-learned from that investment have direct application to mitigation and restoration needs following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria. New models of inundation, overwash, and erosion, developed during the Sandy projects have already been applied to coastlines before and after these recent storms. Results from wetland, beach, back-bay, estuary, and built-environment projects improved models of inundation and erosion from surge and waves. Tests of nature-based infrastructure for mitigating coastal disturbance yielded new concepts for best-practices. Ecological and socio-economic measurements established for detecting disturbance and tracking recovery provide baseline data critical to early detection of vulnerabilities. The Sandy lessons and preliminary applications on the recent storms could help define best-resilience practices before more costly mitigation or restoration efforts are required.

Effectiveness of protected areas in mitigating fire within their boundaries: case study of Chiapas, Mexico.

PubMed

Román-Cuesta, María Rosa; Martínez-Vilalta, Jordi

2006-08-01

Since the severe 1982-1983 El Niño drought, recurrent burning has been reported inside tropical protected areas (TPAs). Despite the key role of fire in habitat degradation, little is known about the effectiveness of TPAs in mitigating fire incidence and burned areas. We used a GPS fire database (1995-2005) (n=3590 forest fires) obtained from the National Forest Commission to compare fire incidence (number of fires) and burned areas inside TPAs and their surrounding adjacent buffer areas in Southern Mexico (Chiapas). Burned areas inside parks ranged from 2% (Palenque) to 45% (Lagunas de Montebello) of a park's area, and the amount burned was influenced by two severe El Niño events (1998 and 2003). These two years together resulted in 67% and 46% of the total area burned in TPAs and buffers, respectively during the period under analysis. Larger burned areas in TPAs than in their buffers were exclusively related to the extent of natural habitats (flammable area excluding agrarian and pasture lands). Higher fuel loads together with access and extinction difficulties were likely behind this trend. A higher incidence of fire in TPAs than in their buffers was exclusively related to anthropogenic factors such as higher road densities and agrarian extensions. Our results suggest that TPAs are failing to mitigate fire impacts, with both fire incidence and total burned areas being significantly higher in the reserves than in adjacent buffer areas. Management plans should consider those factors that facilitate fires in TPAs: anthropogenic origin of fires, sensitivity of TPAs to El Niñio-droughts, large fuel loads and fuel continuity inside parks, and limited financial resources. Consideration of these factors favors lines of action such as alternatives to the use of fire (e.g., mucuna-maize system), climatic prediction to follow the evolution of El Niño, fuel management strategies that favor extinction practices, and the strengthening of local communities and ecotourism.

Szendro - type Integrated Vegetation Fire Management--Wildfire Management Program from Hungary

Treesearch

Ágoston Restás

2006-01-01

Szendrő Fire Department is located in the northeastern part of Hungary. The main task is to fight against wildfire and mitigate the impact of fire at the Aggtelek National Park -- which belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage list. Because of greater effectiveness, in 2004 the Fire Department started a project named Integrated Vegetation Fire Management (IVFM)....

Common Infrastructure for Neo Scientific and Planetary Defense Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Robert; Wilks, Rodney

2009-01-01

While defending the Earth against collisions with asteroids and comets has garnered increasing attention over the past few decades, our knowledge of the threats and methods of mitigation remain inadequate. There exists a considerable gap in knowledge regarding the size, composition, location, internal structure and formation of near earth asteroids and comets. Although estimates have been made, critical experiments have not yet been conducted on the effectiveness of various proposed mitigation techniques. Closing this knowledge gap is of interest to both the planetary defense and planetary science communities. Increased scientific knowledge of asteroid and comet composition and structure can confirm or advance current theories about the formation of the solar system. This proposal suggests a joint effort between these two communities to provide an economical architecture that supports multiple launches of characterization and mitigation payloads with minimal response time. The science community can use this architecture for characterization missions of opportunity when multiple scientific targets or targets of uncommon scientific value present themselves, while the planetary defense community would be able to fire characterization or mitigation payloads at targets that present a threat to the Earth. Both communities would benefit from testing potential mitigation techniques, which would reveal information on the internal structure of asteroids and comets. In return, the Earth would have the beginnings of a viable response system should an impact threat prove real in the near future.

Estimating fuel consumption during prescribed fires in Arkansas

Treesearch

Virginia L. McDaniel; James M. Guldin; Roger W. Perry

2012-01-01

While prescribed fire is essential to maintaining numerous plant communities, fine particles produced in smoke can impair human health and reduce visibility in scenic areas. The Arkansas Smoke Management Program was established to mitigate the impacts of smoke from prescribed fires. This program uses fuel loading and consumption estimates from standard fire-behavior...

The science of firescapes: Achieving fire-resilient communities

Treesearch

Alistair M. S. Smith; Crystal A. Kolden; Travis B. Paveglio; Mark A. Cochrane; David MJS Bowman; Max A. Moritz; Andrew D. Kliskey; Lilian Alessa; Andrew T. Hudak; Chad M. Hoffman; James A. Lutz; Lloyd P. Queen; Scott J. Goetz; Philip E. Higuera; Luigi Boschetti; Mike Flannigan; Kara M. Yedinak; Adam C. Watts; Eva K. Strand; Jan W. van Wagtendonk; John W. Anderson; Brian J. Stocks; John T. Abatzoglou

2016-01-01

Wildland fire management has reached a crossroads. Current perspectives are not capable of answering interdisciplinary adaptation and mitigation challenges posed by increases in wildfire risk to human populations and the need to reintegrate fire as a vital landscape process. Fire science has been, and continues to be, performed in isolated "silos," including...

Fire weather technology for fire agrometeorology operations

Treesearch

Francis Fujioka

2008-01-01

Even as the magnitude of wildfire problems increases globally, United Nations agencies are acting to mitigate the risk of wildfire disasters to members. Fire management organizations worldwide may vary considerably in operational scope, depending on the number and type of resources an organization manages. In any case, good fire weather information is vital. This paper...

Social Baseline Theory: The Social Regulation of Risk and Effort

PubMed Central

Coan, James A.; Sbarra, David A.

2015-01-01

We describe Social Baseline Theory (SBT), a perspective that integrates the study of social relationships with principles of attachment, behavioral ecology, cognitive neuroscience, and perception science. SBT suggests the human brain expects access to social relationships that mitigate risk and diminish the level of effort needed to meet a variety of goals. This is accomplished in part by incorporating relational partners into neural representations of the self. By contrast, decreased access to relational partners increases cognitive and physiological effort. Relationship disruptions entail re-defining the self as independent, which implies greater risk, increased effort, and diminished well being. The ungrafting of the self and other may mediate recovery from relationship loss. PMID:25825706

High resolution fire risk mapping in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorucci, Paolo; Biondi, Guido; Campo, Lorenzo; D'Andrea, Mirko

2014-05-01

The high topographic and vegetation heterogeneity makes Italy vulnerable to forest fires both in the summer and in winter. In particular, northern regions are predominantly characterized by a winter fire regime, mainly due to frequent extremely dry winds from the north, while southern and central regions and the large islands are characterized by a severe summer fire regime, because of the higher temperatures and prolonged lack of precipitation. The threat of wildfires in Italy is not confined to wooded areas as they extend to agricultural areas and urban-forest interface areas. The agricultural and rural areas, in the last century, have been gradually abandoned, especially in areas with complex topography. Many of these areas were subject to reforestation, leading to the spread of pioneer species mainly represented by Mediterranean conifer, which are highly vulnerable to fire. Because of the frequent spread of fire, these areas are limited to the early successional stages, consisting mainly of shrub vegetation; its survival in the competition with the climax species being ensured by the spread of fire itself. Due to the frequency of fire ignition — almost entirely man caused — the time between fires on the same area is at least an order of magnitude less than the time that would allow the establishment of forest climax species far less vulnerable to fire. In view of the limited availability of fire risk management resources, most of which are used in the management of national and regional air services, it is necessary to precisely identify the areas most vulnerable to fire risk. The few resources available can thus be used on a yearly basis to mitigate problems in the areas at highest risk by defining a program of forest management interventions, which is expected to make a significant contribution to the problem in a few years' time. The goal of such detailed planning is to dramatically reduce the costs associated with water bombers fleet management and fire extinguishing actions, leaving more resources to improve safety in areas at risk. With the availability of fire perimeters mapped over a period spanning from 5 to 10 years, depending by the region, a procedure was defined in order to assess areas at risk with high spatial resolution (900 m2) based on objective criteria by observing past fire events. The availability of fire perimeters combined with a detailed knowledge of topography and land cover allowed to understand which are the main features involved in forest fire occurrences and their behaviour. The seasonality of the fire regime was also considered, partitioning the analysis in two macro season (November- April and May- October). In addition, the total precipitation obtained from the interpolation of 30 years-long time series from 460 raingauges and the average air temperature obtained downscaling 30 years ERA-INTERIM data series were considered. About 48000 fire perimeters which burnt about 5500 km2 were considered in the analysis. The analysis has been carried out at 30 m spatial resolution. Some important considerations relating to climate and the territorial features that characterize the fire regime at national level contribute to better understand the forest fire phenomena. These results allow to define new strategies for forest fire prevention and management extensible to other geographical areas.

Defining Requirements and Applying Information Modeling for Protecting Enterprise Assets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortier, Stephen C.; Volk, Jennifer H.

The advent of terrorist threats has heightened local, regional, and national governments' interest in emergency response and disaster preparedness. The threat of natural disasters also challenges emergency responders to act swiftly and in a coordinated fashion. When a disaster occurs, an ad hoc coalition of pre-planned groups usually forms to respond to the incident. History has shown that these “system of systems” do not interoperate very well. Communications between fire, police and rescue components either do not work or are inefficient. Government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private industry use a wide array of software platforms for managing data about emergency conditions, resources and response activities. Most of these are stand-alone systems with very limited capability for data sharing with other agencies or other levels of government. Information technology advances have facilitated the movement towards an integrated and coordinated approach to emergency management. Other communication mechanisms, such as video teleconferencing, digital television and radio broadcasting, are being utilized to combat the challenges of emergency information exchange. Recent disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Indonesia, have illuminated the weaknesses in emergency response. This paper will discuss the need for defining requirements for components of ad hoc coalitions which are formed to respond to disasters. A goal of our effort was to develop a proof of concept that applying information modeling to the business processes used to protect and mitigate potential loss of an enterprise was feasible. These activities would be modeled both pre- and post-incident.

A statistical procedure for fire risk mapping in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorucci, Paolo; Biondi, Guido; Campo, Lorenzo; D'Andrea, Mirko

2015-04-01

The high topographic and vegetation heterogeneity makes Italy vulnerable to forest fires both in the summer and in winter. In particular, northern regions are predominantly characterized by a winter fire regime, mainly due to frequent extremely dry winds from the north, while southern and central regions and the large islands are characterized by a severe summer fire regime, because of the higher temperatures and prolonged lack of precipitation. The threat of wildfires in Italy is not confined to wooded areas as they extend to agricultural areas and urban-forest interface areas. In view of the limited availability of fire risk management resources, most of which are used in the management of national and regional air services, it is necessary to precisely identify the areas most vulnerable to fire risk. The few resources available can thus be used on a yearly basis to mitigate problems in the areas at highest risk by defining a program of forest management interventions, which is expected to make a significant contribution to the problem in a few years' time. Given the availability of fire perimeters mapped over a period spanning from 5 to 10 years, depending by the region, a statistical procedure was defined in order to assess areas at risk based on objective criteria by observing past fire events. The availability of fire perimeters combined with a detailed knowledge of topography and land cover allowed to understand which are the main features involved in forest fire occurrences and their behavior. The seasonality of the fire regime was also considered, partitioning the analysis in two macro season (November-April and May- October). In addition, the total precipitation obtained from the interpolation of 30 years-long time series from 460 raingauges and the average air temperature obtained downscaling 30 years ERA-INTERIM data series were considered. The analysis consists on the subdivision of the territory in classes based on the named information layers (elevation, slope, rainfall height, temperature, etc.) with a recursive algorithm that ensures the equal numerosity of each class. The number of fires occurred in each class is then assessed basing on time series in the last decade, in order to have an estimation of the fire hazard with a contant statistical confidence. The analysis was carried out at a spatial resolution of 500 m on the whole Italian territory by using a dataset of fires occurrences that spans from 2007 to 2013.

Studying fire mitigation strategies in multi-ownership landscapes: balancing the management of fire-dependent ecosystems and fire risk

Treesearch

Brian R. Sturtevant; Brian R. Miranda; Jian Yang; Hong S. He; Eric J. Gustafson; Robert M. Scheller

2009-01-01

Public forests are surrounded by land over which agency managers have no control, and whose owners expect the public forest to be a "good neighbor." Fire risk abatement on multi-owner landscapes containing flammable but fire-dependent ecosystems epitomizes the complexities of managing public lands. We report a case study that applies a landscape disturbance...

Large Scale Experiments on Spacecraft Fire Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, David L.; Ruff, Gary A.; Minster, Olivier; Toth, Balazs; Fernandez-Pello, A. Carlos; T'ien, James S.; Torero, Jose L.; Cowlard, Adam J.; Legros, Guillaume; Eigenbrod, Christian;

Large Scale Experiments on Spacecraft Fire Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Urban, David; Ruff, Gary A.; Minster, Olivier; Fernandez-Pello, A. Carlos; Tien, James S.; Torero, Jose L.; Legros, Guillaume; Eigenbrod, Christian; Smirnov, Nickolay; Fujita, Osamu;

G-Guidance Interface Design for Small Body Mission Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Acikmese, Behcet; Carson, John; Phan, Linh

2008-01-01

The G-Guidance software implements a guidance and control (G and C) algorithm for small-body, autonomous proximity operations, developed under the Small Body GN and C task at JPL. The software is written in Matlab and interfaces with G-OPT, a JPL-developed optimization package written in C that provides G-Guidance with guaranteed convergence to a solution in a finite computation time with a prescribed accuracy. The resulting program is computationally efficient and is a prototype of an onboard, real-time algorithm for autonomous guidance and control. Two thruster firing schemes are available in G-Guidance, allowing tailoring of the software for specific mission maneuvers. For example, descent, landing, or rendezvous benefit from a thruster firing at the maneuver termination to mitigate velocity errors. Conversely, ascent or separation maneuvers benefit from an immediate firing to avoid potential drift toward a second body. The guidance portion of this software explicitly enforces user-defined control constraints and thruster silence times while minimizing total fuel usage. This program is currently specialized to small-body proximity operations, but the underlying method can be generalized to other applications.

Reducing the wildland fire threat to homes: Where and how much?

Treesearch

Jack D. Cohen

1999-01-01

Understanding how ignitions occur is critical for effectively mitigating home fire losses during wildland fires. The threat of life and property losses during wildland fires is a significant issue for Federal, State, and local agencies that have responsibilities involving homes within and adjacent to wildlands. Agencies have shifted attention to communities adjacent to...

Fire Severity and Intensity During Spring Burning in Natural and Masticated Mixed Shrub Woodlands

Treesearch

Tim Bradley; Jennifer Gibson; Windy Bunn

2006-01-01

Fire risk is an ever present management concern in many urban interface regions. To mitigate this risk, land management agencies have expanded their options beyond prescribed fire to include vegetation mastication and other mechanical fuel treatments. This research project examined fire severity and intensity in masticated and unmanipulated units that were burned in...

Understanding homeowner preparation and intended actions when threatened by a wildfire

Treesearch

Sarah M. McCaffrey; Greg Winter

2011-01-01

As wildland fires affect more houses, increasing attention is being paid to how homeowners in affected areas respond to the wildfire threat. Most research on homeowner responses to wildfire has focused on actions homeowners take before a fire to mitigate their fire risk, particularly vegetation management. Less attention has been paid to homeowner response during fires...

Vegetation Fires in the Coupled Human-Earth System Under Future Environmental and Policy Perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

le page, Y.; Morton, D. C.; Hurtt, G. C.

2013-12-01

Fires play a major role in terrestrial ecosystems dynamics and the carbon cycle. Potential changes in fire regimes due to climate change, land use change, or human management could have substantial ecological, climatic and socio-economic impacts, and have recently been emphasized as a source of uncertainty for policy-makers and climate mitigation cost estimates. Anticipating these interactions thus entails interdisciplinary models. Here we describe the development of a new fire modeling framework, which features the essential integration of climatic, vegetation and anthropogenic drivers. The model is an attempt to realistically account for ignition, spread and termination processes, on a 12-hour time step and at 1 degree spatial resolution globally. Because the quantitative influence of fire drivers on these processes are often poorly constrained, the framework includes an optimization procedure whereby key parameters (e.g. influence of moisture on fire spread, probability of cloud-to-ground lightning flashes to actually ignite a fire, human ignition frequency as a function of land use density) are determined to maximize the agreement between modeled and observed burned area over the past decade. The model performs surprisingly well across all biomes, and shows good agreement on non-optimized features, such as seasonality and fire size, which suggests some potential for robust projections. We couple the model to an integrated assessment model and explore the consequences of mitigation policies, land use decisions and climate change on future fire regimes with a focus on the Amazon basin. The coupled model future projections show that business-as-usual land use expansion would increase the frequency of escaped fires in the remaining forest, especially when combined with models projecting a drier climate. Inversely, climate mitigation policies as projected in the IPCC RCP4.5 scenario achieve synergistic benefits, with increased forest extent, less fire ignitions, and higher moisture levels.

A portfolio approach to evaluating natural hazard mitigation policies: An Application to lateral-spread ground failure in Coastal California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bernknopf, R.L.; Dinitz, L.B.; Rabinovici, S.J.M.; Evans, A.M.

2001-01-01

In the past, efforts to prevent catastrophic losses from natural hazards have largely been undertaken by individual property owners based on site-specific evaluations of risks to particular buildings. Public efforts to assess community vulnerability and encourage mitigation have focused on either aggregating site-specific estimates or adopting standards based upon broad assumptions about regional risks. This paper develops an alternative, intermediate-scale approach to regional risk assessment and the evaluation of community mitigation policies. Properties are grouped into types with similar land uses and levels of hazard, and hypothetical community mitigation strategies for protecting these properties are modeled like investment portfolios. The portfolios consist of investments in mitigation against the risk to a community posed by a specific natural hazard, and are defined by a community's mitigation budget and the proportion of the budget invested in locations of each type. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated through an integrated assessment of earthquake-induced lateral-spread ground failure risk in the Watsonville, California area. Data from the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 are used to model lateral-spread ground failure susceptibility. Earth science and economic data are combined and analyzed in a Geographic Information System (GIS). The portfolio model is then used to evaluate the benefits of mitigating the risk in different locations. Two mitigation policies, one that prioritizes mitigation by land use type and the other by hazard zone, are compared with a status quo policy of doing no further mitigation beyond that which already exists. The portfolio representing the hazard zone rule yields a higher expected return than the land use portfolio does: However, the hazard zone portfolio experiences a higher standard deviation. Therefore, neither portfolio is clearly preferred. The two mitigation policies both reduce expected losses and increase overall expected community wealth compared to the status quo policy.

Perceptions of Wildfire Threat and Mitigation Measures by Residents of Fire-Prone Communities in the Northeast: Survey Results and Wildland Fire Management Implications

Treesearch

Robert L. Ryan; Mark B. Wamsley

2006-01-01

We surveyed residents of fire-prone areas of the Central Pine Barrens of Long Island, New York, and the Plymouth Pine Barrens in Massachusetts to learn how they perceived wildland fire risk and management techniques for reducing fire hazard. We found that residents considered the fire threat to their own property to be relatively low in spite of first-hand experience...

Singapore’s willingness to pay for mitigation of transboundary forest-fire haze from Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Yuan; Wijedasa, Lahiru S.; Chisholm, Ryan A.

2017-02-01

Haze pollution over the past four decades in Southeast Asia is mainly a result of forest and peatland fires in Indonesia. The economic impacts of haze include adverse health effects and disruption to transport and tourism. Previous studies have used a variety of approaches to assess the economic impacts of haze and the forest fires more generally. But no study has used contingent valuation to assess non-market impacts of haze on individuals. Here we apply contingent valuation to estimate impacts of haze on Singapore, one of most severely affected countries. We used a double-bounded dichotomous-choice survey design and the Kaplan-Meier-Turnbull method to infer the distribution of Singaporeans’ willingness to pay (WTP) for haze mitigation. Our estimate of mean individual WTP was 0.97% of annual income (n = 390). To calculate total national WTP, we stratified by income, the demographic variable most strongly related to individual WTP. The total WTP estimate was 643.5 million per year (95% CI [527.7 million, 765.0 million]). This estimate is comparable in magnitude to previously estimated impacts of Indonesia’s fires and also to the estimated costs of peatland protection and restoration. We recommend that our results be incorporated into future cost-benefit analyses of the fires and mitigation strategies.

Fire suppression effectiveness for simultaneous fires: an examination of fire histories

Treesearch

Larry F. Bednar; Romain Mees; David Strauss

1990-01-01

We examined fire and weather records for areas of the western United States for the period 1970-1984 to determine the effects of simultaneous wildfire occurrence on fire suppression efforts. Burning conditions were accounted for by use of short strings of fires which involved simultaneous suppression efforts. These strings were matched with closely preceding isolated...

Using Space Technologies for a timely detection of forest fires: the experience of end-users in 3 Italian Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filizzola, Carolina; Belloni, Antonella; Benigno, Giuseppe; Biancardi, Alberto; Corrado, Rosita; Coviello, Irina; De Costanzo, Giovanni; Genzano, Nicola; Lacava, Teodosio; Lisi, Mariano; Marchese, Francesco; Mazzeo, Giuseppe; Merzagora, Cinzio; Paciello, Rossana; Pergola, Nicola; Sannazzaro, Filomena; Serio, Salvatore; Tramutoli, Valerio

2013-04-01

Every year, hundreds of thousands of hectares of European forests are destroyed by fires. Due to the particular topography, landscape and demographic distribution in Europe (very different from typical scenarios of China, USA, Canada and Australia), rapidity in fire sighting is still the determining factor in limiting damages to people and goods. Moreover, the possibility of early fire detection means also potentially to reduce the size of the event to be faced, the necessary fire fighting resources and, therefore, even the reaction times. In such a context, integration of satellite technologies (mainly high temporal resolution data) and traditional surveillance systems within the fire fighting procedures seems to positively impact on the effectiveness of active fire fighting as demonstrated by recent experiences over Italian territory jointly performed by University of Basilicata, IMAA-CNR and Local Authorities. Real time implementation was performed since 2007, during fire seasons, over several Italian regions with different fire regimes and features, in order to assess the actual potential of different satellite-based fire detection products to support regional and local authorities in efficiently fighting fires and better mitigating their negative effects. Real-time campaigns were carried out in strict collaboration with end-users within the framework of specific projects (i.e. the AVVISA, AVVISTA and AVVISA-Basilicata projects) funded by Civil Protection offices of Regione Lombardia, Provincia Regionale di Palermo and Regione Basilicata in charge of fire risk management and mitigation. A tailored training program was dedicated to the personnel of Regional Civil Protection offices in order to ensure the full understanding and the better integration of satellite based products and tools within the existing fire fighting protocols. In this work, outcomes of these practices are shown and discussed, especially highlighting the impact that a real time satellite system may have in assisting and complementing traditional surveillance systems to mitigate damages due to fires. In particular, the usefulness of satellite technology in an operational context was demonstrated mainly in reference to: i) the possibility of identifying fires at an early stage (so avoiding that small hotbeds could extend and become dangerous for citizens and destructive for environmental protected areas) as well as ii) the possibility to have an effective territorial control (e.g. discovering illegal burning fires such as unauthorized cleaning fires, and permitting local authorities to rapidly intervene and catch red-handed pyromaniacs).

Long-term impacts of prescribed fire on stand structure, growth, mortality, and individual tree vigor in Pinus resinosa forests

Treesearch

Sawyer S. Scherer; Anthony W. D' Amato; Christel C. Kern; Brian J. Palik; Matthew B. Russell

2016-01-01

Prescribed fire is increasingly being viewed as a valuable tool for mitigating the ecological consequences of long-term fire suppression within fire-adapted forest ecosystems. While the use of burning treatments in northern temperate conifer forests has at times received considerable attention, the long-term (>10 years) effects on forest structure and...

Mitigating old tree mortality in long-unburned, fire-dependent forests: a synthesis

Treesearch

Sharon M. Hood

2010-01-01

This report synthesizes the literature and current state of knowledge pertaining to reintroducing fire in stands where it has been excluded for long periods and the impact of these introductory fires on overstory tree injury and mortality. Only forested ecosystems in the United States that are adapted to survive frequent fire are included. Treatment options that...

Communicating about smoke from wildland fire: challenges and opportunities for managers.

PubMed

Olsen, Christine S; Mazzotta, Danielle K; Toman, Eric; Fischer, A Paige

2014-09-01

Wildland fire and associated management efforts are dominant topics in natural resource fields. Smoke from fires can be a nuisance and pose serious health risks and aggravate pre-existing health conditions. When it results in reduced visibility near roadways, smoke can also pose hazardous driving conditions and reduce the scenic value of vistas. Communicating about smoke, whether in the preparation phases before a planned burn or during a wildfire event, can enable those at risk to make informed decisions to minimize their exposure to smoke or choose alternate activities that mitigate smoke completely. To date, very little research has been completed on the social aspects of smoke, such as communication or public perceptions. Here, we present findings from an exploratory study that examined challenges and opportunities related to communication (within agencies or to the public) for management of smoke from wildland fires. Interviews were conducted in California, Oregon, Montana, and South Carolina among a purposive sample of individuals, who are involved in fire or smoke management. Findings indicate that smoke poses several challenges to management agencies. Findings also provide insight into potential strategies to address such challenges by improving communication in both inter- and intra-agency situations as well as with members of the public. In particular, prioritizing fire and smoke-related communication within agencies, allocating agency resources specifically for training in communication and outreach endeavors, taking advantage of existing resources including informal social networks among the public, and building long-term relationships both between agencies and with the public were viewed as effective.

Capturing spatiotemporal variation in wildfires for improving postwildfire debris-flow hazard assessments: Chapter 20

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haas, Jessica R.; Thompson, Matthew P.; Tillery, Anne C.; Scott, Joe H.

2017-01-01

Wildfires can increase the frequency and magnitude of catastrophic debris flows. Integrated, proactive natural hazard assessment would therefore characterize landscapes based on the potential for the occurrence and interactions of wildfires and postwildfire debris flows. This chapter presents a new modeling effort that can quantify the variability surrounding a key input to postwildfire debris-flow modeling, the amount of watershed burned at moderate to high severity, in a prewildfire context. The use of stochastic wildfire simulation captures variability surrounding the timing and location of ignitions, fire weather patterns, and ultimately the spatial patterns of watershed area burned. Model results provide for enhanced estimates of postwildfire debris-flow hazard in a prewildfire context, and multiple hazard metrics are generated to characterize and contrast hazards across watersheds. Results can guide mitigation efforts by allowing planners to identify which factors may be contributing the most to the hazard rankings of watersheds.

Improving freight fire safety : experiment testing and computer modeling to further development of mist-controlling additives for fire mitigation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-08-01

With the purpose to minimize or prevent crash-induced fires in road and rail transportation, the : current interest in bio-derived and blended transportation fuels is increasing. Based on two years : of preliminary testing and analysis, it appears to...

Reducing social losses from forest fires

Treesearch

Gregory S. Amacher; Arun S. Malik; Robert G. Haight

2006-01-01

We evaluate two financial incentives to encourage nonindustrial forest landowners to undertake activities that mitigate fire losses: sharing of fire suppression costs by the landowner and sharing of fuel reduction costs by the government. First and second best outcomes are identified and compared to assess the effectiveness of these incentives in reducing social...

Management and climate contributions to satellite-derived active fire trends in the contiguous United States

PubMed Central

Lin, Hsiao-Wen; McCarty, Jessica L; Wang, Dongdong; Rogers, Brendan M; Morton, Douglas C; Collatz, G James; Jin, Yufang; Randerson, James T

2014-01-01

Fires in croplands, plantations, and rangelands contribute significantly to fire emissions in the United States, yet are often overshadowed by wildland fires in efforts to develop inventories or estimate responses to climate change. Here we quantified decadal trends, interannual variability, and seasonality of Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations of active fires (thermal anomalies) as a function of management type in the contiguous U.S. during 2001–2010. We used the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity database to identify active fires within the perimeter of large wildland fires and land cover maps to identify active fires in croplands. A third class of fires defined as prescribed/other included all residual satellite active fire detections. Large wildland fires were the most variable of all three fire types and had no significant annual trend in the contiguous U.S. during 2001–2010. Active fires in croplands, in contrast, increased at a rate of 3.4% per year. Cropland and prescribed/other fire types combined were responsible for 77% of the total active fire detections within the U.S and were most abundant in the south and southeast. In the west, cropland active fires decreased at a rate of 5.9% per year, likely in response to intensive air quality policies. Potential evaporation was a dominant regulator of the interannual variability of large wildland fires, but had a weaker influence on the other two fire types. Our analysis suggests it may be possible to modify landscape fire emissions within the U.S. by influencing the way fires are used in managed ecosystems. Key Points Wildland, cropland, and prescribed fires had different trends and patterns Sensitivity to climate varied with fire type Intensity of air quality regulation influenced cropland burning trends PMID:26213662

Management and climate contributions to satellite-derived active fire trends in the contiguous United States.

PubMed

Lin, Hsiao-Wen; McCarty, Jessica L; Wang, Dongdong; Rogers, Brendan M; Morton, Douglas C; Collatz, G James; Jin, Yufang; Randerson, James T

2014-04-01

Fires in croplands, plantations, and rangelands contribute significantly to fire emissions in the United States, yet are often overshadowed by wildland fires in efforts to develop inventories or estimate responses to climate change. Here we quantified decadal trends, interannual variability, and seasonality of Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations of active fires (thermal anomalies) as a function of management type in the contiguous U.S. during 2001-2010. We used the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity database to identify active fires within the perimeter of large wildland fires and land cover maps to identify active fires in croplands. A third class of fires defined as prescribed/other included all residual satellite active fire detections. Large wildland fires were the most variable of all three fire types and had no significant annual trend in the contiguous U.S. during 2001-2010. Active fires in croplands, in contrast, increased at a rate of 3.4% per year. Cropland and prescribed/other fire types combined were responsible for 77% of the total active fire detections within the U.S and were most abundant in the south and southeast. In the west, cropland active fires decreased at a rate of 5.9% per year, likely in response to intensive air quality policies. Potential evaporation was a dominant regulator of the interannual variability of large wildland fires, but had a weaker influence on the other two fire types. Our analysis suggests it may be possible to modify landscape fire emissions within the U.S. by influencing the way fires are used in managed ecosystems. Wildland, cropland, and prescribed fires had different trends and patternsSensitivity to climate varied with fire typeIntensity of air quality regulation influenced cropland burning trends.

Return on investment from fuel treatments to reduce severe wildfire and erosion in a watershed investment program in Colorado.

PubMed

Jones, Kelly W; Cannon, Jeffery B; Saavedra, Freddy A; Kampf, Stephanie K; Addington, Robert N; Cheng, Antony S; MacDonald, Lee H; Wilson, Codie; Wolk, Brett

2017-08-01

A small but growing number of watershed investment programs in the western United States focus on wildfire risk reduction to municipal water supplies. This paper used return on investment (ROI) analysis to quantify how the amounts and placement of fuel treatment interventions would reduce sediment loading to the Strontia Springs Reservoir in the Upper South Platte River watershed southwest of Denver, Colorado following an extreme fire event. We simulated various extents of fuel mitigation activities under two placement strategies: (a) a strategic treatment prioritization map and (b) accessibility. Potential fire behavior was modeled under each extent and scenario to determine the impact on fire severity, and this was used to estimate expected change in post-fire erosion due to treatments. We found a positive ROI after large storm events when fire mitigation treatments were placed in priority areas with diminishing marginal returns after treating >50-80% of the forested area. While our ROI results should not be used prescriptively they do show that, conditional on severe fire occurrence and precipitation, investments in the Upper South Platte could feasibly lead to positive financial returns based on the reduced costs of dredging sediment from the reservoir. While our analysis showed positive ROI focusing only on post-fire erosion mitigation, it is important to consider multiple benefits in future ROI calculations and increase monitoring and evaluation of these benefits of wildfire fuel reduction investments for different site conditions and climates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fire investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomberg, A.

There was considerable progress made on several fronts of fire investigation in the United States in recent years. Progress was made in increasing the quantity of fire investigation and reporting, through efforts to develop the National Fire Incident Reporting System. Improving overall quality of fire investigation is the objective of efforts such as the Fire Investigation Handbook, which was developed and published by the National Bureau of Standards, and the upgrading and expanding of the ""dictionary'' of fire investigation and reporting, the NFPA 901, Uniform Coding for Fire Protection, system. The science of fire investigation as furthered also by new approaches to post fire interviews being developed at the University of Washington, and by in-depth research into factors involved in several large loss fires, including the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Finally, the use of special study fire investigations - in-depth investigations concentrating on specific fire problems - is producing new glimpses into the nature of the national fire problem. A brief description of the status of efforts in each of these areas is discussed.

Underground Coal-Fires in Xinjiang, China: A Continued Effort in Applying Geophysics to Solve a Local Problem and to Mitigate a Global Hazard

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wuttke, M. W.; Halisch, M.; Tanner, D. C.; Cai, Z. Y.; Zeng, Q.; Wang, C.

2012-04-01

Spontaneous uncontrolled coal seam fires are a well known phenomenon that causes severe environmental problems and severe impact on natural coal reserves. Coal fires are a worldwide phenomenon, but in particular in Xinjiang, that covers 17.3 % of Chinas area and hosts approx 42 % of its coal resources. In Xinjiang since more than 50 years a rigorous strategy for fire fighting on local and regional scale is persued. The Xinjiang Coalfield Fire Fighting Bureau (FFB) has developed technologies and methods to deal with any known fire. Many fires have been extinguished already, but the problem is still there if not even growing. This problem is not only a problem for China due to the loss of valuable energy resources, but it is also a worldwide threat because of the generation of substantial amounts of greenhouse gases. Through the FFB, China is struggling to overcome this, but the activities could be much enhanced by the continuation of the already successful conjoint operations. The last ten years have seen two successful cooperative projects between China and Germany on the field of coal-fire fighting, namely the German Technical Cooperation Project on Coal Fire in Xinjiang and the Sino-German Coal Fire Research Initiative funded by the corresponding ministeries of both countries. A persistent task in the fire fighting is the identification and supervision of areas with higher risks for the ignition of coal fires, the exploration of already ignited fire zones to extinguish the fires and the monitoring of extinguished fires to detect as early as possible process that may foster re-ignition. This can be achieved by modeling both the structures and the processes that are involved. This has also been a promising part of the past cooperation projects, yet to be transformed into a standard application of fire fighting procedures. In this contribution we describe the plans for a new conjoint project between China and Germany where on the basis of field investigations and laboratory measurements realistic dynamical models of fire-zones are constructed to increase the understanding of particular coal-fires, to interpret the surface signatures of the coal-fire in terms of location and propagation and to estimate the output of hazardous exhaust products to evaluate the economic benefit of fire extinction.

Aircraft Engine Sump Fire Mitigation, Phase 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenlieb, J. W.

1978-01-01

The effect of changes in the input parameters (air leakage flow rate and temperature and lubricating oil inlet flow rate and temperature) over a specified range on the flammability conditions within an aircraft engine bearing sump was investigated. An analytical study was performed to determine the effect of various parameters on the generation rate of oil vapor from oil droplets in a hot air stream flowing in a cylindrical tube. The ignition of the vapor-air mixture by an ignition source was considered. The experimental investigation demonstrated that fires would be ignited by a spark ignitor over the full range of air and oil flow rates and air temperatures evaluated. However, no fires could be ignited when the oil inlet temperature was maintained below 41.7 K (290 F). The severity of the fires ignited were found to be directly proportional to the hot air flow rate. Reasonably good correlation was found between the mixture temperature in the sump at the ignitor location and the flammability limits as defined by flammability theory; thus a fairly reliable experimental method of determining flammable conditions within a sump was demonstrated. The computerized mathematical model shows that oil droplet size and air temperature have the greatest influence on the generation rate of oil vapor.

Fuels and predicted fire behavior in the southern Appalachian Mountains and fire and fire surrogate treatments

Treesearch

Thomas Waldrop; Ross J. Phillips; Dean A. Simon

2010-01-01

This study tested the success of fuel reduction treatments for mitigating wildfire behavior in an area that has had little previous research on fire, the southern Appalachian Mountains. A secondary objective of treatments was to restore the community to an open woodland condition. Three blocks of four treatments were installed in a mature hardwood forest in western...

Post-fire mulching for runoff and erosion mitigation; Part II: Effectiveness in reducing runoff and sediment yields from small catchments

Treesearch

Peter R. Robichaud; Joseph W. Wagenbrenner; Sarah A. Lewis; Louise E. Ashmun; Robert E. Brown; Peter M. Wohlgemuth

2013-01-01

Agricultural straw, hydromulch, and wood shred or wood strand mulches increasingly are being used as post-fire hillslope treatments, but the differences in effectiveness among these mulch treatments are not fully understood. Following the 2002 Hayman fire in central Colorado and the 2003 Cedar fire in southern California, matched catchments were monitored for five to...

Pre-wildfire management treatments interact with fire severity to have lasting effects on post-wildfire vegetation response

Treesearch

Kristen L. Shive; Carolyn H. Sieg; Peter Z. Fule

2013-01-01

Land managers are routinely applying fuel reduction treatments to mitigate the risk of severe, stand-replacing fire in ponderosa pine communities of the southwestern US. When these treatments are burned by wildfire they generally reduce fire severity, but less is known about how they influence post-wildfire vegetation recovery, as compared to pre-fire untreated areas....

Improving Freight Fire Safety: Analysis and Testing of Real Engine Conditions to Progress Development of Mist-controlling Additives for Fire Mitigation

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-12-01

The formation of a fuel mist resulting from high shear stresses acting on the fuel during violent sloshing and tank rupture under the energy of a crash severely increases the occurrence and intensity of fires in transportation related accidents. In o...

Improving Freight Fire Safety: Assessment of the Effectiveness of Mist-Controlling Additives for Mitigating Crash-Induced Diesel Fires

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-12-01

Adding long chained polymers to diesel has been proposed as a method to prevent crash fires by arresting the breakup of diesel fuel into a fine mist in transportation related accidents. The effect of such additives on the flow properties of diesel wa...

Rapid mitigation of carrier-induced degradation in commercial silicon solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hallam, Brett J.; Chan, Catherine E.; Chen, Ran; Wang, Sisi; Ji, Jingjia; Mai, Ly; Abbott, Malcolm D.; Payne, David N. R.; Kim, Moonyong; Chen, Daniel; Chong, CheeMun; Wenham, Stuart R.

2017-08-01

We report on the progress for the understanding of carrier-induced degradation (CID) in p-type mono and multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells, and methods of mitigation. Defect formation is a key aspect to mitigating CID. Illuminated annealing can be used for both mono and mc-Si solar cells to reduce CID. The latest results of an 8-s UNSW advanced hydrogenation process applied to industrial p-type Czochralski PERC solar cells are shown with average efficiency enhancements of 1.1% absolute from eight different solar cell manufacturers. Results from three new industrial CID mitigation tools are presented, reducing CID to 0.8-1.1% relative, compared to 4.2% relative on control cells. Similar advanced hydrogenation processes can also be applied to multi-crystalline silicon passivated emitter with rear local contact (PERC) cells, however to date, the processes take longer and are less effective. Modifications to the firing processes can also suppress CID in multi-crystalline cells during subsequent illumination. The most stable results are achieved with a multi-stage process consisting of a second firing process at a reduced firing temperature, followed by extended illuminated annealing.

Implications of Integrating Women into USMC Infantry

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

well-defined, updated, and clearly communicated sexual harassment policies; and procedures to ensure that women receive equal training and...traditionally male groups depends on the culture of the group: Groups more hostile to women experience lower cohesion after gender integration than do...creates a hostile environment for women. A variety of efforts can mitigate whatever detrimental effects integration of women would have on male -dominated

Airborne wildfire intelligence system: a decision support tool for wildland fire managers in Alberta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Doug; Born, Wally G.; Beck, Judi; Bereska, Bill; Frederick, Kurt; Hua, Sun

2002-03-01

The Airborne Wildfire Intelligence System (AWIS) defines the state-of-the-art in remotely sensed wildfire intelligence. AWIS is a commercial, automated, intelligence service, delivering GIS integrated fire intelligence, classified interpretive and analysis layers, and higher level decision support products for wildfires in near real time via the Internet. The AWIS effort illustrates flexible and dynamic cooperation between industry and government to combine technology with field knowledge and experience into an effective, optimized end-user tool. In Alberta the Forest Protection Division of the department of Sustainable Resource Development uses AWIS for several applications: holdover and wildfire hotspot detection, fire front and burned area perimeter mapping, strategic and tactical support through 3D visualization, research into the effects of fire and its severity and to document burn patterns across the landscape. A discussion of all of the scientific themes behind the AWIS is outside the scope of this paper, however, the science of sub-element detection will be reviewed. An independent study has been conducted by the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada (FERIC) to investigate the capability of a variety of thermal infrared remote sensing systems to detect small and subtle hotspots in an effort to identify the strengths and weaknesses thereof. As a result of this work, method suitability guidelines have been established to match appropriate infrared technology with a given wildfire management objective.

A vector matching method for analysing logic Petri nets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, YuYue; Qi, Liang; Zhou, MengChu

2011-11-01

Batch processing function and passing value indeterminacy in cooperative systems can be described and analysed by logic Petri nets (LPNs). To directly analyse the properties of LPNs, the concept of transition enabling vector sets is presented and a vector matching method used to judge the enabling transitions is proposed in this article. The incidence matrix of LPNs is defined; an equation about marking change due to a transition's firing is given; and a reachable tree is constructed. The state space explosion is mitigated to a certain extent from directly analysing LPNs. Finally, the validity and reliability of the proposed method are illustrated by an example in electronic commerce.

Rapid response tools and datasets for post-fire modeling: Linking Earth Observations and process-based hydrological models to support post-fire remediation

Treesearch

M. E. Miller; M. Billmire; W. J. Elliot; K. A. Endsley; P. R. Robichaud

2015-01-01

Preparation is key to utilizing Earth Observations and process-based models to support post-wildfire mitigation. Post-fire flooding and erosion can pose a serious threat to life, property and municipal water supplies. Increased runoff and sediment delivery due to the loss of surface cover and fire-induced changes in soil properties are of great concern. Remediation...

Outreach Programs, Peer Pressure, and Common Sense: What Motivates Homeowners to Mitigate Wildfire Risk?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCaffrey, Sarah M.; Stidham, Melanie; Toman, Eric; Shindler, Bruce

2011-09-01

In recent years, altered forest conditions, climate change, and the increasing numbers of homes built in fire prone areas has meant that wildfires are affecting more people. An important part of minimizing the potential negative impacts of wildfire is engaging homeowners in mitigating the fire hazard on their land. It is therefore important to understand what makes homeowners more or less willing to take action. The research presented here comes from a study that interviewed a total of 198 homeowners in six communities in the western United States about the activities they had undertaken to mitigate their fire risk, the factors that contributed to their decisions, and their future intentions. The current paper reports on findings from the first half of the longitudinal study, after 3 years we will return to interview the current homeowner on the same properties to assess maintenance actions and facilitating and limiting factors. Overall we found a body of individuals who understand the fire risk, are taking numerous mitigation actions, and think that these actions have reduced their risk. These homeowners typically did not expect the government to do it for them: they wanted information about what to do and, in some cases, assistance with the work, but saw taking care of their property primarily as their responsibility. Responses also show that key information sources and motivating factors vary by location and that it is not inherently necessary to have relationships between community members to create defensible space.

How well does the Post-fire Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) really work?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robichaud, Peter; Elliot, William; Lewis, Sarah; Miller, Mary Ellen

2016-04-01

The decision of where, when, and how to apply the most effective postfire erosion mitigation treatments requires land managers to assess the risk of damaging runoff and erosion events occurring after a fire. The Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) was developed to assist post fire assessment teams identify high erosion risk areas and effectiveness of various mitigation treatments to reduce that risk. ERMiT is a web-based application that uses the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) technology to estimate erosion, in probabilistic terms, on burned and recovering forest, range, and chaparral lands with and without the application of mitigation treatments. User inputs are processed by ERMiT to combine rain event variability with spatial and temporal variabilities of hillslope burn severity and soil properties which are then used as WEPP inputs. Since 2007, the model has been used in making hundreds of land management decisions in the US and elsewhere. We use eight published field study sites in the Western US to compare ERMiT predictions to observed hillslope erosion rates. Most sites experience only a few rainfall events that produced runoff and sediment except for a California site with a Mediterranean climate. When hillslope erosion occurred, significant correlations occurred between the observed hillslope erosion and those predicted by ERMiT. Significant correlation occurred for most mitigation treatments as well as the five recovery years. These model validation results suggest reasonable estimates of probabilistic post-fire hillslope sediment delivery when compared to observation.

Post-wildfire logging hinders regeneration and increases fire risk.

PubMed

Donato, D C; Fontaine, J B; Campbell, J L; Robinson, W D; Kauffman, J B; Law, B E

2006-01-20

We present data from a study of early conifer regeneration and fuel loads after the 2002 Biscuit Fire, Oregon, USA, with and without postfire logging. Natural conifer regeneration was abundant after the high-severity fire. Postfire logging reduced median regeneration density by 71%, significantly increased downed woody fuels, and thus increased short-term fire risk. Additional reduction of fuels is necessary for effective mitigation of fire risk. Postfire logging can be counterproductive to the goals of forest regeneration and fuel reduction.

Prescribed Fire In the Interface: Separating The People From The Trees

Treesearch

David T. Butry; John M. Pye; Jeffrey P. Prestemon

2002-01-01

Land managers in Florida rely on prescribed fire to prepare sites for regeneration, improve wildlife habitats, reduce vegetative competition, facilitate timber management activities, and mitigate wildfire risk. More than one million acres of land is scheduled for prescribed fire each year in Florida, nearly five times more than the area burned by wildfires. However,...

Ignition and flame travel on realistic building and landscape objects in changing environments

Treesearch

Mark A. Dietenberger

2007-01-01

Effective mitigation of external fires on structures can be achieved flexibly, economically, and aesthetically by (1) preventing large-area ignition on structures from close proximity of burning vegetations and (2) stopping flame travel from firebrands landing on combustible building objects. In using bench-scale and mid-scale fire tests to obtain fire growth...

Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments

Treesearch

James K. Agee; Carl N. Skinner

2005-01-01

Successful fire exclusion in the 20th century has created severe fire problems across the West. Not every forest is at risk of uncharacteristically severe wildfire, but drier forests are in need of active management to mitigate fire hazard. We summarize a set of simple principles important to address in fuel reduction treatments: reduction of surface fuels, increasing...

Using ArcObjects for automating fireshed assessments and analyzing wildfire risk

Treesearch

Alan A. Ager; Bernhard Bahro; Mark Finney

2006-01-01

Firesheds are geographic units used by the Forest Service to delineate areas with similar fire regimes, fire history, and wildland fire risk issues. Fireshed assessment is a collaborative process where specialists design fuel treatments to mitigate wildfire risk. Fireshed assessments are an iterative process where fuel treatments are proposed for specific stands based...

Using remote sensing to monitor post-fire watershed recovery as a tool for management

Treesearch

Jess Clark; Marc Stamer; Kevin Cooper; Carolyn Napper; Terri Hogue; Alicia Kinoshita

2013-01-01

Post-fire watershed recovery is influenced by numerous variables but one of the most important factors is the rate of re-establishment of vegetative cover. Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) teams, along with other agencies (Natural Resource Conservation Service, state, counties, cities, etc.), prescribe temporary post-fire mitigation treatments based on expected...

Wildfire communication and climate risk mitigation

Treesearch

Robyn S. Wilson; Sarah M. McCaffrey; Eric Toman

2017-01-01

Throughout the late 19th century and most of the 20th century, risks associated with wildfire were addressed by suppressing fires as quickly as possible. However, by the 1960s, it became clear that fire exclusion policies were having adverse effects on ecological health, as well as contributing to larger and more damaging wildfires over time. Although federal fire...

Emergency Assessment of Postfire Debris-Flow Hazards for the 2009 Station Fire, San Gabriel Mountains, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E.; Rupert, Michael G.; Michael, John A.; Staley, Dennis M.; Worstell, Bruce B.

2009-01-01

This report presents an emergency assessment of potential debris-flow hazards from basins burned by the 2009 Station fire in Los Angeles County, southern California. Statistical-empirical models developed for postfire debris flows are used to estimate the probability and volume of debris-flow production from 678 drainage basins within the burned area and to generate maps of areas that may be inundated along the San Gabriel mountain front by the estimated volume of material. Debris-flow probabilities and volumes are estimated as combined functions of different measures of basin burned extent, gradient, and material properties in response to both a 3-hour-duration, 1-year-recurrence thunderstorm and to a 12-hour-duration, 2-year recurrence storm. Debris-flow inundation areas are mapped for scenarios where all sediment-retention basins are empty and where the basins are all completely full. This assessment provides critical information for issuing warnings, locating and designing mitigation measures, and planning evacuation timing and routes within the first two winters following the fire. Tributary basins that drain into Pacoima Canyon, Big Tujunga Canyon, Arroyo Seco, West Fork of the San Gabriel River, and Devils Canyon were identified as having probabilities of debris-flow occurrence greater than 80 percent, the potential to produce debris flows with volumes greater than 100,000 m3, and the highest Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Ranking in response to both storms. The predicted high probability and large magnitude of the response to such short-recurrence storms indicates the potential for significant debris-flow impacts to any buildings, roads, bridges, culverts, and reservoirs located both within these drainages and downstream from the burned area. These areas will require appropriate debris-flow mitigation and warning efforts. Probabilities of debris-flow occurrence greater than 80 percent, debris-flow volumes between 10,000 and 100,000 m3, and high Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Rankings were estimated in response to both short recurrence-interval (1- and 2-year) storms for all but the smallest basins along the San Gabriel mountain front between Big Tujunga Canyon and Arroyo Seco. The combination of high probabilities and large magnitudes determined for these basins indicates significant debris-flow hazards for neighborhoods along the mountain front. When the capacity of sediment-retention basins is exceeded, debris flows may be deposited in neighborhoods and streets and impact infrastructure between the mountain front and Foothill Boulevard. In addition, debris flows may be deposited in neighborhoods immediately below unprotected basins. Hazards to neighborhoods and structures at risk from these events will require appropriate debris-flow mitigation and warning efforts.

Modeling Forest Composition and Carbon Dynamics Under Projected Climate-Fire Interactions in the Sierra Nevada, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, S.; Hurteau, M. D.; Westerling, A. L.

2014-12-01

The Sierra Nevada Mountains are occupied by a diversity of forest types that sort by elevation. The interaction of changing climate and altered disturbance regimes (e.g. fire) has the potential to drive changes in forest distribution as a function of species-specific response. Quantifying the effects of these drivers on species distributions and productivity under future climate-fire interactions is necessary for informing mitigation and adaptation efforts. In this study, we assimilated forest inventory and soil survey data and species life history traits into a landscape model, LANDIS-II, to quantify the response of forest dynamics to the interaction of climate change and large wildfire frequency in the Sierra Nevada. We ran 100-year simulations forced with historical climate and climate projections from three models (GFDL, CNRM and CCSM3) driven by the A2 emission scenario. We found that non-growing season NPP is greatly enhanced by 15%-150%, depending on the specific climate projection. The greatest increase occurs in subalpine forests. Species-specific response varied as a function of life history characteristics. The distribution of drought and fire-tolerant species, such as ponderosa pine, expanded by 7.3-9.6% from initial conditions, while drought and fire-intolerant species, such as white fir, showed little change in the absence of fire. Changes in wildfire size and frequency influence species distributions by altering the successional stage of burned patches. The range of responses to different climate models demonstrates the sensitivity of these forests to climate variability. The scale of climate projections relative to the scale of forest simulations presents a source of uncertainty, particularly at the ecotone between forest types and for identifying topographically mediated climate refugia. Improving simulations will likely require higher resolution climate projections.

Production and efficiency of large wildland fire suppression effort: A stochastic frontier analysis

Treesearch

Hari Katuwal; Dave Calkin; Michael S. Hand

2016-01-01

This study examines the production and efficiency of wildland fire suppression effort. We estimate the effectiveness of suppression resource inputs to produce controlled fire lines that contain large wildland fires using stochastic frontier analysis. Determinants of inefficiency are identified and the effects of these determinants on the daily production of...

A Study of Aircraft Post-Crash Fuel Fire Mitigation

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-06-01

AD-A282. 208 A STUDY OF AIRCRAFT POST-CRASH FUEL FIRE MITIGATION INTERIM REPORT BFLRF No. 292 By D.W. Naegeli B.R. Wright Belvoir Fuels and...DAAK7D-S7-C4.004; WD 36 6. AUTHOR(S) DA7-2C0.W Naegeli D"i N. and Wrigl* Bomnd L sed Zabne, David bi (Zalle. Assoiaes) 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME...Proceedings, December 3-5, 1991. 6. Weatherford, W.D., Jr. and Naegeli , D,W., "Study of Pool Burning Self-Extinguishment Mechanisms in Aqueous Diesel

Black Carbon in the Arctic: Assessment of and efforts to reduce black carbon emissions from wildfires and agricultural burning in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinder, B.; Hao, W. M.; Larkin, N. K.; McCarty, G.; O'neal, K. J.; Gonzalez, O.; Luxenberg, J.; Rosenblum, M.; Petkov, A.

2011-12-01

Black carbon and other short-lived climate forcers exert a warming effect on the climate but remain in the atmosphere for short time periods when compared to carbon dioxide. Black carbon is a significant contributor to increasing temperatures in the Arctic region, which has warmed at twice the global rate over the past 100 years. Black carbon warms the Arctic by absorbing incoming solar radiation while in the atmosphere and, when deposited onto Arctic ice, leading to increased atmospheric temperatures and snow and ice melt. Black carbon remains in the atmosphere for a short time period ranging from days to weeks; therefore, local atmospheric conditions at the time of burning determine the amount of black carbon transport to the Arctic. Most black carbon transport and deposition in the Arctic results from the occurrence of wildfires, prescribed forest fires, and agricultural burning at latitudes greater than 40 degrees north latitude. Wildfire affects some 10-15 million hectares of forest, forest steppe, and grasslands in Russia each year. In addition to wildfire, there is widespread cropland burning in Russia occurring in the fall following harvest and in the spring prior to tilling. Agricultural burning is common practice for crop residue removal as well as suppression of weeds, insects and residue-borne diseases. The goal of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Black Carbon Initiative is to assess black carbon emissions from agricultural burning and wildfires in Russia and explore practical options and opportunities for reducing emissions from these two sources. The emissions assessment combines satellite-derived burned area measurements of forest and agricultural fires, burn severity information, ancillary geospatial data, vegetation and land cover maps, fuels data, fire emissions data, fire/weather relationship information, and smoke transport models to estimate black carbon transport and deposition in the Arctic. The assessment addresses necessary improvements to fire and burned area detection algorithms to improve agricultural burned area mapping accuracy. Efforts to explore practical options for reducing black carbon emissions from wildfires and agricultural burning in Russia have been focused on designing community-based fire prevention and education programs in Siberia and the Russia Far East, two regions prone to frequent human-caused fires. The initiative also seeks to identify practical alternatives to reduce black carbon emissions from agricultural burning and to help promote these alternatives through outreach to farmers and other agricultural organizations. This submission will explore the initial findings and results of the emissions assessment and discuss the progress and challenges associated with implementation of local-level fire prevention and mitigation efforts in Russia. The results of this initiative will help inform future policy and management tools to address black carbon emissions from wildfires and agricultural burning in Russia and perhaps additional interested countries.

Application of wildfire simulation models for risk analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ager, A.; Finney, M.

2009-04-01

Wildfire simulation models are being widely used by fire and fuels specialists in the U.S. to support tactical and strategic decisions related to the mitigation of wildfire risk. Much of this application has resulted from the development of a minimum travel time (MTT) fire spread algorithm (M. Finney) that makes it computationally feasible to simulate thousands of fires and generate burn probability and intensity maps over large areas (10,000 - 2,000,000 ha). The MTT algorithm is parallelized for multi-threaded processing and is imbedded in a number of research and applied fire modeling applications. High performance computers (e.g., 32-way 64 bit SMP) are typically used for MTT simulations, although the algorithm is also implemented in the 32 bit desktop FlamMap3 program (www.fire.org). Extensive testing has shown that this algorithm can replicate large fire boundaries in the heterogeneous landscapes that typify much of the wildlands in the western U.S. In this paper, we describe the application of the MTT algorithm to understand spatial patterns of burn probability (BP), and to analyze wildfire risk to key human and ecological values. The work is focused on a federally-managed 2,000,000 ha landscape in the central interior region of Oregon State, USA. The fire-prone study area encompasses a wide array of topography and fuel types and a number of highly valued resources that are susceptible to fire. We quantitatively defined risk as the product of the probability of a fire and the resulting consequence. Burn probabilities at specific intensity classes were estimated for each 100 x 100 m pixel by simulating 100,000 wildfires under burn conditions that replicated recent severe wildfire events that occurred under conditions where fire suppression was generally ineffective (97th percentile, August weather). We repeated the simulation under milder weather (70th percentile, August weather) to replicate a "wildland fire use scenario" where suppression is minimized to manage fires for fuel reduction. The average BP was calculated for these scenarios to examine variation within and among a number of key designated management units, including forest-urban interface, conservation areas, protected species habitat, municipal watersheds, recreation areas, and others. To quantify risk, we developed a number of loss-benefit functions using fire effects models that relate fire intensity to tree mortality and biomass consumption. We used these relationships to measure the change in highly-valued old forest, designated wildlife conservation areas, aboveground carbon, surface fuels, and other wildland values. The loss-benefit functions were then coupled with BP's for different intensity classes to estimate expected value change (risk) for each pixel. For a subset of the study area we also measured the change in risk from fuels management for selected resources. Estimates of BP, excluding non burnable fuels (water, rock), fro the simulations ranged from 0.00001 to 0.026 within the study area, with a mean value of 0.007. In comparison, the annual burn probability estimated from fire occurrence data within the study area (1910 - 2003) was 0.0022. The estimate from simulations represents the average probability of a random pixel burning from a single large fire that escapes suppression, hence some difference is expected. Variation in BP among designated conservation and fire protection units was relatively large and illustrated spatial differences in wildfire likelihood among highly values resources. For instance, among the 130 different forest-urban interface areas, average BP varied from 0.0001 to 0.02. Average BP for nesting sites used by the endangered Northern spotted owl averaged 0.04 and varied from 0.001 to 0.01. The marginal BP's for high fire intensities was higher for many of the conservation areas compared the surrounding managed forest. Conservation areas that were located on the lee side of non-burnable fuels such as lava flows and lakes showed markedly reduced BP. When wildfire probabilities were combined with habitat loss functions for the Northern spotted owl, we observed expected loss from a random wildfire event ranging from 0.0 to 9.4% with a mean value of 1.5%. Expected loss was strongly correlated with BP for owl habitat, apparently because fires at very low intensities caused understory mortality and reduced stand canopy closure below minimum levels. The effect of simulating strategic fuel treatments on a subunit of the area resulted in significant decrease in expected loss of owl habitat. The effect of changing weather from a severe to mild (97th to 70th) percentile weather resulted in a dramatic 8-fold drop in BP and reduced the average wildfire size. However, the reduction was not uniform with the departures well correlated with specific fuel models. In total, this work demonstrated the application of wildfire spread models to quantitative risk assessment for fuels management on federally-managed lands in the U.S. The analyses revealed spatial variation in BP that is useful in prioritizing fuels treatments and guiding other wildfire mitigation activities. The work also illuminated the conflict between biodiversity conservation efforts on federally-managed lands and the high wildfire risk on fire-prone landscapes.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hollingsworth, LaWen T.; Kurth, Laurie,; Parresol, Bernard, R.

Landscape-scale fire behavior analyses are important to inform decisions on resource management projects that meet land management objectives and protect values from adverse consequences of fire. Deterministic and probabilistic geospatial fire behavior analyses are conducted with various modeling systems including FARSITE, FlamMap, FSPro, and Large Fire Simulation System. The fundamental fire intensity algorithms in these systems require surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy cover to model surface fire behavior. Canopy base height, stand height, and canopy bulk density are required in addition to surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy cover to model crown fire activity. Several surface fuelmore » and canopy classification efforts have used various remote sensing and ecological relationships as core methods to develop the spatial layers. All of these methods depend upon consistent and temporally constant interpretations of crown attributes and their ecological conditions to estimate surface fuel conditions. This study evaluates modeled fire behavior for an 80,000 ha tract of land in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern US using three different data sources. The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS) was used to build fuelbeds from intensive field sampling of 629 plots. Custom fire behavior fuel models were derived from these fuelbeds. LANDFIRE developed surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy attributes for the US using satellite imagery informed by field data. The Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment (SWRA) developed surface fire behavior fuel models and canopy cover for the southeastern US using satellite imagery. Differences in modeled fire behavior, data development, and data utility are summarized to assist in determining which data source may be most applicable for various land management activities and required analyses. Characterizing fire behavior under different fuel relationships provides insights for natural ecological processes, management strategies for fire mitigation, and positive and negative features of different modeling systems. A comparison of flame length, rate of spread, crown fire activity, and burn probabilities modeled with FlamMap shows some similar patterns across the landscape from all three data sources, but there are potentially important differences. All data sources showed an expected range of fire behavior. Average flame lengths ranged between 1 and 1.4 m. Rate of spread varied the greatest with a range of 2.4-5.7 m min{sup -1}. Passive crown fire was predicted for 5% of the study area using FCCS and LANDFIRE while passive crown fire was not predicted using SWRA data. No active crown fire was predicted regardless of the data source. Burn probability patterns across the landscape were similar but probability was highest using SWRA and lowest using FCCS.« less

Seasonal Forecasting of Fires across Southern Borneo, 1997-2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spessa, Allan; Field, Robert; Kaiser, Johannes; Langner, Andreas; Moore, Jonathan; Pappenberger, Florian; Siegert, Florian; Weber, Ulrich

2014-05-01

Wildfire is a fundamental Earth System process, affecting almost all biogeochemical cycles, and all vegetated biomes. Fires are naturally rare in humid tropical forests, and tropical trees are generally killed by even low-intensity fires. However, fire activity in the tropics has increased markedly over the past 15-20 years, especially in Indonesia, Amazonia, and more recently, central Africa also. Since fire is the prime tool for clearing land in the tropics, it not surprising that the increase in fire activity is strongly associated with increased levels of deforestation, which is driven mainly by world-wide demand for timber and agricultural commodities. The consequences of deforestation fires for biodiversity conservation and emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols are enormous. For example, carbon emissions from tropical biomass burning are around 20% of annual average global fossil fuel emissions. The destructive fires in Indonesia during the exceptionally strong El Niño-induced drought in late 1997 and early 1998 rank as some of the largest peak emissions events in recorded history. Past studies estimate about 1Gt of carbon was released to the atmosphere from the Indonesian fires in 1997 (which were mostly concentrated in carbon-rich forested peatlands). This amount is equivalent to about 14% of the average global annual fossil fuel emissions released during the 1990s. While not as large as the 1997-98 events, significant emissions from biomass burning have also been recorded in other (less severe) El Niño years across Indonesia, in particular, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2009-2010. Recent climate modelling studies indicate that the frequency of El Niño events may increase under future climate change, affecting many tropical countries, including Indonesia. An increased drought frequency plus a projected increase in population and land use pressures in Indonesia, imply there will be even more fires and emissions in future across the region. However, while several studies using historical data have established negative relationships between fires and antecedent rainfall, and/or positive relationships between fires and deforestation in regions affected by El Nino, comparatively little work has attempted to predict fires and emissions in such regions. Ensemble seasonal climate forecasts issued with several months lead-time have been applied to support risk assessment systems in many fields, notably agricultural production and natural disaster management of flooding, heat waves, drought and fire. The USA, for example, has a long-standing seasonal fire danger prediction system. Fire danger monitoring systems have been operating in Indonesia for over a decade, but, as of yet, no fire danger prediction systems exist. Given the effort required to mobilise suppression and prevention measures in Indonesia, one could argue that high fire danger periods must be anticipated months in advance for mitigation and response measures to be effective. To address this need, the goal of our work was to examine the utility of seasonal rainfall forecasts in predicting severe fires in Indonesia more than one month in advance, using southern Borneo (comprising the bulk of Kalimantan) as a case study. Here we present the results of comparing seasonal forecasts of monthly rainfall from ECMWF's System 4 against i) observed rainfall (GPCP), and ii) burnt area and deforestation (MODIS, AVHRR and Landsat) across southern Borneo for the period 1997-2010. Our results demonstrate the utility of using ECMWF's seasonal climate forecasts for predicting fire activity in the region. Potential applications include improved fire mitigation and responsiveness, and improved risk assessments of biodiversity and carbon losses through fire. These are important considerations for forest protection programmes (e.g. REDD+), forest carbon markets and forest (re)insurance enterprises.

Fire patterns in the Amazonian biome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aragao, Luiz E. O. C.; Shimabukuro, Yosio E.; Lima, Andre; Anderson, Liana O.; Barbier, Nicolas; Saatchi, Sassan

2010-05-01

This paper aims to provide an overview of our recent findings on the interplay between climate and land use dynamics in defining fire patterns in Amazonia. Understanding these relationships is currently a fundamental concern for assessing the vulnerability of Amazonia to climate change and its potential for mitigating current increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases. Reducing carbon emissions from tropical deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), for instance, could contribute to a cumulative emission reduction of 13-50 billion tons of carbon (GtC) by 2100. In Amazonia, though, forest fires can release similar quantities of carbon to the atmosphere (~0.2 GtC yr-1) as deforestation alone. Therefore, to achieve carbon savings through REDD mechanism there is an urgent need of understanding and subsequently restraining related Amazonian fire drivers. In this study, we analyze satellite-derived monthly and annual time-series of fires, rainfall and deforestation in Amazonia to: (1) quantify the seasonal patterns and relationships between these variables; (2) quantify fire and rainfall anomalies to evaluate the impact of recent drought on fire patterns; (3) quantify recent trends in fire and deforestation to understand how land use affects fire patterns in Amazonia. Our results demonstrate a marked seasonality of fires. The majority of fires occurs along the Arc of Deforestation, the expanding agricultural frontier in southern and eastern Amazonia, indicating humans are the major ignition sources determining fire seasonality, spatial distribution and long-term patterns. There is a marked seasonality of fires, which is highly correlated (p<0.05) with monthly rainfall and deforestation rates. Deforestation and fires reach their highest values three and six months, respectively, after the peak of the rainy season. This result clearly describes the impact of major human activities on fire incidence, which is generally characterized by the slash-and-burn of Amazonian vegetation for implementation of pastures and agricultural fields. The cumulative number of hot pixels is exponentially related to the monthly rainfall, which ultimately defines where and when fire can potentially strike. During the 2005 Amazonian drought, the number of hot pixels increased 33% in relation to mean 1998-2005. However, even with a large fraction of the basin experiencing considerable water deficits, fires have only affect areas with extensive human activity. Our spatially explicit trend analysis on deforestation and fire data revealed that more than half of the area experiencing increased fire occurrence have reduced deforestation rates. This reverse pattern is likely to be associated with the slash-and-burn of secondary forests and the increase of fragmentation and forest edges, favouring the leakage of fires from deforested lands into forests. Finally, our analysis points towards a reduction of fire incidence due to land use intensification in this region. In this study, we demonstrated that anthropogenic forcing, such as deforestation rates, is decisive in determining the seasonality and annual patterns of fire occurrence. Moreover, droughts can significantly increase the number of fires in the region exacerbating human impacts in Amazonia. Due to ongoing deforestation and the predicted intensification of climate change induced droughts, it is anticipated that a large area of forest edge will be under increased risk of fires and carbon savings from REDD may be partially offset by increased emissions following fire events. Improved fire-free land management practices may provide a sustainable solution for reducing emissions from the world's largest rainforest. Acknowledges The first author would like to thank the financial support of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC-UK/grant NE/F015356/1).

From Fireproof Desert to Flammable Grassland: Buffelgrass Invasion in the Sonoran Desert

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Betancourt, J. L.

2007-12-01

Only a few decades ago, the Sonoran Desert of northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona was considered mostly fireproof, a case of not enough fine fuel to connect the dominant shrubs and cacti. This has changed with invasions by non-native, winter annual and summer-flower perennial grasses that are rapidly transforming fireproof desert into flammable grassland. Of particular concern is buffelgrass, Pennisetum ciliare, a fire-prone and invasive African perennial grass that has already converted millions of hectares across Sonora since the mid-1960s and has made quick headway in southern and central Arizona beginning in the 1980s. Near Tucson and Phoenix, AZ, buffelgrass invasion is proceeding exponentially, with population expansion (and the costs of mitigation) more than doubling every year. As this conversion progresses, there will be increased fire risks, lost tourist revenue, diminished property values, insurmountable setbacks to conservation efforts, and the threat of large ignition fronts in desert valleys routinely spreading into the mountains. Although somewhat belated, an integrated, multi-jurisdictional effort is being organized to reduce ecological and economic impacts. My presentation will summarize the history and context of buffelgrass introduction and invasion, the disconnect in attitudes and policies across state and international boundaries, ongoing management efforts, the role of science and responsibilities of scientists, accelerated spread with changing climate, and impacts to regional ecosystems and economies. This narrative may serve as a template for other semi-arid lands where buffelgrass and similar grasses have become invasive, including Australia, South America, and many islands in the Pacific Ocean (including Hawaii), Indian Ocean, and Caribbean Sea.

Remote sensing of WUI fuel treatment effectiveness following the 2007 wildfires in central Idaho

Treesearch

Andrew T. Hudak; Theresa B. Jain; Penelope Morgan; Jess T. Clark

2011-01-01

The 2007 East Zone and Cascade wildfires in central Idaho burned through fuel treatments in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) surrounding two local communities: Secesh Meadows and Warm Lake. The WUI fuel treatments funded by the National Fire Plan were designed to increase fire fighter safety, protect people and property, and mitigate severe fire effects on natural...

The efficacy of salvage logging in reducing subsequent fire severity in conifer-dominated forests of Minnesota, USA

Treesearch

Shawn Fraver; Terrie Jain; John B. Bradford; Anthony W. D' amato; Doug Kastendick; Brian Palik; Doug Shinneman; John Stanovick

2011-01-01

Although primarily used to mitigate economic losses following disturbance, salvage logging has also been justified on the basis of reducing fire risk and fire severity; however, its ability to achieve these secondary objectives remains unclear. The patchiness resulting from a sequence of recent disturbances - blowdown, salvage logging, and wildfire - provided an...

Carbon tradeoffs of restoration and provision of endangered species habitat in a fire-maintained forest

Treesearch

Katherine L. Martin; Matthew D. Hurteau; Bruce A. Hungate; George W. Koch; Malcolm P. North

2015-01-01

Forests are a significant part of the global carbon cycle and are increasingly viewed as tools for mitigating climate change. Natural disturbances, such as fire, can reduce carbon storage. However, many forests and dependent species evolved with frequent fire as an integral ecosystem process. We used a landscape forest simulation model to evaluate the effects of...

Characteristics of burns conducted under modified prescriptions to mitigate limited fuels in a semi-arid grassland

Treesearch

David J. Augustine; Justin D. Derner; David P. Smith

2014-01-01

In semi-arid grasslands of the North American Great Plains, fire has traditionally been viewed as having few management applications, and quantitative measurements of fire behavior in the low fuel loads characteristic of this region are lacking. More recently, land managers have recognized potential applications of prescribed fire to control undesirable plant species...

Post-fire management regimes affect carbon sequestration and storage in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest

Treesearch

Elizabeth M. Powers; John D. Marshall; Jianwei Zhang; Liang Wei

2013-01-01

Forests mitigate climate change by sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere and accumulating it in biomass storage pools. However, in dry conifer forests, fire occasionally returns large quantities of CO2 to the atmosphere. Both the total amount of carbon stored and its susceptibility to loss may be altered by post-fire land...

Concepts for Future Large Fire Modeling

Treesearch

A. P. Dimitrakopoulos; R. E. Martin

1987-01-01

A small number of fires escape initial attack suppression efforts and become large, but their effects are significant and disproportionate. In 1983, of 200,000 wildland fires in the United States, only 4,000 exceeded 100 acres. However, these escaped fires accounted for roughly 95 percent of wildfire-related costs and damages (Pyne, 1984). Thus, future research efforts...

Adding Fuel to the Fire: The Impacts of Non-Native Grass Invasion on Fire Management at a Regional Scale

PubMed Central

Setterfield, Samantha A.; Rossiter-Rachor, Natalie A.; Douglas, Michael M.; Wainger, Lisa; Petty, Aaron M.; Barrow, Piers; Shepherd, Ian J.; Ferdinands, Keith B.

2013-01-01

Background Widespread invasion by non-native plants has resulted in substantial change in fire-fuel characteristics and fire-behaviour in many of the world's ecosystems, with a subsequent increase in the risk of fire damage to human life, property and the environment. Models used by fire management agencies to assess fire risk are dependent on accurate assessments of fuel characteristics but there is little evidence that they have been modified to reflect landscape-scale invasions. There is also a paucity of information documenting other changes in fire management activities that have occurred to mitigate changed fire regimes. This represents an important limitation in information for both fire and weed risk management. Methodology/Principal Findings We undertook an aerial survey to estimate changes to landscape fuel loads in northern Australia resulting from invasion by Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass). Fuel load within the most densely invaded area had increased from 6 to 10 t ha−1 in the past two decades. Assessment of the effect of calculating the Grassland Fire Danger Index (GFDI) for the 2008 and 2009 fire seasons demonstrated that an increase from 6 to 10 t ha−1 resulted in an increase from five to 38 days with fire risk in the ‘severe’ category in 2008 and from 11 to 67 days in 2009. The season of severe fire weather increased by six weeks. Our assessment of the effect of increased fuel load on fire management practices showed that fire management costs in the region have increased markedly (∼9 times) in the past decade due primarily to A. gayanus invasion. Conclusions/Significance This study demonstrated the high economic cost of mitigating fire impacts of an invasive grass. This study demonstrates the need to quantify direct and indirect invasion costs to assess the risk of further invasion and to appropriately fund fire and weed management strategies. PMID:23690917

Adding fuel to the fire: the impacts of non-native grass invasion on fire management at a regional scale.

PubMed

Setterfield, Samantha A; Rossiter-Rachor, Natalie A; Douglas, Michael M; Wainger, Lisa; Petty, Aaron M; Barrow, Piers; Shepherd, Ian J; Ferdinands, Keith B

2013-01-01

Widespread invasion by non-native plants has resulted in substantial change in fire-fuel characteristics and fire-behaviour in many of the world's ecosystems, with a subsequent increase in the risk of fire damage to human life, property and the environment. Models used by fire management agencies to assess fire risk are dependent on accurate assessments of fuel characteristics but there is little evidence that they have been modified to reflect landscape-scale invasions. There is also a paucity of information documenting other changes in fire management activities that have occurred to mitigate changed fire regimes. This represents an important limitation in information for both fire and weed risk management. We undertook an aerial survey to estimate changes to landscape fuel loads in northern Australia resulting from invasion by Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass). Fuel load within the most densely invaded area had increased from 6 to 10 t ha(-1) in the past two decades. Assessment of the effect of calculating the Grassland Fire Danger Index (GFDI) for the 2008 and 2009 fire seasons demonstrated that an increase from 6 to 10 t ha(-1) resulted in an increase from five to 38 days with fire risk in the 'severe' category in 2008 and from 11 to 67 days in 2009. The season of severe fire weather increased by six weeks. Our assessment of the effect of increased fuel load on fire management practices showed that fire management costs in the region have increased markedly (∼9 times) in the past decade due primarily to A. gayanus invasion. This study demonstrated the high economic cost of mitigating fire impacts of an invasive grass. This study demonstrates the need to quantify direct and indirect invasion costs to assess the risk of further invasion and to appropriately fund fire and weed management strategies.

Deriving Multiple Benefits from Carbon Market-Based Savanna Fire Management: An Australian Example.

PubMed

Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Yates, Cameron P; Edwards, Andrew C; Whitehead, Peter J; Murphy, Brett P; Lawes, Michael J

2015-01-01

Carbon markets afford potentially useful opportunities for supporting socially and environmentally sustainable land management programs but, to date, have been little applied in globally significant fire-prone savanna settings. While fire is intrinsic to regulating the composition, structure and dynamics of savanna systems, in north Australian savannas frequent and extensive late dry season wildfires incur significant environmental, production and social impacts. Here we assess the potential of market-based savanna burning greenhouse gas emissions abatement and allied carbon biosequestration projects to deliver compatible environmental and broader socio-economic benefits in a highly biodiverse north Australian setting. Drawing on extensive regional ecological knowledge of fire regime effects on fire-vulnerable taxa and communities, we compare three fire regime metrics (seasonal fire frequency, proportion of long-unburnt vegetation, fire patch-size distribution) over a 15-year period for three national parks with an indigenously (Aboriginal) owned and managed market-based emissions abatement enterprise. Our assessment indicates improved fire management outcomes under the emissions abatement program, and mostly little change or declining outcomes on the parks. We attribute improved outcomes and putative biodiversity benefits under the abatement program to enhanced strategic management made possible by the market-based mitigation arrangement. For these same sites we estimate quanta of carbon credits that could be delivered under realistic enhanced fire management practice, using currently available and developing accredited Australian savanna burning accounting methods. We conclude that, in appropriate situations, market-based savanna burning activities can provide transformative climate change mitigation, ecosystem health, and community benefits in northern Australia, and, despite significant challenges, potentially in other fire-prone savanna settings.

Deriving Multiple Benefits from Carbon Market-Based Savanna Fire Management: An Australian Example

PubMed Central

Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Yates, Cameron P.; Edwards, Andrew C.; Whitehead, Peter J.; Murphy, Brett P.; Lawes, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Carbon markets afford potentially useful opportunities for supporting socially and environmentally sustainable land management programs but, to date, have been little applied in globally significant fire-prone savanna settings. While fire is intrinsic to regulating the composition, structure and dynamics of savanna systems, in north Australian savannas frequent and extensive late dry season wildfires incur significant environmental, production and social impacts. Here we assess the potential of market-based savanna burning greenhouse gas emissions abatement and allied carbon biosequestration projects to deliver compatible environmental and broader socio-economic benefits in a highly biodiverse north Australian setting. Drawing on extensive regional ecological knowledge of fire regime effects on fire-vulnerable taxa and communities, we compare three fire regime metrics (seasonal fire frequency, proportion of long-unburnt vegetation, fire patch-size distribution) over a 15-year period for three national parks with an indigenously (Aboriginal) owned and managed market-based emissions abatement enterprise. Our assessment indicates improved fire management outcomes under the emissions abatement program, and mostly little change or declining outcomes on the parks. We attribute improved outcomes and putative biodiversity benefits under the abatement program to enhanced strategic management made possible by the market-based mitigation arrangement. For these same sites we estimate quanta of carbon credits that could be delivered under realistic enhanced fire management practice, using currently available and developing accredited Australian savanna burning accounting methods. We conclude that, in appropriate situations, market-based savanna burning activities can provide transformative climate change mitigation, ecosystem health, and community benefits in northern Australia, and, despite significant challenges, potentially in other fire-prone savanna settings. PMID:26630453

Assessing Hurricane Katrina Vegetation Damage at Stennis Space Center using IKONOS Image Classification Techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, Joseph P.; Ross, Kenton W.; Graham, William D.

2007-01-01

Hurricane Katrina hit southwestern Mississippi on August 29, 2005, at 9:45 a.m. CDT as a category 3 storm with surges up to approx. 9 m and sustained winds of approx. 120 mph. The hurricane's wind, rain, and flooding devastated several coastal towns, from New Orleans through Mobile. The storm also caused significant damage to infrastructure and vegetation of NASA's SSC (Stennis Space Center). Storm recovery at SSC involved not only repairs of critical infrastructure but also forest damage mitigation (via timber harvests and control burns to reduce fire risk). This presentation discusses an effort to use commercially available high spatial resolution multispectral IKONOS data for vegetation damage assessment, based on data collected over SSC on September 2, 2005.

36 CFR 219.8 - Sustainability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... as natural succession, wildland fire, invasive species, and climate change; and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems on the plan area to adapt to change. (v) Wildland fire and opportunities to... other sources of drinking water (including guidance to prevent or mitigate detrimental changes in...

36 CFR 219.8 - Sustainability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... as natural succession, wildland fire, invasive species, and climate change; and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems on the plan area to adapt to change. (v) Wildland fire and opportunities to... other sources of drinking water (including guidance to prevent or mitigate detrimental changes in...

36 CFR 219.8 - Sustainability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... as natural succession, wildland fire, invasive species, and climate change; and the ability of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems on the plan area to adapt to change. (v) Wildland fire and opportunities to... other sources of drinking water (including guidance to prevent or mitigate detrimental changes in...

Chemical Safety Alert: Fire Hazard from Carbon Adsorption Deodorizing Systems

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Activated carbon systems used to adsorb vapors for odor control may pose a fire hazard when used for certain types of substances, such as crude sulfate turpentine. Facilities should take precautions and proper procedures to avoid or mitigate these hazards.

Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE): Aerospace Propulsion Hazard Mitigation Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mizukami, Masashi; Corpening, Griffin P.; Ray, Ronald J.; Hass, Neal; Ennix, Kimberly A.; Lazaroff, Scott M.

1998-01-01

A major hazard posed by the propulsion system of hypersonic and space vehicles is the possibility of fire or explosion in the vehicle environment. The hazard is mitigated by minimizing or detecting, in the vehicle environment, the three ingredients essential to producing fire: fuel, oxidizer, and an ignition source. The Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) consisted of a linear aerospike rocket engine integrated into one-half of an X-33-like lifting body shape, carried on top of an SR-71 aircraft. Gaseous hydrogen and liquid oxygen were used as propellants. Although LASRE is a one-of-a-kind experimental system, it must be rated for piloted flight, so this test presented a unique challenge. To help meet safety requirements, the following propulsion hazard mitigation systems were incorporated into the experiment: pod inert purge, oxygen sensors, a hydrogen leak detection algorithm, hydrogen sensors, fire detection and pod temperature thermocouples, water misting, and control room displays. These systems are described, and their development discussed. Analyses, ground test, and flight test results are presented, as are findings and lessons learned.

Summaries of BFRL fire research in-house projects and grants, 1993

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jason, Nora H.

1993-09-01

The report describes the fire research projects performed in the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) and under its extramural grants program during fiscal year 1993. The BFRL Fire Research Program has directed its efforts under three program thrusts. The in-house priority projects, grants, and externally-funded efforts thus form an integrated, focussed ensemble. The publication is organized along those lines: fire risk and hazard prediction - carbon monoxide prediction, turbulent combustion, soot, engineering analysis, fire hazard assessment, and large fires; fire safety of products and materials - materials combustion, furniture flammability, and wall and ceiling fires; and advanced technologies for fire sensing and control - fire detection and fire suppression. For the convenience of the reader, an alphabetical listing of all grants is contained in Part 2.0.

Trading places - an innovative SO{sub 2} trading program to mitigate potential adverse impacts on class I areas: part II. Mitigation plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Louis Militana; Cindy Huber; Christopher Colbert

2005-08-01

This is the second of two articles describing a plan that was developed to mitigate the effects of acid deposition and visibility impairment in four Class I areas from the proposed Longview Power Project. Part I (published in July 2005) discussed the air quality impacts of the proposed coal-fired power plant. Part II discusses the mitigation plan. 2 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

The efficacy of fuel treatment in mitigating property loss during wildfires: Insights from analysis of the severity of the catastrophic fires in 2009 in Victoria, Australia.

PubMed

Price, Owen F; Bradstock, Ross A

2012-12-30

Treatment of fuel (e.g. prescribed fire, logging) in fire-prone ecosystems is done to reduce risks to people and their property but effects require quantification, particularly under severe weather conditions when the destructive potential of fires on human infrastructure is maximised. We analysed the relative effects of fuel age (i.e. indicative of the effectiveness of prescribed fire) and logging on remotely sensed (SPOT imagery) severity of fires which occurred in eucalypt forests in Victoria, Australia in 2009. These fires burned under the most severe weather conditions recorded in Australia and caused large losses of life and property. Statistical models of the probability of contrasting extremes of severity (crown fire versus fire confined to the understorey) were developed based on effects of fuel age, logging, weather, topography and forest type. Weather was the primary influence on severity, though it was reduced at low fuel ages in Moderate but not Catastrophic, Very High or Low fire-weather conditions. Probability of crown fires was higher in recently logged areas than in areas logged decades before, indicating likely ineffectiveness as a fuel treatment. The results suggest that recently burnt areas (up to 5-10 years) may reduce the intensity of the fire but not sufficiently to increase the chance of effective suppression under severe weather conditions. Since house loss was most likely under these conditions (67%), effects of prescribed burning across landscapes on house loss are likely to be small when weather conditions are severe. Fuel treatments need to be located close to houses in order to effectively mitigate risk of loss. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Afforestation, subsequent forest fires and provision of hydrological services: a model-based analysis for a Mediterranean mountainous catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nunes, João Pedro; Naranjo Quintanilla, Paula; Santos, Juliana; Serpa, Dalila; Carvalho-Santos, Cláudia; Rocha, João; Keizer, Jan Jacob; Keesstra, Saskia

2017-04-01

Mediterranean landscapes have experienced extensive abandonment and reforestation in recent decades, which should have improved the provision of hydrological services, such as flood mitigation, soil erosion protection and water quality regulation. However, these forests are fire-prone, and the post-fire increase in runoff, erosion and sediment exports could negatively affect service provision. This issue was assessed using the SWAT model for a small mountain agroforestry catchment, which was monitored between 2010 and 2014 and where some eucalypt stands burned in 2011 and were subsequently plowed for replanting. The model was calibrated and validated for streamflow, sediment yield and erosion in agricultural fields and the burnt hillslopes, showing that it can be adapted for post-fire simulation. It was then used to perform a decadal assessment of surface runoff, erosion, and sediment exports between 2004 and 2014. Results show that the fire did not noticeably affect flood mitigation but that it increased erosion by 3 orders of magnitude, which subsequently increased sediment yield. Erosion in the burnt forest during this decade was one order of magnitude above that in agricultural fields. SWAT was also used to assess different fire and land-use scenarios during the same period. Results indicate that the impacts of fire were lower without post-fire soil management, and when the fire occurred in pine forests (i.e. before the 1990s) or in shrublands (i.e. before afforestation in the 1930s). These impacts were robust to changes in post-fire weather conditions and to a lower fire frequency (20-year intervals). The results suggest that, in the long term, fire-prone forests might not provide the anticipated soil protection and water quality regulation services in wet Mediterranean regions.

Chapter C. The Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake of October 17, 1989 - Fire, Police, Transportation and Hazardous Materials

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Anne, Craig; Scawthorn, Charles R.

1994-01-01

The papers in this chapter discuss some of the failures and successes that resulted from the societal response by a multitude of agencies to the Loma Prieta earthquake. Some of the lessons learned were old ones relearned. Other lessons were obvious ones which had gone unnoticed. Still, knowledge gained from past earthquakes spawned planning and mitigation efforts which proved to be successful in limiting the aftermath effects of the Loma Prieta event. At least four major areas of response are presented in this chapter: the Oakland Police Department response to the challenge of controlled access to the Cypress freeway collapse area without inhibiting relief and recovery efforts; search and rescue of the freeway collapse and the monumental crisis management problem that accompanied it; the short- and long-term impact on transbay transportation systems to move a large work force from home to business; and the handling of hazardous material releases throughout the Bay Area.

The relative impacts of vegetation, topography and spatial arrangement on building loss to wildfires in case studies of California and Colorado

Treesearch

Patricia M. Alexandre; Susan I. Stewart; Miranda H. Mockrin; Nicholas S. Keuler; Alexandra D. Syphard; Avi Bar-Massada; Murray K. Clayton; Volker C. Radeloff

2015-01-01

Wildfires destroy thousands of buildings every year in the wildland urban interface. However, fire typically only destroys a fraction of the buildings within a given fire perimeter, suggesting more could be done to mitigate risk if we understood how to configure residential landscapes so that both people and buildings could survive fire.

Simulation and Experiment of Air Quality Effects of Prescribed Fires in the Southeast

Treesearch

Yongqiang Liu; Gary Achtemeier; Scott Goodrick

2005-01-01

Wildfires can cause degradation of air quality by releasing large amounts of particulate matter (PM) and precursors of ozone (Sandberg et al., 1999; Riebau and Fox, 2001). EPA has issued the Interim Air Quality Policy on Wildland and Prescribed Fire to protect public health and welfare by mitigating the impacts of air pollutant emissions from wildland fires on air...

The influence of an incomplete fuels treatment on fire behavior and effects in the 2007 Tin Cup Fire, Bitterroot National Forest, Montana

Treesearch

Michael Harrington; Erin Noonan-Wright

2010-01-01

Extensive forested areas have received fuels treatments in recent decades and significant funding is available for additional treatments in an attempt to mitigate undesirable high wildfire intensities and impacts. Fuel treatment successes and failures in moderating fire behavior and effects can be found in quantified and anecdotal reports. Questions remain about the...

Assessing the Role and Impact of Geospatial Data for Wildland Fire Management Decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, E. A.; Lev, S. M.

2016-12-01

The 2015 Wildland and Fire Science and Technology Task Force Final Report, produced by the National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainability, Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction, highlighted the increasing frequency of large wildfires and the growing demand for science to inform critical resource decisions to manage, mitigate, respond to, and recover from wildland fires. Federal spending on fire suppression from 2005-2015 has more than doubled despite policy changes that prioritize the mitigation of fire risks through the use of fuel treatments, prescribed fire, and management of naturally occurring wildfires to protect life and property. Fire suppression policies over the last century have created forests primed for severe fire, and in the face of a changing climate, the benefits of re-introducing fire into once fire-resilient ecosystems are clear. There are a range of complex factors and regional variation associated with wildland fire risk that complicate our understanding and effective management of this hazard. Data derived from Earth-observing (EO) systems and networks are a crucial input for managers when making decisions about fire suppression and fuel management. EO data can also be used to develop pre- and post-fire metrics that can aid in the evaluating the effectiveness of wildland fire management decisions. A value-tree method for mapping the role of EO systems and networks in delivering societal benefit through key Federal objectives related to wildland fire management will be presented. The value-tree methodology utilizes input from subject matter experts to assess the availability and usability of data and data products and to evaluate the impact of individual EO data inputs for achieving wildland fire management objectives. The results provide a qualitative assessment of the value of the data for the objectives described and identify critical gaps and continuity issues associated with improvements to and continuous delivery of societal benefit.

RAPID POST-FIRE HYDROLOGIC WATERSHED ASSESSMENT USING THE AGWA GIS-BASED HYDROLOGIC MODELING TOOL

EPA Science Inventory

Rapid post-fire watershed assessment to identify potential trouble spots for erosion and flooding can potentially aid land managers and Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) teams in deploying mitigation and rehabilitation resources.

These decisions are inherently co...

Management options for mitigating Nitrogen (N) losses from N-saturated mixed-conifer forests in California

Treesearch

Benjamin S. Gimeno; Fengming Yuan; Mark E. Fenn; Thomas Meixner

2009-01-01

Mixed-conifer forests of southern California are exposed to nitrogen (N) deposition levels that impair carbon (C) and N cycling, enhance forest flammability, increase the risk of fire occurrence and air pollution emissions in fire, and increase nitrate...

The use of rainfall simulations to assess land degradation and soil erosion produced by an SLM technology, Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soares, J.; Coelho, C.; Carvalho, T.; Oliveira, E.; Valente, S.

2012-04-01

Forest fires represent the main threat to sustainable forest management in Portugal. During the last fifty years, a massive depopulation took place at rural areas, developing a landscape more prone to fire. The expansion of forest and shrubland into former agricultural areas, as well as, the rapid regeneration of vegetation after fire in some areas, highlighted the need to implement several measures to protect forest and rural areas against fires. Mação municipality suffered massive fires in 2003 and 2005, where more than 70% of the municipality area has been burnt. The implementation of a forest fire prevention and mitigation technology as well as the vegetation regeneration rate was assessed at this location, under the framework of DESIRE project1. Forest is the dominant land use at Mação municipality, consisting of Pinus pinaster, with some Eucalyptus globulus and residual oak forest and shrubland. An important part was burned recently and gave way to regeneration of stands and shrubs. In 2009, the municipality started to implement an SLM (Sustainable Land Management) technology, Primary Strips Network System for Fuel Management (RPFGC). This technology is integrated in the National System to Prevent and Protect Forest against Fires and it is defined by the National Forest Authority (AFN). The RPFGC are linear strips, strategically located in areas where total or partial removal of the forest biomass is possible. This technology contributes to prevent the occurrence and spread of large forest fires and to reduce their consequences for the environment, people, infrastructures, etc . However, the removal of vegetation tends to expose bare soil to the erosive effects of rainfall. Rainfall simulations were used to assess erosive processes, such as runoff and sediment loss, in three types of land cover: pine, eucalyptus and shrubland. The results from rainfall simulations on areas inside the RPFGC showed higher results for all studied parameters, while whether or not statistically significant, shrubland areas appear to be more sensitive to this technology and pine sites the least affected spots. Total soil loss was significant in shrubland areas, but the same did not happen in pine and in eucalyptus sites. Overall runoff production achieved no representative statistical differences in any of the studied cases, indicating its independence of either the technology or soil occupation. However, total soil loss was significantly different in shrubland areas. As for total organic matter loss, resulted to be the most affected parameter included in this study, which indicates that this SLM technology reduces the organic matter content on shrub and eucalyptus soils. (1) DESIRE Project (037046): Desertification Mitigation and Remediation of land - a global approach for local solutions, EU-funded project (2007-2012; http://www.desire-project.eu/).

Living in a tinderbox: wildfire risk perceptions and mitigating behaviours

Treesearch

Patricia A. Champ; Geoffrey H. Donovan; Christopher M. Barth

2013-01-01

The loss of homes to wildfires is an important issue in the USA and other countries. Yet many homeowners living in fire-prone areas do not undertake mitigating actions, such as clearing vegetation, to decrease the risk of losing their home. To better understand the complexity of wildfire risk-mitigation decisions and the role of perceived risk, we conducted a survey of...

Wildland Fire Prevention: Today, Intuition--Tomorrow, Management

Treesearch

Albert J. Simard; Linda R. Donoghue

1987-01-01

Describes, from a historical perspective, methods used to characterize fire prevention problems and evaluate prevention programs and discusses past research efforts to bolster these analytical and management efforts. Highlights research on the sociological perspectives of the wildfire problem and on quantitative fire occurrence prediction and program evaluation systems...

Building systems and smoke control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawagoe, K.; Wakamatsu, T.; Morishita, Y.; Yamana, T.

The cost effectiveness of different approaches to fire prevention - sprinklers and detectors, increased use of smoke control devices, increased flammability standards, increased public education, increase fire prevention efforts, increased public fire services, etc. - need to be studied further as a guide to determining the emphasis appropriate for each. It is clear that detectors and sprinklers are making a difference in the fight to reduce fire losses. With continued effort the detectors' and sprinklers' full potential for saving lives and property from fire can be realized.

A large-scale field assessment of carbon stocks in human-modified tropical forests.

PubMed

Berenguer, Erika; Ferreira, Joice; Gardner, Toby Alan; Aragão, Luiz Eduardo Oliveira Cruz; De Camargo, Plínio Barbosa; Cerri, Carlos Eduardo; Durigan, Mariana; Cosme De Oliveira Junior, Raimundo; Vieira, Ima Célia Guimarães; Barlow, Jos

2014-12-01

Tropical rainforests store enormous amounts of carbon, the protection of which represents a vital component of efforts to mitigate global climate change. Currently, tropical forest conservation, science, policies, and climate mitigation actions focus predominantly on reducing carbon emissions from deforestation alone. However, every year vast areas of the humid tropics are disturbed by selective logging, understory fires, and habitat fragmentation. There is an urgent need to understand the effect of such disturbances on carbon stocks, and how stocks in disturbed forests compare to those found in undisturbed primary forests as well as in regenerating secondary forests. Here, we present the results of the largest field study to date on the impacts of human disturbances on above and belowground carbon stocks in tropical forests. Live vegetation, the largest carbon pool, was extremely sensitive to disturbance: forests that experienced both selective logging and understory fires stored, on average, 40% less aboveground carbon than undisturbed forests and were structurally similar to secondary forests. Edge effects also played an important role in explaining variability in aboveground carbon stocks of disturbed forests. Results indicate a potential rapid recovery of the dead wood and litter carbon pools, while soil stocks (0-30 cm) appeared to be resistant to the effects of logging and fire. Carbon loss and subsequent emissions due to human disturbances remain largely unaccounted for in greenhouse gas inventories, but by comparing our estimates of depleted carbon stocks in disturbed forests with Brazilian government assessments of the total forest area annually disturbed in the Amazon, we show that these emissions could represent up to 40% of the carbon loss from deforestation in the region. We conclude that conservation programs aiming to ensure the long-term permanence of forest carbon stocks, such as REDD+, will remain limited in their success unless they effectively avoid degradation as well as deforestation. © 2014 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Fire Increases Genetic Diversity of Populations of Six-Lined Racerunner.

PubMed

Ragsdale, Alexandria K; Frederick, Bridget M; Dukes, David W; Liebl, Andrea L; Ashton, Kyle G; McCoy, Earl D; Mushinsky, Henry R; Schrey, Aaron W

2016-01-01

Wildfires are highly variable and can disturb habitats, leading to direct and indirect effects on the genetic characteristics of local populations. Florida scrub is a fire-dependent, highly fragmented, and severely threatened habitat. Understanding the effect of fire on genetic characteristics of the species that use this habitat is critically important. We investigated one such lizard, the Six-lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata), which has a strong preference for open areas. We collected Six-lined Racerunners (n = 154) from 11 sites in Highlands County, FL, and defined 2 time-since-last-fire (TSF) categories: recently burned and long unburned. We screened genetic variation at 6 microsatellites to estimate genetic differentiation and compare genetic diversity among sites to determine the relationship with TSF. A clear pattern exists between genetic diversity and TSF in the absence of strong genetic differentiation. Genetic diversity was greater and inbreeding was lower in sites with more recent TSF, and genetic characteristics had significantly larger variance in long unburned sites compared with more recently burned sites. Our results suggest that fire suppression increases variance in genetic characteristics of the Six-lined Racerunner. More generally, fire may benefit genetic characteristics of some species that use fire-dependent habitats and management efforts for such severely fragmented habitat will be challenged by the presence of multiple species with incompatible fire preferences. © The American Genetic Association 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Risk analysis procedure for post-wildfire natural hazards in British Columbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jordan, Peter

2010-05-01

Following a severe wildfire season in 2003, and several subsequent damaging debris flow and flood events, the British Columbia Forest Service developed a procedure for analysing risks to public safety and infrastructure from such events. At the same time, the Forest Service undertook a research program to determine the extent of post-wildfire hazards, and examine the hydrologic and geomorphic processes contributing to the hazards. The risk analysis procedure follows the Canadian Standards Association decision-making framework for risk management (which in turn is based on international standards). This has several steps: identification of risk, risk analysis and estimation, evaluation of risk tolerability, developing control or mitigation strategies, and acting on these strategies. The Forest Service procedure deals only with the first two steps. The results are passed on to authorities such as the Provincial Emergency Program and local government, who are responsible for evaluating risks, warning residents, and applying mitigation strategies if appropriate. The objective of the procedure is to identify and analyse risks to public safety and infrastructure. The procedure is loosely based on the BAER (burned area emergency response) program in the USA, with some important differences. Our procedure focuses on identifying risks and warning affected parties, not on mitigation activities such as broadcast erosion control measures. Partly this is due to limited staff and financial resources. Also, our procedure is not multi-agency, but is limited to wildfires on provincial forest land; in British Columbia about 95% of forest land is in the publicly-owned provincial forest. Each fire season, wildfires are screened by size and proximity to values at risk such as populated areas. For selected fires, when the fire is largely contained, the procedure begins with an aerial reconnaissance of the fire, and photography with a hand-held camera, which can be used to make a preliminary map of vegetation burn severity if desired. The next steps include mapping catchment boundaries, field traverses to collect data on soil burn severity and water repellency, identification of unstable hillslopes and channels, and inspection of values at risk from hazards such as debris flows or flooding. BARC (burned area reflectance classification) maps based on satellite imagery are prepared for some fires, although these are typically not available for several weeks. Our objective is to make a preliminary risk analysis report available about two weeks after the fire is contained. If high risks to public safety or infrastructure are identified, the risk analysis reports may make recommendations for mitigation measures to be considered; however, acting on these recommendations is the responsibility of local land managers, local government, or landowners. Mitigation measures for some fires have included engineering treatments to reduce the hydrologic impact of logging roads, protective structures such as dykes or berms, and straw mulching to reduce runoff and erosion on severely burned areas. The Terrace Mountain Fire, with burned 9000 hectares in the Okanagan Valley in 2009, is used as an example of the application of the procedure.

Oxygen Compatibility Assessment of Components and Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoltzfus, Joel; Sparks, Kyle

2010-01-01

Fire hazards are inherent in oxygen systems and a storied history of fires in rocket engine propulsion components exists. To detect and mitigate these fire hazards requires careful, detailed, and thorough analyses applied during the design process. The oxygen compatibility assessment (OCA) process designed by NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) can be used to determine the presence of fire hazards in oxygen systems and the likelihood of a fire. This process may be used as both a design guide and during the approval process to ensure proper design features and material selection. The procedure for performing an OCA is a structured step-by-step process to determine the most severe operating conditions; assess the flammability of the system materials at the use conditions; evaluate the presence and efficacy of ignition mechanisms; assess the potential for a fire to breach the system; and determine the reaction effect (the potential loss of life, mission, and system functionality as the result of a fire). This process should be performed for each component in a system. The results of each component assessment, and the overall system assessment, should be recorded in a report that can be used in the short term to communicate hazards and their mitigation and to aid in system/component development and, in the long term, to solve anomalies that occur during engine testing and operation.

Fire behavior modeling to assess net benefits of forest treatments on fire hazard mitigation and bioenergy production in Northeastern California

Treesearch

David J. Ganz; David S. Saah; Klaus Barber; Mark Nechodom

2007-01-01

The fire behavior modeling described here, conducted as part of the Biomass to Energy (B2E) life cycle assessment, is funded by the California Energy Commission to evaluate the potential net benefits associated with treating and utilizing forest biomass. The B2E project facilitates economic, environmental, energy, and effectiveness assessments of the potential public...

Carbon dynamics of forest in Washington, USA: 21st century projections based on climate-driven changes in fire regimes

Treesearch

Crystal L. Raymond; Donald McKenzie

2012-01-01

During the 21st century, climate-driven changes in fire regimes will be a key agent of change in forests of the U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW). Understanding the response of forest carbon (C) dynamics to increases in fire will help quantify limits on the contribution of forest C storage to climate change mitigation and prioritize forest types for...

Social science to improve fuels management: a synthesis of research on the impacts of wildland fires on communities

Treesearch

Stephen F. McCool; James Burchfield; Daniel R. Williams; Matt Carroll; Patricia Cohn; Yoshitaka Kumagai; Tam Ubben

2007-01-01

A series of syntheses were commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service to aid in fuels mitigation project planning. Focusing on research on the social impacts of wildland fire, this synthesis explores decisions and actions taken by communities before, during, and after a wildland fire to minimize its impacts. It then synthesizes the research studying (1) the consequences...

Assessing the effects of fire disturbances on ecosystems: A scientific agenda for research and management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmoldt, D.L.; Peterson, D.L.; Keane, R.E.; Lenihan, J.M.; McKenzie, D.; Weise, D.R.; Sandberg, D.V.

1999-01-01

A team of fire scientists and resource managers convened 17-19 April 1996 in Seattle, Washington, to assess the effects of fire disturbance on ecosystems. Objectives of this workshop were to develop scientific recommendations for future fire research and management activities. These recommendations included a series of numerically ranked scientific and managerial questions and responses focusing on (1) links among fire effects, fuels, and climate; (2) fire as a large-scale disturbance; (3) fire-effects modeling structures; and (4) managerial concerns, applications, and decision support. At the present time, understanding of fire effects and the ability to extrapolate fire-effects knowledge to large spatial scales are limited, because most data have been collected at small spatial scales for specific applications. Although we clearly need more large-scale fire-effects data, it will be more expedient to concentrate efforts on improving and linking existing models that simulate fire effects in a georeferenced format while integrating empirical data as they become available. A significant component of this effort should be improved communication between modelers and managers to develop modeling tools to use in a planning context. Another component of this modeling effort should improve our ability to predict the interactions of fire and potential climatic change at very large spatial scales. The priority issues and approaches described here provide a template for fire science and fire management programs in the next decade and beyond.

The Roles of Dispersal, Fecundity, and Predation in the Population Persistence of an Oak (Quercus engelmannii) under Global Change

PubMed Central

Conlisk, Erin; Lawson, Dawn; Syphard, Alexandra D.; Franklin, Janet; Flint, Lorraine; Flint, Alan; Regan, Helen M.

2012-01-01

A species’ response to climate change depends on the interaction of biotic and abiotic factors that define future habitat suitability and species’ ability to migrate or adapt. The interactive effects of processes such as fire, dispersal, and predation have not been thoroughly addressed in the climate change literature. Our objective was to examine how life history traits, short-term global change perturbations, and long-term climate change interact to affect the likely persistence of an oak species - Quercus engelmannii (Engelmann oak). Specifically, we combined dynamic species distribution models, which predict suitable habitat, with stochastic, stage-based metapopulation models, which project population trajectories, to evaluate the effects of three global change factors – climate change, land use change, and altered fire frequency – emphasizing the roles of dispersal and seed predation. Our model predicted dramatic reduction in Q. engelmannii abundance, especially under drier climates and increased fire frequency. When masting lowers seed predation rates, decreased masting frequency leads to large abundance decreases. Current rates of dispersal are not likely to prevent these effects, although increased dispersal could mitigate population declines. The results suggest that habitat suitability predictions by themselves may under-estimate the impact of climate change for other species and locations. PMID:22623955

Characterizing fuels in treated areas.

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; Clinton S. Wright

2002-01-01

Small-log utilization or thinning operations followed by a fuel treatment such as prescribed fire can be used to change the composition and structure of fuelbeds, thereby mitigating deleterious fire effects and reducing the potential for catastrophic wildfires in some forested landscapes. We are developing a national system, Fuel Characteristic Classification (FCC),...

The Hazard Mapping System (HMS)-a Multiplatform Remote Sensing Approach to Fire and Smoke Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kibler, J.; Ruminski, M. G.

2003-12-01

The HMS is a multiplatform remote sensing approach to detecting fires and smoke over the US and adjacent areas of Canada and Mexico that has been in place since June 2002. This system is an integral part of the National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service (NESDIS) near realtime hazard detection and mitigation efforts. The system utilizes NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), Polar Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra and Aqua spacecraft. Automated detection algorithms are employed for each of the satellites for the fire detects while smoke is added by a satellite image analyst. In June 2003 the HMS underwent an upgrade. A number of features were added for users of the products generated on the HMS. Sectors covering Alaska and Hawaii were added. The use of Geographic Information System (GIS) shape files for smoke analysis is a new feature. Shape files show the progression and time of a single smoke plume as each analysis is drawn and then updated. The analyst now has the ability to view GOES, POES, and MODIS data in a single loop. This allows the fire analyst the ability to easily confirm a fire in three different data sets. The upgraded HMS has faster satellite looping and gives the analyst the ability to design a false color image for a particular region. The GOES satellites provide a relatively coarse 4 km infrared resolution at satellite subpoint for thermal fire detection but provide the advantage of a rapid update cycle. GOES imagery is updated every 15 minutes utilizing both GOES-10 and GOES-12. POES imagery from NOAA-15, NOAA-16 and NOAA-17 and MODIS from Terra and Aqua are employed with each satellite providing twice per day coverage (more frequent over Alaska). While the frequency of imagery is much less than with GOES the higher resolution of these satellites (1 km along the suborbital track) allows for detection of smaller and/or cooler burning fires. Each of the algorithms utilizes a number of temporal, thermal and contextual filters in an attempt to screen out false detects. However, false detects do get processed by the algorithms to varying degrees. Therefore, the automated fire detects from each algorithm are quality controlled by an analyst who scans the imagery and may either accept or delete fire points. The analyst also has the ability to manually add additional fire points based on the imagery. Smoke is outlined by the analyst using visible imagery, primarily GOES which provides 1 km resolution. Occasionally a smoke plume seen in visible imagery is the only indicator of a fire and would be manually added to the fire detect file. The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) is a forecast model that projects the trajectory and dispersion of a smoke plume over a period of time. The HYSPLIT is run for fires that are selected by the analyst that are seen to be producing a significant smoke plume. The analyst defines a smoke producing area commensurate with the size of the fire and amount of smoke detected. The output is hosted on an Air Resources Lab (ARL) web site which can be accessed from the web site listed below. All of the information is posted to the web page noted below. Besides the interactive GIS presentation users can view the product in graphical jpg format. The analyst edited points as well as the unedited automated fire detects are available for users to view directly on the web page or to download. All of the data is also archived and accessed via ftp.

Assessing Subjective Preferences for Future Fire Research

Treesearch

James B. Davis

1987-01-01

Methods are described for making comparative valuations of future fire (or any other) research efforts when the benefits that result from some of the efforts cannot be described in dollars. The process helps research managers and scientists set priorities by using the values and beliefs of skilled fire specialists. The objective is to insure coherent decisions...

MISSIONS: The Mobile-Based Disaster Mitigation System in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passarella, Rossi; Putri Raflesia, Sarifah; Lestarini, Dinda; Rifai, Ahmad; Veny, Harumi

2018-04-01

Disaster mitigation is essential to minimize the effects of disasters. Indonesia is one of the disaster prone areas in Asia and the government explores the usage of Information technology (IT) to aid its mitigation efforts. Currently, there are Indonesian websites which hold information regarding the weather monitoring, climate conditions, and geophysics. But, there is no clear indicator of mitigation efforts or things to do during an emergency. Therefore, this research proposed MISSIONS, a disaster mitigation model using geo-fencing technique to detect the location of the users through their mobile devices. MISSIONS uses mobile-based disaster mitigation system as a way to disseminate critical information to victims during emergency when they are in disaster zones using virtual fences. It aims to help the government to reduce the effects of disaster and aid in the mitigation efforts. The implementation result shows that MISSIONS have a high accuracy in detecting user whereabouts.

A Study of Transport Airplane Crash-Resistant Fuel Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Lisa (Technical Monitor); Robertson, S. H.; Johnson, N. B.; Hall, D. S.; Rimson, I. J.

2002-01-01

This report presents the results of a study, funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), of transport airplane crash-resistant fuel system (CRFS). The report covers the historical studies related to aircraft crash fires and fuel containment concepts undertaken by the FAA, NASA, and the U.S. Army, which ultimately led to the current state of the art in CRFS technology. It describes the basic research, testing, field investigations and production efforts which have led to the highly successful military CRFS, which has saved many lives and reduced costs of accidents. Current CRFS technology used in transport category airplanes is defined and compared to the available state-of-the-art technology. The report provides information to the FAA and other government organizations which can help them plan their efforts to improve the state of crash fire protection in the transport airplane fleet. The report provides guidance to designers looking for information about CRFS design problems, analysis tools to use for product improvement, and a summary of current and proposed regulations for transport category airplane fuel systems.

77 FR 37687 - Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-22

... importance of mitigation activities, the FY 2012 FP&S will be allocated $35 million for grants. The FP&S... grants supporting eligible fire prevention activities and research and development activities that...,250) of AFG Program funds for the FP&S Grant Program. However, due to the importance of mitigation...

Production and efficiency of large wildland fire suppression effort: A stochastic frontier analysis.

PubMed

Katuwal, Hari; Calkin, David E; Hand, Michael S

2016-01-15

This study examines the production and efficiency of wildland fire suppression effort. We estimate the effectiveness of suppression resource inputs to produce controlled fire lines that contain large wildland fires using stochastic frontier analysis. Determinants of inefficiency are identified and the effects of these determinants on the daily production of controlled fire line are examined. Results indicate that the use of bulldozers and fire engines increase the production of controlled fire line, while firefighter crews do not tend to contribute to controlled fire line production. Production of controlled fire line is more efficient if it occurs along natural or built breaks, such as rivers and roads, and within areas previously burned by wildfires. However, results also indicate that productivity and efficiency of the controlled fire line are sensitive to weather, landscape and fire characteristics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling Payload Stowage Impacts on Fire Risks On-Board the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anton, Kellie e.; Brown, Patrick F.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this presentation is to determine the risks of fire on-board the ISS due to non-standard stowage. ISS stowage is constantly being reexamined for optimality. Non-standard stowage involves stowing items outside of rack drawers, and fire risk is a key concern and is heavily mitigated. A Methodology is needed to account for fire risk due to non-standard stowage to capture the risk. The contents include: 1) Fire Risk Background; 2) General Assumptions; 3) Modeling Techniques; 4) Event Sequence Diagram (ESD); 5) Qualitative Fire Analysis; 6) Sample Qualitative Results for Fire Risk; 7) Qualitative Stowage Analysis; 8) Sample Qualitative Results for Non-Standard Stowage; and 9) Quantitative Analysis Basic Event Data.

The carbon balance of reducing wildfire risk and restoring process: an analysis of 10-year post-treatment carbon dynamics in a mixed-conifer forest

Treesearch

Morgan L. Wiechmann; Matthew D. Hurteau; Malcolm P. North; George W. Koch; Lucie Jerabkova

2015-01-01

Forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere, helping mitigate climate change. In fire-prone forests, burn events result in direct and indirect emissions of carbon. High fire-induced tree mortality can cause a transition from a carbon sink to source, but thinning and prescribed burning can reduce fire severity and carbon loss when wildfire occurs. However, treatment...

40 CFR Table 1 to Subpart Yyyy of... - Emission Limitations

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, 3. a diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, or 4. a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary...

40 CFR Table 1 to Subpart Yyyy of... - Emission Limitations

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, 3. a diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, or 4. a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary...

40 CFR Table 1 to Subpart Yyyy of... - Emission Limitations

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, 3. a diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, or 4. a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary...

What motivates individuals to protect themselves from risks: the case of wildland fires.

PubMed

Martin, Ingrid M; Bender, Holly; Raish, Carol

2007-08-01

This research investigates the cognitive perceptual process that homeowners go through when faced with the decision to protect themselves from the risk of wildfires. This decision can be examined by looking at the interaction between the integrated protection motivation theory-transtheoretical model and different levels of homeowners' subjective knowledge related to wildfire risks. We investigated the role of motivation, decision stages of risk readiness, and subjective knowledge on the number of risk-mitigating actions undertaken by homeowners living in high-risk communities. The results indicate that homeowners who are in an early or precontemplative stage (both low and high subjective knowledge) as well as low knowledge contemplatives are motivated by their perceived degree of vulnerability to mitigate the risk. In contrast, high knowledge contemplatives' potential behavioral changes are more likely to be motivated by increasing their perceptions of the severity of the risk. Risk-mitigating behaviors undertaken by high knowledge action homeowners are influenced by their perceptions of risk severity, self-efficacy, and response efficacy. In contrast, the low knowledge action homeowners engage in risk reduction behaviors without the influence of any of the PMT variables; demonstrating their motivation to emulate others in their community. These results have implications for the type of information that should be used to effectively communicate risks in an effort to influence the diverse homeowner segments to engage in risk-reduction behaviors.

Fire risk in San Diego County, California: A weighted Bayesian model approach

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kolden, Crystal A.; Weigel, Timothy J.

2007-01-01

Fire risk models are widely utilized to mitigate wildfire hazards, but models are often based on expert opinions of less understood fire-ignition and spread processes. In this study, we used an empirically derived weights-of-evidence model to assess what factors produce fire ignitions east of San Diego, California. We created and validated a dynamic model of fire-ignition risk based on land characteristics and existing fire-ignition history data, and predicted ignition risk for a future urbanization scenario. We then combined our empirical ignition-risk model with a fuzzy fire behavior-risk model developed by wildfire experts to create a hybrid model of overall fire risk. We found that roads influence fire ignitions and that future growth will increase risk in new rural development areas. We conclude that empirically derived risk models and hybrid models offer an alternative method to assess current and future fire risk based on management actions.

Wildfire risk and hazard: procedures for the first approximation

Treesearch

David E. Calkin; Alan A. Ager; Julie Gilbertson-Day

2010-01-01

This report was designed to meet three broad goals: (1) evaluate wildfire hazard on Federal lands; (2) develop information useful in prioritizing where fuels treatments and mitigation measures might be proposed to address significant fire hazard and risk; and (3) develop risk-based performance measures to document the effectiveness of fire management programs. The...

44 CFR 204.51 - Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... management assistance declaration, the State may submit an application package for a grant to the Regional... Mitigation Plan. As a requirement of receiving funding under a fire management assistance grant, a State, or... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Application and approval...

Fire effects on temperate forest soil C and N storage

Treesearch

Lucas E. Nave; Eric D. Vance; Christopher W. Swanston; Peter S. Curtis

2011-01-01

Temperate forest soils store globally significant amounts of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Understanding how soil pools of these two elements change in response to disturbance and management is critical to maintaining ecosystem services such as forest productivity, greenhouse gas mitigation, and water resource protection. Fire is one of the principal disturbances acting...

Development and application of a geospatial wildfire exposure and risk calculation tool

Treesearch

Matthew P. Thompson; Jessica R. Haas; Julie W. Gilbertson-Day; Joe H. Scott; Paul Langowski; Elise Bowne; David E. Calkin

2015-01-01

Applying wildfire risk assessment models can inform investments in loss mitigation and landscape restoration, and can be used to monitor spatiotemporal trends in risk. Assessing wildfire risk entails the integration of fire modeling outputs, maps of highly valued resources and assets (HVRAs), characterization of fire effects, and articulation of relative importance...

Climate change and wildland firefighter health and safety.

PubMed

Withen, Patrick

2015-02-01

The author examines how climate change is impacting wildland firefighters. Climate change has made wildland fires more frequent and more intense. The increase in frequency and intensity of fires has pushed the number of fatalities and injuries higher in recent decades. The most common hazards on fires follow the trend of fire in general in that these hazards become more frequent and intense. Burnovers, heat exhaustion, tree hazards, and many other common fire hazards are more likely. The fire suppression agencies are making every effort to improve health and safety on fires by improving communication, weather forecasting, mapping, fire shelters, decision making and more. Despite these efforts, wildfires are becoming ever more hazardous because of climate change and the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires. © 2015 SAGE Publications.

Bench-scale Development of an Advanced Solid Sorbent-based CO 2 Capture Process for Coal-fired Power Plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nelson, Thomas; Kataria, Atish; Soukri, Mustapha

It is increasingly clear that CO 2 capture and sequestration (CCS) must play a critical role in curbing worldwide CO 2 emissions to the atmosphere. Development of these technologies to cost-effectively remove CO 2 from coal-fired power plants is very important to mitigating the impact these power plants have within the world’s power generation portfolio. Currently, conventional CO 2 capture technologies, such as aqueous-monoethanolamine based solvent systems, are prohibitively expensive and if implemented could result in a 75 to 100% increase in the cost of electricity for consumers worldwide. Solid sorbent CO 2 capture processes – such as RTI’s Advancedmore » Solid Sorbent CO 2, Capture Process – are promising alternatives to conventional, liquid solvents. Supported amine sorbents – of the nature RTI has developed – are particularly attractive due to their high CO 2 loadings, low heat capacities, reduced corrosivity/volatility and the potential to reduce the regeneration energy needed to carry out CO 2 capture. Previous work in this area has failed to adequately address various technology challenges such as sorbent stability and regenerability, sorbent scale-up, improved physical strength and attrition-resistance, proper heat management and temperature control, proper solids handling and circulation control, as well as the proper coupling of process engineering advancements that are tailored for a promising sorbent technology. The remaining challenges for these sorbent processes have provided the framework for the project team’s research and development and target for advancing the technology beyond lab- and bench-scale testing. Under a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Energy, and part of NETL’s CO 2 Capture Program, RTI has led an effort to address and mitigate the challenges associated with solid sorbent CO 2 capture. The overall objective of this project was to mitigate the technical and economic risks associated with the scale-up of solid sorbent-based CO 2 capture processes, enabling subsequent larger pilot demonstrations and ultimately commercial deployment. An integrated development approach has been a key focus of this project in which process development, sorbent development, and economic analyses have informed each of the other development processes. Development efforts have focused on improving the performance stability of sorbent candidates, refining process engineering and design, and evaluating the viability of the technology through detailed economic analyses. Sorbent advancements have led to a next generation, commercially-viable CO 2 capture sorbent exhibiting performance stability in various gas environments and a physically strong fluidizable form. The team has reduced sorbent production costs and optimized the production process and scale-up of PEI-impregnated, fluidizable sorbents. Refinement of the process engineering and design, as well as the construction and operation of a bench-scale research unit has demonstrated promising CO 2 capture performance under simulated coal-fired flue gas conditions. Parametric testing has shown how CO 2 capture performance is impacted by changing process variables, such as Adsorber temperature, Regenerator temperature, superficial flue gas velocity, solids circulation rate, CO 2 partial pressure in the Regenerator, and many others. Long-term testing has generated data for the project team to set the process conditions needed to operate a solids-based system for optimal performance, with continuous 90% CO 2 capture, and no operational interruptions. Data collected from all phases of testing has been used to develop a detailed techno-economic assessment of RTI’s technology. These detailed analyses show that RTI’s technology has significant economic advantages over current amine scrubbing and potential to achieve the DOE’s Carbon Capture Program’s goal of >90% CO 2 capture rate at a cost of < $40/T-CO 2 captured by 2025. Through this integrated technology development approach, the project team has advanced RTI’s CO 2 capture technology to TRL-4 (nearly TRL-5, with the missing variable being testing on actual, coal-fired flue gas), according to the DOE/FE definitions for Technology Readiness Levels. At a broader level, this project has advanced the whole of the solid sorbent CO 2 capture field, with advancements in process engineering and design, technical risk mitigation, sorbent scale-up optimization, and an understanding of the commercial viability and applicability of solid sorbent CO 2 capture technologies for the U.S. existing fleet of coal-fired power plants.« less

Persistent Influences of the 2002 Hayman Fire on Stream Nitrate and Dissolved Organic Carbon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhoades, C.; Pierson, D. N.; Fegel, T. S., II; Chow, A. T.; Covino, T. P.

2016-12-01

Large, high severity wildfires alter the physical and biological conditions that determine how watersheds retain and release nutrients and regulate stream water quality. For five years after the 2002 Hayman Fire burned in Colorado conifer forests, stream nitrate concentrations and export increased steadily in watersheds with extensive high-severity burning. Stream temperature and turbidity also increased in relation to the extent of high-severity burning and remained elevated above background levels throughout the initial five year post-fire period. Our recent sampling documents that 14 years after the Hayman Fire stream nitrate remains an order of magnitude higher in extensively-burned (35-90%) compared to unburned watersheds (0.2 vs 2.8 mg L-1). Nitrate represents 83% of the total dissolved N in extensively-burned watersheds compared to 29% in unburned watersheds. In contrast, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), was highest in watersheds that burned to a moderate extent (10-20%) and lowest in those with extensive burning. Catchments with a moderate extent burned had DOC concentrations 2.5 and 1.7 times more than those with extensive burning and unburned catchments, respectively. Peak concentrations of DOC and nitrate track the rising limb of the streamflow hydrograph and reach a maximum in May, but patterns among burn extent categories were seasonally consistent. Current riparian conditions are linked to stream nitrate in burned watersheds. For example, stream nitrate increases proportionally to the extent of riparian zones with low shrub cover (R2 = 0.76). We found signs of watershed recovery compared to the initial post-fire period; stream temperature and turbidity remained elevated in extensively burned catchments, but increases were only significant during the spring season. The persistent stream nitrate concentrations as well as the relation between riparian cover and post-fire stream nitrate may help prioritize restoration planting efforts and mitigate chronic, elevated nitrate export from burned watersheds.

Smokey comes of age: Unmanned aerial systems for fire management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twidwell, Dirac; Allen, Craig R.; Detweiler, Carrick; Higgins, James; Laney, Christian; Elbaum, Sebastian

2016-01-01

During the past century, fire management has focused on techniques both to protect human communities from catastrophic wildfire and to maintain fire-dependent ecological systems. However, despite a large and increasing allocation of resources and personnel to achieve these goals, fire management objectives at regional to global scales are not being met. Current fire management techniques are clearly inadequate for the challenges faced by fire managers, and technological innovations are needed. Advances in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology provide opportunities for innovation in fire management and science. In many countries, fire management organizations are beginning to explore the potential of UAS for monitoring fires. We have taken the next step and developed a prototype that can precisely ignite fires as part of wildfire suppression tactics or prescribed fires (fire intentionally ignited within predetermined conditions to reduce hazardous fuels, improve habitat, or mitigate for large wildfires). We discuss the potential for these technologies to benefit fire management activities, while acknowledging the sizeable sociopolitical barriers that prevent their immediate broad application.

Tools to aid post-wildfire assessment and erosion-mitigation treatment decisions

Treesearch

Peter R. Robichaud; Louise E. Ashmun

2013-01-01

A considerable investment in post-fire research over the past decade has improved our understanding of wildfire effects on soil, hydrology, erosion and erosion-mitigation treatment effectiveness. Using this new knowledge, we have developed several tools to assist land managers with post-wildfire assessment and treatment decisions, such as prediction models, research...

A wildfire risk assessment framework for land and resource management

Treesearch

Joe H. Scott; Matthew P. Thompson; David E. Calkin

2013-01-01

Wildfires can result in significant, long-lasting impacts to ecological, social, and economic systems. It is necessary, therefore, to identify and understand the risks posed by wildland fire, and to develop cost-effective mitigation strategies accordingly. This report presents a general framework with which to assess wildfire risk and explore mitigation options, and...

Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora

Treesearch

James K. Brown; Jane Kapler Smith

2000-01-01

VOLUME 2: This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on flora and fuels can assist land managers with ecosystem and fire management planning and in their efforts to inform others about the ecological role of fire. Chapter topics include fire regime classification, autecological effects of fire, fire regime characteristics and postfire plant community...

Fire Safety Training Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montgomery County Dept. of Fire and Rescue Services, Rockville, MD. Div. of Fire Prevention.

Designed for a community fire education effort, particularly in which local volunteers present general information on fire safety to their fellow citizens, this workbook contains nine lessons. Included are an overview of the household fire problem; instruction in basic chemistry and physics of fire, flammable liquids, portable fire extinguishers,…

Wildfire spread, hazard and exposure metric raster grids for central Catalonia.

PubMed

Alcasena, Fermín J; Ager, Alan A; Salis, Michele; Day, Michelle A; Vega-Garcia, Cristina

2018-04-01

We provide 40 m resolution wildfire spread, hazard and exposure metric raster grids for the 0.13 million ha fire-prone Bages County in central Catalonia (northeastern Spain) corresponding to node influence grid (NIG), crown fraction burned (CFB) and fire transmission to residential houses (TR). Fire spread and behavior data (NIG, CFB and fire perimeters) were generated with fire simulation modeling considering wildfire season extreme fire weather conditions (97 th percentile). Moreover, CFB was also generated for prescribed fire (Rx) mild weather conditions. The TR smoothed grid was obtained with a geospatial analysis considering large fire perimeters and individual residential structures located within the study area. We made these raster grids available to assist in the optimization of wildfire risk management plans within the study area and to help mitigate potential losses from catastrophic events.

Survey of Fire Modeling Efforts with Application to Transportation Vehicles

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1981-07-01

This report presents the results of a survey of analytical fire models with applications pertinent to fires in the compartments of transportation vehicles; a brief discussion of the background of fire phenomena and an overview of various fire modelin...

Foam composite structures. [for fire retardant airframe materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delano, C. B.; Milligan, R. J.

1976-01-01

The need to include fire resistant foams into state of the art aircraft interior paneling to increase passenger safety in aircraft fires was studied. Present efforts were directed toward mechanical and fire testing of panels with foam inclusions. Skinned foam filled honeycomb and PBI structural foams were the two constructions investigated with attention being directed toward weight/performance/cost trade-off. All of the new panels demonstrated improved performance in fire and some were lighter weight but not as strong as the presently used paneling. Continued efforts should result in improved paneling for passenger safety. In particular the simple partial filling (fire side) of state-of-the-art honeycomb with fire resistant foams with little sacrifice in weight would result in panels with increased fire resistance. More important may be the retarded rate of toxic gas evolution in the fire due to the protection of the honeycomb by the foam.

Evaluating the impacts of wildland fires on caribou in interior Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Joly, Kyle; Adams, Layne G.; Dale, Bruce W.; Collins, William

2002-01-01

Caribou are found throughout the boreal forests of interior Alaska, a region subject to chronic and expansive wildland fires. Fruticose lichens, if available, constitute the majority of the winter diet of caribou throughout their range and are common in mature boreal forests but largely absent from early successional stages. Fire, the dominant ecological driving force, increases vegetative diversity and productivity across the landscape but may reduce the availability of caribou winter forage for decades.Increasingly, wildland fire regimes are influenced by humans seeking to reduce fire hazards or mitigate the effects of years of fire suppression. Consequently, biologists have debated the importance of forage lichens to the dynamics of caribou populations, and land managers have questioned the importance of fire regime to wintering caribou. To better understand the impacts of wildland fire on caribou, we are simultaneously investigating the relationships between fire history, caribou movements, forage lichen availability, and caribou nutritional performance on their winter range.

The influence of mitigation on sage-grouse habitat selection within an energy development field.

PubMed

Fedy, Bradley C; Kirol, Christopher P; Sutphin, Andrew L; Maechtle, Thomas L

2015-01-01

Growing global energy demands ensure the continued growth of energy development. Energy development in wildlife areas can significantly impact wildlife populations. Efforts to mitigate development impacts to wildlife are on-going, but the effectiveness of such efforts is seldom monitored or assessed. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are sensitive to energy development and likely serve as an effective umbrella species for other sagebrush-steppe obligate wildlife. We assessed the response of birds within an energy development area before and after the implementation of mitigation action. Additionally, we quantified changes in habitat distribution and abundance in pre- and post-mitigation landscapes. Sage-grouse avoidance of energy development at large spatial scales is well documented. We limited our research to directly within an energy development field in order to assess the influence of mitigation in close proximity to energy infrastructure. We used nest-location data (n = 488) within an energy development field to develop habitat selection models using logistic regression on data from 4 years of research prior to mitigation and for 4 years following the implementation of extensive mitigation efforts (e.g., decreased activity, buried powerlines). The post-mitigation habitat selection models indicated less avoidance of wells (well density β = 0.18 ± 0.08) than the pre-mitigation models (well density β = -0.09 ± 0.11). However, birds still avoided areas of high well density and nests were not found in areas with greater than 4 wells per km2 and the majority of nests (63%) were located in areas with ≤ 1 well per km2. Several other model coefficients differed between the two time periods and indicated stronger selection for sagebrush (pre-mitigation β = 0.30 ± 0.09; post-mitigation β = 0.82 ± 0.08) and less avoidance of rugged terrain (pre-mitigation β = -0.35 ± 0.12; post-mitigation β = -0.05 ± 0.09). Mitigation efforts implemented may be responsible for the measurable improvement in sage-grouse nesting habitats within the development area. However, we cannot reject alternative hypotheses concerning the influence of population density and intraspecific competition. Additionally, we were unable to assess the actual fitness consequences of mitigation or the source-sink dynamics of the habitats. We compared the pre-mitigation and post-mitigation models predicted as maps with habitats ranked from low to high relative probability of use (equal-area bins: 1 - 5). We found more improvement in habitat rank between the two time periods around mitigated wells compared to non-mitigated wells. Informed mitigation within energy development fields could help improve habitats within the field. We recommend that any mitigation effort include well-informed plans to monitor the effectiveness of the implemented mitigation actions that assess both habitat use and relevant fitness parameters.

An Overview of Propulsion Concept Studies and Risk Reduction Activities for Robotic Lunar Landers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trinh, Huu P.; Story, George; Burnside, Chris; Kudlach, Al

2010-01-01

In support of designing robotic lunar lander concepts, the propulsion team at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), with participation from industry, conducted a series of trade studies on propulsion concepts with an emphasis on light-weight, advanced technology components. The results suggest a high-pressure propulsion system may offer some benefits in weight savings and system packaging. As part of the propulsion system, a solid rocket motor was selected to provide a large impulse to reduce the spacecraft s velocity prior to the lunar descent. In parallel to this study effort, the team also began technology risk reduction testing on a high thrust-to-weight descent thruster and a high-pressure regulator. A series of hot-fire tests was completed on the descent thruster in vacuum conditions at NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) in New Mexico in 2009. Preparations for a hot-fire test series on the attitude control thruster at WSTF and for pressure regulator testing are now underway. This paper will provide an overview of the concept trade study results along with insight into the risk mitigation activities conducted to date.

Chapter 12 - Mapping wildland fuel across large regions for the LANDFIRE Prototype Project

Treesearch

Robert E. Keane; Tracey Frescino; Matthew C. Reeves; Jennifer L. Long

2006-01-01

The Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools Prototype Project, or LANDFIRE Prototype Project, required that the entire array of wildland fuel characteristics be mapped to provide fire and landscape managers with consistent baseline geo-spatial information to plan projects for hazardous fuel mitigation and to improve public and firefighter safety. Fuel...

Future wildfire trends, impacts, and mitigation options in the Southern United States

Treesearch

Yongqiang Liu; Jeffrey P. Prestemon; Scott L. Goodrick; Thomas P. Holmes; John A. Stanturf; James M. Vose; Ge Sun

2014-01-01

Wildfire is among the most common forest disturbances, affecting the structure, composition, and functions of many ecosystems. The complex role that wildfire plays in shaping forests has been described in terms of vegetation responses, which are characterized as dependent on, sensitive to, independent of, or influenced by fire (Myers 2006). Fire is essential in areas...

Ignition and flame-growth modeling on realistic building and landscape objects in changing environments

Treesearch

Mark A. Dietenberger

2010-01-01

Effective mitigation of external fires on structures can be achieved flexibly, economically, and aesthetically by (1) preventing large-area ignition on structures by avoiding close proximity of burning vegetation; and (2) stopping flame travel from firebrands landing on combustible building objects. Using bench-scale and mid-scale fire tests to obtain flammability...

Application of wildfire simulation models for risk analysis

Treesearch

Alan A. Ager; Mark A. Finney

2009-01-01

Wildfire simulation models are being widely used by fire and fuels specialists in the U.S. to support tactical and strategic decisions related to the mitigation of wildfire risk. Much of this application has resulted from the development of a minimum travel time (MTT) fire spread algorithm (M. Finney) that makes it computationally feasible to simulate thousands of...

Comparing modern and presettlement forest dynamics of a subboreal wilderness: Does spruce budworm enhance fire risk?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sturtevant, Brian R.; Miranda, Brian R.; Shinneman, Douglas J.; Gustafson, Eric J.; Wolter, Peter T.

2012-01-01

Insect disturbance is often thought to increase fire risk through enhanced fuel loadings, particularly in coniferous forest ecosystems. Yet insect disturbances also affect successional pathways and landscape structure that interact with fire disturbances (and vice-versa) over longer time scales. We applied a landscape succession and disturbance model (LANDIS-II) to evaluate the relative strength of interactions between spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) outbreaks and fire disturbances in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota (USA). Disturbance interactions were evaluated for two different scenarios: presettlement forests and fire regimes vs. contemporary forests and fire regimes. Forest composition under the contemporary scenario trended toward mixtures of deciduous species (primarily Betula papyrifera and Populus spp.) and shade-tolerant conifers (Picea mariana, Abies balsamea, Thuja occidentalis), with disturbances dominated by a combination of budworm defoliation and high-severity fires. The presettlement scenario retained comparatively more “big pines” (i.e., Pinus strobus, P. resinosa) and tamarack (L. laricina), and experienced less budworm disturbance and a comparatively less-severe fire regime. Spruce budworm disturbance decreased area burned and fire severity under both scenarios when averaged across the entire 300-year simulations. Contrary to past research, area burned and fire severity during outbreak decades were each similar to that observed in non-outbreak decades. Our analyses suggest budworm disturbances within forests of the BWCA have a comparatively weak effect on long-term forest composition due to a combination of characteristics. These include strict host specificity, fine-scaled patchiness created by defoliation damage, and advance regeneration of its primary host, balsam fir (A. balsamea) that allows its host to persist despite repeated disturbances. Understanding the nature of the three-way interaction between budworm, fire, and composition has important ramifications for both fire mitigation strategies and ecosystem restoration initiatives. We conclude that budworm disturbance can partially mitigate long-term future fire risk by periodically reducing live ladder fuel within the mixed forest types of the BWCA but will do little to reverse the compositional trends caused in part by reduced fire rotations.

Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on air

Treesearch

David V. Sandberg; Roger D. Ottmar; Janice L. Peterson

2002-01-01

This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on air quality can assist land, fire, and air resource managers with fire and smoke planning, and their efforts to explain to others the science behind fire-related program policies and practices to improve air quality. Chapter topics include air quality regulations and fire; characterization of emissions from...

Wildfire Mitigation and Private Lands: Managing Long-Term Vulnerabilities

Treesearch

Brian Muller; Stacey Schulte

2006-01-01

Long-term management of wildfire vulnerability requires strategies that address complex interactions between fire ecology and human settlement. In this paper, we examine the integration of wildfire mitigation and land use planning in county governments in the western U.S. This research relies on data from two sources. First, we conducted a survey of land use...

Polishing the prism: improving wildfire mitigation planning by coupling landscape and social dimensions

Treesearch

Geoffrey Koch; Alan Ager; Jeff Kline; Paige Fischer

2016-01-01

Effectively addressing wildfire risk to communities on large multi-owner landscapes requires an understanding of the biophysical factors that influence risk, such as fuel loads, topography, and weather, and social factors such as the capacity and willingness for communities to engage in fire-mitigation activities. Biophysical and social processes often are disconnected...

A burning problem: social dynamics of disaster risk reduction through wildfire mitigation

Treesearch

Susan Charnley; Melissa R. Poe; Alan A. Ager; Thomas A. Spies; Emily K. Platt; Keith A. Olsen

2015-01-01

Disasters result from hazards affecting vulnerable people. Most disasters research by anthropologists focuses on vulnerability; this article focuses on natural hazards. We use the case of wildfire mitigation on United States Forest Service lands in the northwestern United States to examine social, political, and economic variables at multiple scales that influence fire...

The Medical Duty Officer: An Attempt to Mitigate the Ambulance At-Hospital Interval

PubMed Central

Halliday, Megan H.; Bouland, Andrew J.; Lawner, Benjamin J.; Comer, Angela C.; Ramos, Daniel C.; Fletcher, Mark

2016-01-01

Introduction A lack of coordination between emergency medical services (EMS), emergency departments (ED) and systemwide management has contributed to extended ambulance at-hospital times at local EDs. In an effort to improve communication within the local EMS system, the Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) placed a medical duty officer (MDO) in the fire communications bureau. It was hypothesized that any real-time intervention suggested by the MDO would be manifested in a decrease in the EMS at-hospital time. Methods The MDO was implemented on November 11, 2013. A senior EMS paramedic was assigned to the position and was placed in the fire communication bureau from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. We defined the pre-intervention period as August 2013 – October 2013 and the post-intervention period as December 2013 – February 2014. We also compared the post-intervention period to the “seasonal match control” one year earlier to adjust for seasonal variation in EMS volume. The MDO was tasked with the prospective management of city EMS resources through intensive monitoring of unit availability and hospital ED traffic. The MDO could suggest alternative transport destinations in the event of ED crowding. We collected and analyzed data from BCFD computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system for the following: ambulance response times, ambulance at-hospital interval, hospital diversion and alert status, and “suppression wait time” (defined as the total time suppression units remained on scene until ambulance arrival). The data analysis used a pre/post intervention design to examine the MDO impact on the BCFD EMS system. Results There were a total of 15,567 EMS calls during the pre-intervention period, 13,921 in the post-intervention period and 14,699 in the seasonal match control period one year earlier. The average at-hospital time decreased by 1.35 minutes from pre- to post-intervention periods and 4.53 minutes from the pre- to seasonal match control, representing a statistically significant decrease in this interval. There was also a statistically significant decrease in hospital alert time (approximately 1,700 hour decrease pre- to post-intervention periods) and suppression wait time (less than one minute decrease from pre- to post- and pre- to seasonal match control periods). The decrease in ambulance response time was not statistically significant. Conclusion Proactive deployment of a designated MDO was associated with a small, contemporaneous reduction in at-hospital time within an urban EMS jurisdiction. This project emphasized the importance of better communication between EMS systems and area hospitals as well as uniform reporting of variables for future iterations of this and similar projects. PMID:27625737

40 CFR Table 1 to Subpart Yyyy of... - Emission Limitations

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... turbine as defined in this subpart, 3. a diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, or 4. a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in...

40 CFR Table 1 to Subpart Yyyy of... - Emission Limitations

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... turbine as defined in this subpart, 3. a diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in this subpart, or 4. a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined in...

Cyber Warfare as an Operational Fire

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-04-03

This paper explores cyber warfare as an option for creating operational fires effects. Initially, cyberspace is defined and explained from the...fires are defined and the advantages of their use are explained. From there, discussion focuses on how cyber warfare fulfills the purposes of...operational fires. Finally, the paper draws conclusions about the viability of cyber warfare as an operational fire and makes recommendations about how to prioritize the activities of the newly approved U.S. Cyber Command.

Third U.S. Geological Survey Wildland Fire-Science Workshop : Denver, Colorado, November 12-15, 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Livingston, Russell K.

2004-01-01

Executive Summary -- The historically significant wildland fire events that occurred in the United States during 2000 and 2002, together with the associated recognition of the need for a different national policy of forest management, has led to an increased awareness of the need for cooperative effort among all Federal agencies in planning for and managing the risks and consequences of wildland fire. The expertise and capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are significant resources in this regard, and the agency is becoming increasingly involved in fire-science activities in support of the various land-management agencies that are dealing directly with this issue. The First USGS Wildland Fire Workshop was held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1997 and helped to establish the direction of USGS in sharing its expertise with the fire-management agencies. The Second USGS Wildland Fire Workshop was held in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 2000 and brought together all the agencies involved in the management of wildland fires in order to determine their needs, to demonstrate USGS capabilities to meet those needs, and to establish methods for the USGS to distribute data and tools useful in fire management. It enhanced the relationships developed during the 1997 workshop and helped to define USGS' role in the fire-management community. The Third USGS Wildland Fire-Science Workshop, held in Denver, Colorado, November 12?15, 2002, was an opportunity for exchange of information on recent progress in the area of fire science and to determine the gaps in fire-science research that could be addressed by the USGS. In addition to more than 90 USGS scientists engaged in fire-related research and managers of organizational units involved in some aspect of wildland fire activities, the workshop was attended by about 30 representatives of 11 other Federal agencies. There also were a number of attendees affiliated with several universities, private companies, and State and local agencies. The 4-day meeting consisted of a pre-workshop field trip to the Hayman Fire area, several keynote presentations, five panel discussions, presentation and 'breakout' discussion of four 'white paper' topics, and a poster session with more than 30 presentations.

Biomass burning aerosols and the low-visibility events in Southeast Asia

DOE PAGES

Lee, Hsiang-He; Bar-Or, Rotem Z.; Wang, Chien

2017-01-23

Fires including peatland burning in Southeast Asia have become a major concern to the general public as well as governments in the region. This is because aerosols emitted from such fires can cause persistent haze events under certain weather conditions in downwind locations, degrading visibility and causing human health issues. In order to improve our understanding of the spatiotemporal coverage and influence of biomass burning aerosols in Southeast Asia, we have used surface visibility and particulate matter concentration observations, supplemented by decade-long (2003 to 2014) simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with a fire aerosol module, driven bymore » high-resolution biomass burning emission inventories. We find that in the past decade, fire aerosols are responsible for nearly all events with very low visibility (< 7 km). Fire aerosols alone are also responsible for a substantial fraction of low-visibility events (visibility  < 10 km) in the major metropolitan areas of Southeast Asia: up to 39 % in Bangkok, 36 % in Kuala Lumpur, and 34 % in Singapore. Biomass burning in mainland Southeast Asia accounts for the largest contribution to total fire-produced PM 2.5 in Bangkok (99 %), while biomass burning in Sumatra is a major contributor to fire-produced PM 2.5 in Kuala Lumpur (50 %) and Singapore (41 %). To examine the general situation across the region, we have further defined and derived a new integrated metric for 50 cities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): the haze exposure day (HED), which measures the annual exposure days of these cities to low visibility (< 10 km) caused by particulate matter pollution. It is shown that HEDs have increased steadily in the past decade across cities with both high and low populations. Fire events alone are found to be responsible for up to about half of the total HEDs. Our results suggest that in order to improve the overall air quality in Southeast Asia, mitigation policies targeting both biomass burning and fossil fuel burning sources need to be implemented.« less

Biomass burning aerosols and the low-visibility events in Southeast Asia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Hsiang-He; Bar-Or, Rotem Z.; Wang, Chien

Fires including peatland burning in Southeast Asia have become a major concern to the general public as well as governments in the region. This is because aerosols emitted from such fires can cause persistent haze events under certain weather conditions in downwind locations, degrading visibility and causing human health issues. In order to improve our understanding of the spatiotemporal coverage and influence of biomass burning aerosols in Southeast Asia, we have used surface visibility and particulate matter concentration observations, supplemented by decade-long (2003 to 2014) simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with a fire aerosol module, driven bymore » high-resolution biomass burning emission inventories. We find that in the past decade, fire aerosols are responsible for nearly all events with very low visibility (< 7 km). Fire aerosols alone are also responsible for a substantial fraction of low-visibility events (visibility  < 10 km) in the major metropolitan areas of Southeast Asia: up to 39 % in Bangkok, 36 % in Kuala Lumpur, and 34 % in Singapore. Biomass burning in mainland Southeast Asia accounts for the largest contribution to total fire-produced PM 2.5 in Bangkok (99 %), while biomass burning in Sumatra is a major contributor to fire-produced PM 2.5 in Kuala Lumpur (50 %) and Singapore (41 %). To examine the general situation across the region, we have further defined and derived a new integrated metric for 50 cities of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): the haze exposure day (HED), which measures the annual exposure days of these cities to low visibility (< 10 km) caused by particulate matter pollution. It is shown that HEDs have increased steadily in the past decade across cities with both high and low populations. Fire events alone are found to be responsible for up to about half of the total HEDs. Our results suggest that in order to improve the overall air quality in Southeast Asia, mitigation policies targeting both biomass burning and fossil fuel burning sources need to be implemented.« less

Prefrontal single-unit firing associated with deficient extinction in mice

PubMed Central

Fitzgerald, Paul J; Whittle, Nigel; Flynn, Shaun M; Graybeal, Carolyn; Pinard, Courtney; Gunduz-Cinar, Ozge; Kravitz, Alexxai; Singewald, Nicolas; Holmes, Andrew

2014-01-01

The neural circuitry mediating fear extinction has been increasingly well studied and delineated. The rodent infralimbic subregion (IL) of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has been found to promote extinction, whereas the prelimbic cortex (PL) demonstrates an opposing, pro-fear, function. Studies employing in vivo electrophysiological recordings have observed that while increased IL single-unit firing and bursting predicts robust extinction retrieval, increased PL firing can correlate with sustained fear and poor extinction. These relationships between single-unit firing and extinction do not hold under all experimental conditions, however. In the current study, we further investigated the relationship between vmPFC and PL single-unit firing and extinction using inbred mouse models of intact (C57BL/6J, B6) and deficient (129S1/SvImJ, S1) extinction strains. Simultaneous single-unit recordings were made in the PL and vmPFC (encompassing IL) as B6 and S1 mice performed extinction training and retrieval. Impaired extinction retrieval in S1 mice was associated with elevated PL single-unit firing, as compared to firing in extinguishing B6 mice, consistent with the hypothesized pro-fear contribution of PL. Analysis of local field potentials also revealed significantly higher gamma power in the PL of Sthan B6 mice during extinction training and retrieval. In the vmPFC, impaired extinction in S1 mice was also associated with exaggerated single-unit firing, relative to B6 mice. This is in apparent contradiction to evidence that IL activity promotes extinction, but could reflect a (failed) compensatory effort by the vmPFC to mitigate fear-promoting activity in other regions, such as the PL or amygdala. In support of this hypothesis, augmenting IL activity via direct infusion of the GABAA receptor antagonist picrotoxin rescued impaired extinction retrieval in S1 mice. Chronic fluoxetine treatment produced modest reductions in fear during extinction retrieval and increased the number of Zif268-labeled cells in layer II of IL, but failed to increase vmPFC single-unit firing. Collectively, these findings further support the important contribution these cortical regions play in determining the balance between robust extinction on the one hand, and sustained fear on the other. Elucidating the precise nature of these roles could help inform understanding of the pathophysiology of fear-related anxiety disorders. PMID:24231425

Aboriginal hunting buffers climate-driven fire-size variability in Australia's spinifex grasslands.

PubMed

Bliege Bird, Rebecca; Codding, Brian F; Kauhanen, Peter G; Bird, Douglas W

2012-06-26

Across diverse ecosystems, greater climatic variability tends to increase wildfire size, particularly in Australia, where alternating wet-dry cycles increase vegetation growth, only to leave a dry overgrown landscape highly susceptible to fire spread. Aboriginal Australian hunting fires have been hypothesized to buffer such variability, mitigating mortality on small-mammal populations, which have suffered declines and extinctions in the arid zone coincident with Aboriginal depopulation. We test the hypothesis that the relationship between climate and fire size is buffered through the maintenance of an anthropogenic, fine-grained fire regime by comparing the effect of climatic variability on landscapes dominated by Martu Aboriginal hunting fires with those dominated by lightning fires. We show that Aboriginal fires are smaller, more tightly clustered, and remain small even when climate variation causes huge fires in the lightning region. As these effects likely benefit threatened small-mammal species, Aboriginal hunters should be considered trophic facilitators, and policies aimed at reducing the risk of large fires should promote land-management strategies consistent with Aboriginal burning regimes.

The Study of Biomass Emissions for Defining Radiative Forcing of Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Penner, Joyce; Mishchenko, Michael I. (Technical Monitor)

2003-01-01

Accurate quantification of the amounts of trace gases and particulate matter emitted from vegetation fires and other sources of biomass burning (agricultural waste and biofuels) on a regional and global basis is required by a number of users, including scientists studying a wide range of atmospheric processes, national governments who are required to report greenhouse gas emissions, and those interested in quantifying the sources of air pollution that affect human health at regional scales. Over the past decade, improvements in the ability to detect and map fires using a number of different satellite systems have been achieved, largely through efforts coordinated through working groups organized by the IGBP Data and Information System and Global Observation of Forest Cover (GOFC) projects. In addition, significant advances and improvement in or understanding of the emissions factors for biomass burning in different biomes has resulted through efforts by the Biomass Burning Experiment (BIBEX) organized through the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry project. A number of satellite-based fire data products have been generated, and a number of new products will shortly be available. These new data products will provide the basis for estimating emissions from biomass burning on a global basis. However, a number of issues remain concerning the availability of other data sets needed to generate these estimates. Recognizing these issues, the GOFC-Fire Satellite Validation Workshop (held in Lisbon, Portugal on 9-11 July 2001), recommended that a workshop focusing on Improving Global Estimates of Atmospheric Emissions from Biomass Burning be organized. This workshop was held from 17- 19 July 2002 on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. This workshop served as the annual meeting of the GOFC/GOLD-Fire Program. The overall goals of the meeting were to review the information products generated from satellite imagery and other sources that are currently available for developing emission estimates from biomass burning, evaluate areas where improved or additional products would be beneficial, and recommend products for use by the atmospheric science community.

Influence of slope on fire spread rate

Treesearch

B.W. Butler; W.R. Anderson; E.A. Catchpole

2007-01-01

Data demonstrate the effect of slope on heading and backing fires burning through woody fuels. The data indicate that the upper limit of heading fire rate of spread is defined by the rate of spread up a vertical fuel array, and the lower limit is defined by the rate of spread of a backing fire burning downslope. The minimum spread rate is found to occur at nominally --...

National-level infrastructure and economic effects of switchgrass cofiring with coal in existing power plants for carbon mitigation.

PubMed

Morrow, William R; Griffin, W Michael; Matthews, H Scott

2008-05-15

We update a previously presented Linear Programming (LP) methodology for estimating state level costs for reducing CO2 emissions from existing coal-fired power plants by cofiring switchgrass, a biomass energy crop, and coal. This paper presents national level results of applying the methodology to the entire portion of the United States in which switchgrass could be grown without irrigation. We present incremental switchgrass and coal cofiring carbon cost of mitigation curves along with a presentation of regionally specific cofiring economics and policy issues. The results show that cofiring 189 million dry short tons of switchgrass with coal in the existing U.S. coal-fired electricity generation fleet can mitigate approximately 256 million short tons of carbon-dioxide (CO2) per year, representing a 9% reduction of 2005 electricity sector CO2 emissions. Total marginal costs, including capital, labor, feedstock, and transportation, range from $20 to $86/ton CO2 mitigated,with average costs ranging from $20 to $45/ton. If some existing power plants upgrade to boilers designed for combusting switchgrass, an additional 54 million tons of switchgrass can be cofired. In this case, total marginal costs range from $26 to $100/ton CO2 mitigated, with average costs ranging from $20 to $60/ton. Costs for states east of the Mississippi River are largely unaffected by boiler replacement; Atlantic seaboard states represent the lowest cofiring cost of carbon mitigation. The central plains states west of the Mississippi River are most affected by the boiler replacement option and, in general, go from one of the lowest cofiring cost of carbon mitigation regions to the highest. We explain the variation in transportation expenses and highlight regional cost of mitigation variations as transportation overwhelms other cofiring costs.

Mitigating Wildfire Risk in the Wildland Urban Interface: The Role of Regulations

Treesearch

Cheryl R. Renner; Margaret Reams; Terry Haines

2006-01-01

The growth of residential communities within forest areas throughout the country, and particularly in the West, has increased the danger to life and property from uncontrolled wildfire. The conflict of permanent residential settlements built next to a fire-adapted ecosystem has been further exacerbated by 100 years of fire suppression and an extended drought in the...

Wildfire mitigation strategies affect soil enzyme activity and soil organic carbon in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forests

Treesearch

R.E.J. Boerner; T.A. Waldrop; V.B. Shelburne

2006-01-01

We quantified the effects of three wildfire hazard reduction treatments (prescribed fire, thinning from below, and the combination of fire and thinning), and passive management (control) on mineral soil organic C, and enzyme activity in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) forests on the Piedmont of South Carolina. Soil organic C was reduced by thinning,...

Climate change and fire management in the mid-Atlantic region

Treesearch

Kenneth L. Clark; Nicholas Skowronski; Heidi Renninger; Robert Scheller

2014-01-01

In this review, we summarize the potential impacts of climate change on wildfire activity in the mid-Atlantic region, and then consider how the beneficial uses of prescribed fire could conflict with mitigation needs for climate change, focusing on patters of carbon (C) sequestration by forests in the region. We use a synthesis of field studies, eddy flux tower...

Limiting the immediate and subsequent hazards associated with wildfires

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeGraff, Jerome V.; Cannon, Susan H.; Parise, Mario

2013-01-01

Similarly, our capability to limit impacts from post-fire debris flows is improving. Empirical models for estimating the probability of debris-flow occurrence, the volume of such an event, and mapping the inundated area, linked with improved definitions of the rainfall conditions that trigger debris flows, can be used to provide critical information for post-fire hazard mitigation and emergency-response planning.

Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) user manual (version 2006.01.18)

Treesearch

Peter R. Robichaud; William J. Elliot; Fredrick B. Pierson; David E. Hall; Corey A. Moffet; Louise E. Ashmun

2007-01-01

The decision of where, when, and how to apply the most effective post-fire erosion mitigation treatments requires land managers to assess the risk of damaging runoff and erosion events occurring after a fire. To aid in this assessment, the Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) was developed. This user manual describes the input parameters, input interface, model...

Assessing the impacts of federal forest planning on wildfire risk-mitigation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Treesearch

Alan A. Ager; Michelle A. Day; Karen C. Short; Cody R. Evers

2016-01-01

We analyzed the impact of amenity and biodiversity protection as mandated in national forest plans on the implementation of hazardous fuel reduction treatments aimed at protecting the wildland urban interface (WUI) and restoring fire resilient forests. We used simulation modeling to delineate areas on national forests that can potentially transmit fires to...

Recent trends in post-wildfire seeding in western US forests: costs and seed mixes

Treesearch

Donna L. Peppin; Peter Z. Fule; Carolyn Hull Sieg; Jan L. Beyers; Molly E. Hunter; Pete Robichaud

2011-01-01

Broadcast seeding is one of the most commonly used post-fire rehabilitation treatments to establish ground cover for erosion control and mitigation of non-native plant species invasions. Little quantitative information is available on overall trends of post-fire seeding expenditures and seed mixes used over time in forested ecosystems in the western USA. We reviewed...

Management of forest fires to maximize carbon sequestration in temperate and boreal forests

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guggenheim, D.E.

1996-12-31

This study examines opportunities for applying prescribed burning strategies to forest stands to enhance net carbon sequestration and compared prescribed burning strategies with more conventional forestry-based climate change mitigation alternatives, including fire suppression and afforestation. Biomass burning is a major contributor to greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere. Biomass burning has increased by 50% since 1850. Since 1977, the annual extent of burning in the northern temperate and boreal forests has increased dramatically, from six- to nine-fold. Long-term suppression of fires in North America, Russia, and other parts of the world has led to accumulated fuel load and an increasemore » in the destructive power of wildfires. Prescribed burning has been used successfully to reduce the destructiveness of wildfires. However, across vast areas of Russia and other regions, prescribed burning is not a component of forest management practices. Given these factors and the sheer size of the temperate-boreal carbon sink, increasing attention is being focused on the role of these forests in mitigating climate change, and the role of fire management strategies, such as prescribed burning, which could work alongside more conventional forestry-based greenhouse gas offset strategies, such as afforestation.« less

Locating Spatial Variation in the Association Between Wildland Fire Risk and Social Vulnerability Across Six Southern States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poudyal, Neelam C.; Johnson-Gaither, Cassandra; Goodrick, Scott; Bowker, J. M.; Gan, Jianbang

2012-03-01

Wildland fire in the South commands considerable attention, given the expanding wildland urban interface (WUI) across the region. Much of this growth is propelled by higher income retirees and others desiring natural amenity residential settings. However, population growth in the WUI increases the likelihood of wildfire fire ignition caused by people, as humans account for 93% of all wildfires fires in the South. Coexisting with newly arrived, affluent WUI populations are working class, poor or otherwise socially vulnerable populations. The latter groups typically experience greater losses from environmental disasters such as wildfire because lower income residents are less likely to have established mitigation programs in place to help absorb loss. We use geographically weighted regression to examine spatial variation in the association between social vulnerability (SOVUL) and wildfire risk. In doing so, we identify "hot spots" or geographical clusters where SOVUL varies positively with wildfire risk across six Southern states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. These clusters may or may not be located in the WUI. These hot spots are most prevalent in South Carolina and Florida. Identification of these population clusters can aid wildfire managers in deciding which communities to prioritize for mitigation programming.

The Influence of Mitigation on Sage-Grouse Habitat Selection within an Energy Development Field

PubMed Central

Fedy, Bradley C.; Kirol, Christopher P.; Sutphin, Andrew L.; Maechtle, Thomas L.

2015-01-01

Growing global energy demands ensure the continued growth of energy development. Energy development in wildlife areas can significantly impact wildlife populations. Efforts to mitigate development impacts to wildlife are on-going, but the effectiveness of such efforts is seldom monitored or assessed. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are sensitive to energy development and likely serve as an effective umbrella species for other sagebrush-steppe obligate wildlife. We assessed the response of birds within an energy development area before and after the implementation of mitigation action. Additionally, we quantified changes in habitat distribution and abundance in pre- and post-mitigation landscapes. Sage-grouse avoidance of energy development at large spatial scales is well documented. We limited our research to directly within an energy development field in order to assess the influence of mitigation in close proximity to energy infrastructure. We used nest-location data (n = 488) within an energy development field to develop habitat selection models using logistic regression on data from 4 years of research prior to mitigation and for 4 years following the implementation of extensive mitigation efforts (e.g., decreased activity, buried powerlines). The post-mitigation habitat selection models indicated less avoidance of wells (well density β = 0.18 ± 0.08) than the pre-mitigation models (well density β = -0.09 ± 0.11). However, birds still avoided areas of high well density and nests were not found in areas with greater than 4 wells per km2 and the majority of nests (63%) were located in areas with ≤ 1 well per km2. Several other model coefficients differed between the two time periods and indicated stronger selection for sagebrush (pre-mitigation β = 0.30 ± 0.09; post-mitigation β = 0.82 ± 0.08) and less avoidance of rugged terrain (pre-mitigation β = -0.35 ± 0.12; post-mitigation β = -0.05 ± 0.09). Mitigation efforts implemented may be responsible for the measurable improvement in sage-grouse nesting habitats within the development area. However, we cannot reject alternative hypotheses concerning the influence of population density and intraspecific competition. Additionally, we were unable to assess the actual fitness consequences of mitigation or the source-sink dynamics of the habitats. We compared the pre-mitigation and post-mitigation models predicted as maps with habitats ranked from low to high relative probability of use (equal-area bins: 1 – 5). We found more improvement in habitat rank between the two time periods around mitigated wells compared to non-mitigated wells. Informed mitigation within energy development fields could help improve habitats within the field. We recommend that any mitigation effort include well-informed plans to monitor the effectiveness of the implemented mitigation actions that assess both habitat use and relevant fitness parameters. PMID:25835296

National Fire Plan Research and Development 2001 Business Summary

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

2002-01-01

Wildland fire remains a serious concern to the people of our Nation. This concern has been turned into action in the form of the National Fire Plan (NFP), an accelerated interagency effort, begun after the disastrous 2000 fire season, to step up, coordinate, and concentrate activity on reducing fire risks.

KSC firefighters support recent firefighting efforts with a railroad tanker car

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

A Kennedy Space Center railroad tanker car loaded with 20,000 gallons of water and retrofitted with a special attachment for directly filling fire trucks was transported to the scene of a fire in north Brevard County to assist with firefighting efforts.

Risk of natural disturbances makes future contribution of Canada's forests to the global carbon cycle highly uncertain.

PubMed

Kurz, Werner A; Stinson, Graham; Rampley, Gregory J; Dymond, Caren C; Neilson, Eric T

2008-02-05

A large carbon sink in northern land surfaces inferred from global carbon cycle inversion models led to concerns during Kyoto Protocol negotiations that countries might be able to avoid efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions by claiming large sinks in their managed forests. The greenhouse gas balance of Canada's managed forest is strongly affected by naturally occurring fire with high interannual variability in the area burned and by cyclical insect outbreaks. Taking these stochastic future disturbances into account, we used the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) to project that the managed forests of Canada could be a source of between 30 and 245 Mt CO(2)e yr(-1) during the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period (2008-2012). The recent transition from sink to source is the result of large insect outbreaks. The wide range in the predicted greenhouse gas balance (215 Mt CO(2)e yr(-1)) is equivalent to nearly 30% of Canada's emissions in 2005. The increasing impact of natural disturbances, the two major insect outbreaks, and the Kyoto Protocol accounting rules all contributed to Canada's decision not to elect forest management. In Canada, future efforts to influence the carbon balance through forest management could be overwhelmed by natural disturbances. Similar circumstances may arise elsewhere if global change increases natural disturbance rates. Future climate mitigation agreements that do not account for and protect against the impacts of natural disturbances, for example, by accounting for forest management benefits relative to baselines, will fail to encourage changes in forest management aimed at mitigating climate change.

Achieving Workplace Health through Application of Wellness Strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, Judith L.

2008-01-01

Purpose: 1) Understand and measure JSC workplace health: a) levels, sources, indicators & effects of negative, work-related stress; b) define leading indicators of emerging issues. 2 Provide linkage to outcomes: a) Focus application of wellness strategies & HR tools; b) Increase quality of work life and productivity. 3) Current effort will result in: a) Online assessment tool; b) Assessment of total JSC population (civil service & contractors); c) Application of mitigation tools and strategies. 4) Product of the JSC Employee Wellness Program. 5) Collaboration with Corporate Health Improvement Program/University of Arizona.

Modelling and mitigating dose to firefighters from inhalation of radionuclides in wildland fire smoke

DOE PAGES

Viner, Brian J.; Jannik, Tim; Stone, Daniel; ...

2015-06-12

Firefighters responding to wildland fires where surface litter and vegetation contain radiological contamination will receive a radiological dose by inhaling resuspended radioactive material in the smoke. This may increase their lifetime risk of contracting certain types of cancer. Using published data, we modelled hypothetical radionuclide emissions, dispersion and dose for 70th and 97th percentile environmental conditions and for average and high fuel loads at the Savannah River Site. We predicted downwind concentration and potential dose to firefighters for radionuclides of interest ( 137Cs, 238Pu, 90Sr and 210Po). Predicted concentrations exceeded dose guidelines in the base case scenario emissions of 1.0more » × 10 7 Bq ha –1 for 238Pu at 70th percentile environmental conditions and average fuel load levels for both 4- and 14-h shifts. Under 97th percentile environmental conditions and high fuel loads, dose guidelines were exceeded for several reported cases for 90Sr, 238Pu and 210Po. Potential for exceeding dose guidelines was mitigated by including plume rise (>2 m s –1) or moving a small distance from the fire owing to large concentration gradients near the edge of the fire. As a result, our approach can quickly estimate potential dose from airborne radionuclides in wildland fire and assist decision-making to reduce firefighter exposure.« less

Predicting Fire Season Severity in South America Using Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Yang; Randerson, James T.; Morton, Douglas C.; Jin, Yufang; DeFries, Ruth S.; Collatz, George J.; Kasibhatla, Prasad S.; Giglio, Louis; Jin, Yufang; Marlier, Miriam

2011-01-01

Fires in South America cause forest degradation and contribute to carbon emissions associated with land use change. Here we investigated the relationship between year-to-year changes in satellite-derived estimates of fire activity in South America and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. We found that the Oceanic Ni o Index (ONI) was correlated with interannual fire activity in the eastern Amazon whereas the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) index was more closely linked with fires in the southern and southwestern Amazon. Combining these two climate indices, we developed an empirical model that predicted regional annual fire season severity (FSS) with 3-5 month lead times. Our approach provides the foundation for an early warning system for forecasting the vulnerability of Amazon forests to fires, thus enabling more effective management with benefits for mitigation of greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions.

Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from coal fires using airborne and ground-based methods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Engle, M.A.; Radke, L.F.; Heffern, E.L.; O'Keefe, J.M.K.; Smeltzer, C.D.; Hower, J.C.; Hower, J.M.; Prakash, A.; Kolker, A.; Eatwell, R.J.; ter, Schure A.; Queen, G.; Aggen, K.L.; Stracher, G.B.; Henke, K.R.; Olea, R.A.; Roman-Colon, Y.

2011-01-01

Coal fires occur in all coal-bearing regions of the world and number, conservatively, in the thousands. These fires emit a variety of compounds including greenhouse gases. However, the magnitude of the contribution of combustion gases from coal fires to the environment is highly uncertain, because adequate data and methods for assessing emissions are lacking. This study demonstrates the ability to estimate CO2 and CH4 emissions for the Welch Ranch coal fire, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA, using two independent methods: (a) heat flux calculated from aerial thermal infrared imaging (3.7-4.4td-1 of CO2 equivalent emissions) and (b) direct, ground-based measurements (7.3-9.5td-1 of CO2 equivalent emissions). Both approaches offer the potential for conducting inventories of coal fires to assess their gas emissions and to evaluate and prioritize fires for mitigation. ?? 2011.

Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from coal fires using airborne and ground-based methods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Engle, Mark A.; Radke, Lawrence F.; Heffern, Edward L.; O'Keefe, Jennifer M.K.; Smeltzer, Charles; Hower, James C.; Hower, Judith M.; Prakash, Anupma; Kolker, Allan; Eatwell, Robert J.; ter Schure, Arnout; Queen, Gerald; Aggen, Kerry L.; Stracher, Glenn B.; Henke, Kevin R.; Olea, Ricardo A.; Román-Colón, Yomayara

2011-01-01

Coal fires occur in all coal-bearing regions of the world and number, conservatively, in the thousands. These fires emit a variety of compounds including greenhouse gases. However, the magnitude of the contribution of combustion gases from coal fires to the environment is highly uncertain, because adequate data and methods for assessing emissions are lacking. This study demonstrates the ability to estimate CO2 and CH4 emissions for the Welch Ranch coal fire, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA, using two independent methods: (a) heat flux calculated from aerial thermal infrared imaging (3.7–4.4 t d−1 of CO2 equivalent emissions) and (b) direct, ground-based measurements (7.3–9.5 t d−1 of CO2 equivalent emissions). Both approaches offer the potential for conducting inventories of coal fires to assess their gas emissions and to evaluate and prioritize fires for mitigation.

Benefits of hindsight: reestablishing fire on the landscape.

Treesearch

Sally Duncan

2001-01-01

Well-intentioned fire suppression efforts during the last 80 to 100 years have altered the structure of low-elevation forests in the interior Northwest. Historically, nondestructive, frequent, low-intensity fires have given way to larger, infrequent, severe, high-intensity fires. Because of altered fire behavior, forests now have increased fuel, and consequently, are...

Predicting post-fire tree mortality for 12 western US conifers using the First-Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM)

Treesearch

Sharon Hood; Duncan Lutes

2017-01-01

Accurate prediction of fire-caused tree mortality is critical for making sound land management decisions such as developing burning prescriptions and post-fire management guidelines. To improve efforts to predict post-fire tree mortality, we developed 3-year post-fire mortality models for 12 Western conifer species - white fir (Abies concolor [Gord. &...

Application of wildfire simulation methods to assess wildfire exposure in a Mediterranean fire-prone area (Sardinia, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salis, M.; Ager, A.; Arca, B.; Finney, M.; Bacciu, V. M.; Spano, D.; Duce, P.

2012-12-01

Spatial and temporal patterns of fire spread and behavior are dependent on interactions among climate, topography, vegetation and fire suppression efforts (Pyne et al. 1996; Viegas 2006; Falk et al. 2007). Humans also play a key role in determining frequency and spatial distribution of ignitions (Bar Massada et al, 2011), and thus influence fire regimes as well. The growing incidence of catastrophic wildfires has led to substantial losses for important ecological and human values within many areas of the Mediterranean basin (Moreno et al. 1998; Mouillot et al. 2005; Viegas et al. 2006a; Riaño et al. 2007). The growing fire risk issue has led to many new programs and policies of fuel management and risk mitigation by environmental and fire agencies. However, risk-based methodologies to help identify areas characterized by high potential losses and prioritize fuel management have been lacking for the region. Formal risk assessment requires the joint consideration of likelihood, intensity, and susceptibility, the product of which estimates the chance of a specific loss (Brillinger 2003; Society of Risk Analysis, 2006). Quantifying fire risk therefore requires estimates of a) the probability of a specific location burning at a specific intensity and location, and b) the resulting change in financial or ecological value (Finney 2005; Scott 2006). When large fires are the primary cause of damage, the application of this risk formulation requires modeling fire spread to capture landscape properties that affect burn probability. Recently, the incorporation of large fire spread into risk assessment systems has become feasible with the development of high performance fire simulation systems (Finney et al. 2011) that permit the simulation of hundreds of thousands of fires to generate fine scale maps of burn probability, flame length, and fire size, while considering the combined effects of weather, fuels, and topography (Finney 2002; Andrews et al. 2007; Ager and Finney 2009; Finney et al. 2009; Salis et al. 2012 accepted). In this work, we employed wildfire simulation methods to quantify wildfire exposure to human and ecological values for the island of Sardinia, Italy. The work was focused on the risk and exposure posed by large fires (e.g. 100 - 10,000 ha), and considers historical weather, ignition patterns and fuels. We simulated 100,000 fires using burn periods that replicated the historical size distribution on the Island, and an ignition probability grid derived from historic ignition data. We then examine spatial variation in three exposure components (burn probability, flame length, fire size) among important human and ecological values. The results allowed us to contract exposure among and within the various features examined, and highlighted the importance of human factors in shaping wildfire exposure in Sardinia. The work represents the first application of burn probability modeling in the Mediterranean region, and sets the stage for expanded work in the region to quantify risk from large fires

Production and aerial application of wood shreds as a post-fire hillslope erosion mitigation treatment

Treesearch

Peter R. Robichaud; Louise E. Ashmun; Randy B. Foltz; Charles G. Showers; J. Scott Groenier; Jennifer Kesler; Claire DeLeo; Mary Moore

2013-01-01

Guidelines for the production and aerial application of wood shred mulch as a post-fire hillslope treatment were developed from laboratory and field studies, several field operations, and the evaluations of professionals involved in those operations. At two early trial sites, the wood shred mulch was produced off-site and transported to the area of use. At the 2010...

Allocating Fire Mitigation Funds on the Basis of the Predicted Probabilities of Forest Wildfire

Treesearch

Ronald E. McRoberts; Greg C. Liknes; Mark D. Nelson; Krista M. Gebert; R. James Barbour; Susan L. Odell; Steven C. Yaddof

2005-01-01

A logistic regression model was used with map-based information to predict the probability of forest fire for forested areas of the United States. Model parameters were estimated using a digital layer depicting the locations of wildfires and satellite imagery depicting thermal hotspots. The area of the United States in the upper 50th percentile with respect to...

Understory Herbicide as a Treatment For Reducing Hazardous Fuels and Extreme Fire Behavior in Slash Pine Plantations

Treesearch

Patrick H. Brose; Dale Wade

2002-01-01

The 1998 wildfires in Florida sparked a serious debate about the accumulation of hazardous forest fuels and the merits of prescribed fire and alternatives for mitigating that problem. One such alternative is application of understory herbicides and anecdotal evidence suggests they may either exacerbate or lessen the fuel accumulation problem. In 1998, a study was...

Seasonal variation in surface fuel moisture between unthinned and thinned mixed conifer forest, northern California, USA

Treesearch

Becky L. Estes; Eric E. Knapp; Carl N. Skinner; Fabian C. C. Uzoh

2012-01-01

Reducing stand density is often used as a tool for mitigating the risk of high-intensity crown fires. However, concern has been expressed that opening stands might lead to greater drying of surface fuels, contributing to increased fire risk. The objective of this study was to determine whether woody fuel moisture differed between unthinned and thinned mixed-conifer...

Committed CO2 Emissions of China's Coal-fired Power Plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suqin, J.

2016-12-01

The extent of global warming is determined by the cumulative effects of CO2 in the atmosphere. Coal-fired power plants, the largest anthropogenic source of CO2 emissions, produce large amount of CO2 emissions during their lifetimes of operation (committed emissions), which thus influence the future carbon emission space under specific targets on mitigating climate change (e.g., the 2 degree warming limit relative to pre-industrial levels). Comprehensive understanding of committed CO2 emissions for coal-fired power generators is urgently needed in mitigating global climate change, especially in China, the largest global CO2emitter. We calculated China's committed CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generators installed during 1993-2013 and evaluated their impact on future emission spaces at the provincial level, by using local specific data on the newly installed capacities. The committed CO2 emissions are calculated as the product of the annual coal consumption from newly installed capacities, emission factors (CO2emissions per unit crude coal consumption) and expected lifetimes. The sensitivities about generators lifetimes and the drivers on provincial committed emissions are also analyzed. Our results show that these relatively recently installed coal-fired power generators will lead to 106 Gt of CO2 emissions over the course of their lifetimes, which is more than three times the global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in 2010. More than 80% (85 Gt) of their total committed CO2 will be emitted after 2013, which are referred to as the remaining emissions. Due to the uncertainties of generators lifetime, these remaining emissions would increase by 45 Gt if the lifetimes of China's coal-fired power generators were prolonged by 15 years. Furthermore, the remaining emissions are very different among various provinces owing to local developments and policy disparities. Provinces with large amounts of secondary industry and abundant coal reserves have higher committed emissions. The national and provincial CO2 emission mitigation objectives might be greatly restricted by existing and planned power plants in China. The policy implications of our results have also been discussed.

40 CFR 63.6095 - When do I have to comply with this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this... combustion turbine which is a lean premix oil-fired stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil... stationary combustion turbine or diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this...

40 CFR 63.6095 - When do I have to comply with this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this... combustion turbine which is a lean premix oil-fired stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil... stationary combustion turbine or diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this...

40 CFR 63.6095 - When do I have to comply with this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this... combustion turbine which is a lean premix oil-fired stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil... stationary combustion turbine or diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this...

40 CFR 63.6095 - When do I have to comply with this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this... combustion turbine which is a lean premix oil-fired stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil... stationary combustion turbine or diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this...

40 CFR 63.6095 - When do I have to comply with this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this... combustion turbine which is a lean premix oil-fired stationary combustion turbine or a diffusion flame oil... stationary combustion turbine or diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by this...

Post-fire land treatments and wind erosion -- lessons from the Milford Flat Fire, UT, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, Mark E.; Bowker, Matthew A.; Reynolds, Richard L.; Goldstein, Harland L.

2012-01-01

We monitored sediment flux at 25 plots located at the northern end of the 2007 Milford Flat Fire (Lake Bonneville Basin, west-central Utah) to examine the effectiveness of post-fire rehabilitation treatments in mitigating risks of wind erosion during the first 3 years post fire. Maximum values were recorded during Mar–Jul 2009 when horizontal sediment fluxes measured with BSNE samplers ranged from 16.3 to 1251.0 g m−2 d−1 in unburned plots (n = 8; data represent averages of three sampler heights per plot), 35.2–555.3 g m−2 d−1 in burned plots that were not treated (n = 5), and 21.0–44,010.7 g m−2 d−1 in burned plots that received one or more rehabilitation treatments that disturbed the soil surface (n = 12). Fluxes during this period exhibited extreme spatial variability and were contingent on upwind landscape characteristics and surficial soil properties, with maximum fluxes recorded in settings downwind of treated areas with long treatment length and unstable fine sand. Nonlinear patterns of wind erosion attributable to soil and fetch effects highlight the profound importance of landscape setting and soil properties as spatial factors to be considered in evaluating risks of alternative post-fire rehabilitation strategies. By Mar–Jul 2010, average flux for all plots declined by 73.6% relative to the comparable 2009 period primarily due to the establishment and growth of exotic annual plants rather than seeded perennial plants. Results suggest that treatments in sensitive erosion-prone settings generally exacerbated rather than mitigated wind erosion during the first 3 years post fire, although long-term effects remain uncertain.

Overview on mitigation of acrylamide in starchy fried and baked foods.

PubMed

Baskar, G; Aiswarya, R

2018-03-23

Acrylamide in fried and baked foods causes potential toxic effect in aniamls and humans. The major challenging task lies in developing an effective strategies for acrylamide mitigation in foods without altering its basic properties. Food scientists around the world have developed various methods to mitigate the presence of acrylamide in fired food products. The mitigation techniques such as addition of additives like salts, amino acids, cations and organic acids along with blanching of foods have reduced the concentration of acrylamide. The use of secondary metabolites like polyphenols also reduces acrylamide concentration in fried food products. The other mitigation techniques such as Asparaginase pre-treatment and low-temperature air frying with chitosan were effective in mitigating the concentration of acrylamide. Combined pre-treatment process preceding with use of additives, are the latest trend in acrylamide mitigation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Unventilated indoor coal-fired stoves in Guizhou province, China: reduction of arsenic exposure through behavior changes resulting from mitigation and health education in populations with arsenicosis.

PubMed

An, Dong; Li, Dasheng; Liang, Yin; Jing, Zhengjin

2007-04-01

We report the results of a coordinated mitigation effort aimed at reducing arsenic (As) exposure in three counties of Guizhou province, China. Mitigation occurred in 2005 and encompassed 21 villages with 47,000 inhabitants, who were exposed to high levels of As in their diet through consumption of As-contaminated chili peppers and corn dried over unventilated stoves that burned coal containing high levels of As. The coal was mined by villagers from local pits. Inhalation of air that contained high levels of As contributed to approximately 25% of the daily As intake of 6-9 mg. Before mitigation, a baseline survey of 45,364 residents in 2004 identified more than 2,800 individuals with arsenicosis. The survey also found that many residents were aware of the health effects of As in general but lacked in-depth understanding of the link between coal use and arsenicosis. Consequently, an overwhelming majority (> 95%) continued to use high-As coal. This survey provided the basis for a health education campaign that promoted lifestyle changes coupled with the shutting down of local coal pits and the installation of 10,000 new stoves with chimneys for ventilation. The cost of the mitigation was about 4 million Yuan RMB (US$500,000) and was financed mostly by the government. A postmitigation response survey in 2005 found that > 85% of the residents now associate the use of coal with arsenicosis; > 90% correctly learned to operate the new ventilated stoves; and > 90% dry corn and chili peppers outdoors in the sun. Urinary As concentrations in the region decreased from 0.198 +/- 0.300 mg/L (n = 144) in 2004 to 0.049 +/- 0.009 mg/L (n = 50) in 2005 in individuals with arsenicosis (p < 0.01), which is consistent with the behavior changes.

Unventilated Indoor Coal-Fired Stoves in Guizhou Province, China: Reduction of Arsenic Exposure through Behavior Changes Resulting from Mitigation and Health Education in Populations with Arsenicosis

PubMed Central

An, Dong; Li, Dasheng; Liang, Yin; Jing, Zhengjin

2007-01-01

We the report results of a coordinated mitigation effort aimed at reducing arsenic (As) exposure in three counties of Guizhou province, China. Mitigation occurred in 2005 and encompassed 21 villages with 47,000 inhabitants, who were exposed to high levels of As in their diet through consumption of As-contaminated chili peppers and corn dried over unventilated stoves that burned coal containing high levels of As. The coal was mined by villagers from local pits. Inhalation of air that contained high levels of As contributed to approximately 25% of the daily As intake of 6–9 mg. Before mitigation, a baseline survey of 45,364 residents in 2004 identified more than 2,800 individuals with arsenicosis. The survey also found that many residents were aware of the health effects of As in general but lacked in-depth understanding of the link between coal use and arsenicosis. Consequently, an overwhelming majority (> 95%) continued to use high-As coal. This survey provided the basis for a health education campaign that promoted lifestyle changes coupled with the shutting down of local coal pits and the installation of 10,000 new stoves with chimneys for ventilation. The cost of the mitigation was about 4 million Yuan RMB (US$500,000) and was financed mostly by the government. A postmitigation response survey in 2005 found that > 85% of the residents now associate the use of coal with arsenicosis; > 90% correctly learned to operate the new ventilated stoves; and > 90% dry corn and chili peppers outdoors in the sun. Urinary As concentrations in the region decreased from 0.198 ± 0.300 mg/L (n = 144) in 2004 to 0.049 ± 0.009 mg/L (n = 50) in 2005 in individuals with arsenicosis (p < 0.01), which is consistent with the behavior changes. PMID:17450240

Assessing post-fire Douglas-fir mortality and Douglas-fir beetle attacks in the northern Rocky Mountains

Treesearch

Sharon Hood; Barbara Bentz; Ken Gibson; Kevin Ryan; Gregg DeNitto

2007-01-01

Douglas-fir has life history traits that greatly enhance resistance to injury from fire, thereby increasing post-fire survival rates. Tools for predicting the probability of tree mortality following fire are important components of both pre-fire planning and post-fire management efforts. Using data from mixed-severity wildfire in Montana and Wyoming, Hood and Bentz (...

Fire Effects on Microbial Enzyme Activities in Larch Forests of the Siberian Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ludwig, S.; Alexander, H. D.; Bulygina, E. B.; Mann, P. J.; Natali, S.

2012-12-01

Arctic forest ecosystems are warming at an accelerated rate relative to lower latitudes, with global implications for C cycling within these regions. As climate continues to warm and dry, wildfire frequency and severity are predicted to increase, creating a positive feedback to climate warming. Increased fire activity will also influence the microenvironment experienced by soil microbes in disturbed soils. Because soil microbes regulate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, it is important to understand microbial response to fires, particularly in the understudied larch forests in the Siberian Arctic. In this project, we created experimental burn plots in a mature larch forest in the Kolyma River watershed of Northeastern Siberia. Plots were burned at several treatments: control (no burn), low, moderate, and severe. After, 1 and 8 d post-fire, we measured soil organic layer depth, soil organic matter (SOM) content, soil moisture, and CO2 flux from the plots. Additionally, we leached soils and measured dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), NH4, NO3, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Furthermore, we measured extracellular activity of four enzymes involved in soil C and nutrient cycling (leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), β-glucosidase, phosphatase, and phenol oxidase). One day post-fire, LAP activity was similarly low in all treatments, but by 8 d post-fire, LAP activity was lower in burned plots compared to control plots, likely due to increased nitrogen content with increasing burn severity. Phosphatase activity decreased with burn severity 1 d post-fire, but after 8 d, moderate and severe burn plots exhibited increased phosphatase activity. Coupled with trends in LAP activity, this suggests a switch in nutrient limitation from N to phosphorus that is more pronounced with burn severity. β-glucosidase activity similarly decreased with burn severity 1 d post-fire, but by 8 d post-fire activity was the same in all treatments, indicating complete recovery of the microbial population. Phenol oxidase activity was low in all treatments 1 d post-fire, but by 8 d post-fire, severe plots had substantially increased phenol oxidase activity, likely due to microbial efforts to mitigate phenolic compound toxicity following severe fires. Both DOC and the slope ratio of CDOM absorbance increased with burn severity 1 d post-fire, indicating higher extractability of lighter molecular weight C from severe burns. These results imply that black C created from fires remains as a stable C pool while more labile C is mobilized with increasing burn severity. Our results suggest that the immediate effects of fire severity on microbial communities have the potential to change both nutrient use and the form and concentration of C being processed and mobilized from larch forest ecosystems. These findings highlight the importance of changing fire regimes on soil dynamics with implications for forest re-growth, soil-atmospheric feedbacks, and terrestrial inputs to aquatic ecosystems.

Restoration of fire in National Parks

Treesearch

David J. Parsons; Stephen J. Botti

1996-01-01

Over the past century, policies related to the management of fire in U.S. National Parks have evolved fiom efforts to eliminate all fire to recognition of the importance of restoring and maintaining fire as a natural ecological process. Prior to their formal designation by Congress, most National Parks had experienced thousands of years of periodic fire. Long-term...

Mapping severe fire potential across the contiguous United States

Treesearch

Brett H. Davis

2016-01-01

The Fire Severity Mapping System (FIRESEV) project is an effort to provide critical information and tools to fire managers that enhance their ability to assess potential ecological effects of wildland fire. A major component of FIRESEV is the development of a Severe Fire Potential Map (SFPM), a geographic dataset covering the contiguous United States (CONUS) that...

Massachusetts Public Fire and Safety Education Curriculum Planning Guidebook. Second Version.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, Stow.

This updated curriculum planning guidebook is a resource for fire educators throughout the state of Massachusetts. It is designed to be a tool in efforts to: identify fire problems in the community; select appropriate behaviors and lessons to correct the fire problems; design fire education programs; and implement and evaluate the programs. The…

Landscape anthropogenic disturbance in the Mediterranean ecosystem: is the current landscape sustainable?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biondi, Guido; D'Andrea, Mirko; Fiorucci, Paolo; Franciosi, Chiara; Lima, Marco

2013-04-01

Mediterranean landscape during the last centuries has been subject to strong anthropogenic disturbances who shifted natural vegetation cover in a cultural landscape. Most of the natural forest were destroyed in order to allow cultivation and grazing activities. In the last century, fast growing conifer plantations were introduced in order to increase timber production replacing slow growing natural forests. In addition, after the Second World War most of the grazing areas were changed in unmanaged mediterranean conifer forest frequently spread by fires. In the last decades radical socio economic changes lead to a dramatic abandonment of the cultural landscape. One of the most relevant result of these human disturbances, and in particular the replacement of deciduous forests with coniferous forests, has been the increasing in the number of forest fires, mainly human caused. The presence of conifers and shrubs, more prone to fire, triggered a feedback mechanism that makes difficult to return to the stage of potential vegetation causing huge economic, social and environmental damages. The aim of this work is to investigate the sustainability of the current landscape. A future landscape scenario has been simulated considering the natural succession in absence of human intervention assuming the current fire regime will be unaltered. To this end, a new model has been defined, implementing an ecological succession model coupled with a simply Forest Fire Model. The ecological succession model simulates the vegetation dynamics using a rule-based approach discrete in space and time. In this model Plant Functional Types (PFTs) are used to describe the landscape. Wildfires are randomly ignited on the landscape, and their propagation is simulated using a stochastic cellular automata model. The results show that the success of the natural succession toward a potential vegetation cover is prevented by the frequency of fire spreading. The actual landscape is then unsustainable because of the high cost of fire fighting activities. The right path to success consists in development of suitable land use planning and forest management to mitigate the consequences of past anthropogenic disturbances.

Utilizing Remote Sensing Information to Improve Post-fire Rainfall-runoff Predictions after the 2010 Bull Fire in the Sequoia National Forest, CA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kinoshita, A. M.; Hale, B.; Hogue, T. S.

2012-12-01

Post-fire management decisions are guided by rainfall-runoff predictions, which ultimately influence downstream treatment and mitigation costs. The current study investigates evolving rainfall-runoff partitioning at the watershed scale over a two-year period after the 2010 Bull Fire which occurred in the southern Sequoia National Forest in California. Stage height was measured at five-minute intervals using pressure transducers, tipping buckets were installed for rainfall duration and intensity, and channel cross-sections were measured approximately every two months to detail sediment deposition or scour. We also utilize remotely sensed vegetation data to evaluate vegetation recovery in the studied watersheds and the corresponding relationship to storm runoff. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a measure of vegetation greenness, is evaluated for its potential use as a key recovery indicator. Preliminary results focus on alterations in annual and seasonal precipitation and discharge relationships using in-situ data and Landsat NDVI values for the period of study. NDVI values are consistent with a comprehensive burn, with an acute decrease observed in the initial post-fire period. However, vegetation recovery is highly variable in the studied systems and influenced by shorter-term biomass pulses (grasses) while longer-term recovery of other species (chaparral and pine) is ongoing. Runoff ratios are elevated during early storms and show some recovery in the later part of the study period. The ability to accurately and confidently predict post-fire runoff and longer-term recovery is critical for monitoring values-at-risk, reducing mitigation costs, and improving warnings to downstream public communities.

Aboriginal hunting buffers climate-driven fire-size variability in Australia’s spinifex grasslands

PubMed Central

Bliege Bird, Rebecca; Codding, Brian F.; Kauhanen, Peter G.

2012-01-01

Across diverse ecosystems, greater climatic variability tends to increase wildfire size, particularly in Australia, where alternating wet–dry cycles increase vegetation growth, only to leave a dry overgrown landscape highly susceptible to fire spread. Aboriginal Australian hunting fires have been hypothesized to buffer such variability, mitigating mortality on small-mammal populations, which have suffered declines and extinctions in the arid zone coincident with Aboriginal depopulation. We test the hypothesis that the relationship between climate and fire size is buffered through the maintenance of an anthropogenic, fine-grained fire regime by comparing the effect of climatic variability on landscapes dominated by Martu Aboriginal hunting fires with those dominated by lightning fires. We show that Aboriginal fires are smaller, more tightly clustered, and remain small even when climate variation causes huge fires in the lightning region. As these effects likely benefit threatened small-mammal species, Aboriginal hunters should be considered trophic facilitators, and policies aimed at reducing the risk of large fires should promote land-management strategies consistent with Aboriginal burning regimes. PMID:22689979

Learning by Erring: fire!

PubMed

Bjugn, Roger; Hansen, Jarle

2013-08-01

Biorepositories may be affected by a number of emergencies ranging from bad publicity to natural disasters, and biorepositories should have plans for handling such situations. The emergency management process includes all phases from mitigation to recovery. Fire is one disaster that may cause extensive damage to both physical structures and humans. In this article, we analyze events related to a fire in a storage facility for mechanical freezers. The analysis covers both the pre-crisis stage, the fire itself, and the post-crisis stage. Even the best intended planning cannot stop a crisis from happening. However, an open-minded analysis of the crisis with focus on learning and quality improvement can improve an organization's ability to handle the next emergency situation.

Fire regimes of quaking aspen in the Mountain West

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shinneman, Douglas J.; Baker, William L.; Rogers, Paul C.; Kulakowski, Dominik

2013-01-01

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is the most widespread tree species in North America, and it is found throughout much of the Mountain West (MW) across a broad range of bioclimatic regions. Aspen typically regenerates asexually and prolifically after fire, and due to its seral status in many western conifer forests, aspen is often considered dependent upon disturbance for persistence. In many landscapes, historical evidence for post-fire aspen establishment is clear, and following extended fire-free periods senescing or declining aspen overstories sometimes lack adequate regeneration and are succeeding to conifers. However, aspen also forms relatively stable stands that contain little or no evidence of historical fire. In fact, aspen woodlands range from highly fire-dependent, seral communities to relatively stable, self-replacing, non-seral communities that do not require fire for persistence. Given the broad geographic distribution of aspen, fire regimes in these forests likely co-vary spatially with changing community composition, landscape setting, and climate, and temporally with land use and climate – but relatively few studies have explicitly focused on these important spatiotemporal variations. Here we reviewed the literature to summarize aspen fire regimes in the western US and highlight knowledge gaps. We found that only about one-fourth of the 46 research papers assessed for this review could be considered fire history studies (in which mean fire intervals were calculated), and all but one of these were based primarily on data from fire-scarred conifers. Nearly half of the studies reported at least some evidence of persistent aspen in the absence of fire. We also found that large portions of the MW have had little or no aspen fire history research. As a result of this review, we put forth a classification framework for aspen that is defined by key fire regime parameters (fire severity and probability), and that reflects underlying biophysical settings and correlated aspen functional types. We propose the following aspen fire regime types: (1) fire-independent, stable aspen; (2) fire-influenced, stable aspen; (3) fire-dependent, seral, conifer-aspen mix; (4) fire-dependent, seral, montane aspen-conifer; and (5) fire-dependent, seral, subalpine aspen-conifer. Closing research gaps and validating our proposed aspen fire regime classification will likely require additional site-specific research, enhanced dendrochronology techniques, charcoal and pollen record analysis, spatially-explicit modeling, and other techniques. We hope to encourage development of site-appropriate disturbance ecology characterizations, in order to aid efforts to manage and restore aspen communities and to diagnose key factors contributing to changes in aspen.

Mitigating Large Fires in Drossel-Schwabl Forest Fire Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoder, M.; Turcotte, D.; Rundle, J.; Morein, G.

2008-12-01

We employ variations of the traditional Drossel-Schwabl cellular automata Forest Fire Models (FFM) to study wildfire dynamics. The traditional FFM produces a very robust power law distribution of events, as a function of size, with frequency-size slope very close to -1. Observed data from Australia, the US and northern Mexico suggest that real wild fires closely follow power laws in frequency size with slopes ranging from close to -2 to -1.3 (B.D. Malamud et al. 2005). We suggest two models that, by fracturing and trimming large clusters, reduce the number of large fires while maintaining scale invariance. These fracturing and trimming processes can be justified in terms of real physical processes. For each model, we achieve slopes in the frequency-size relation ranging from approximately -1.77 to -1.06.

Seedbed Requirements For Regenerating Table Mountain Pine With Prescribed Fire

Treesearch

Thomas A. Waldrop; Helen H. Mohr; Patrick H. Brose; Richard B. Baker

1999-01-01

High-intensity, stand-replacement fires have been recommnded to regenerate stands of Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens Lamb.) because its seeds require mineral soil to germinate and seedlings are intolerant of shade. Early prescribed fire efforts resulted in poor regeneration success where crown fires created seedbeds with abundant insolation....

MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTION ASSESSMENT: WASTE CO-FIRING

EPA Science Inventory

The report is an overview of waste co-firing and auxiliary fuel fired technology and identifies the extent to which co-firing and auxiliary fuel firing are practised. Waste co-firing is defined as the combustion of wastes (e. g., sewage sludge, medical waste, wood waste, and agri...

MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTION ASSESSMENT: WASTE CO- FIRING

EPA Science Inventory

The report is an overview of waste co-firing and auxiliary fuel fired technology and identifies the extent to which co-firing and auxiliary fuel firing are practised. Waste co-firing is defined as the combustion of wastes (e. g., sewage sludge, medical waste, wood waste, and agri...

An attempt to implement tools to support examination of community-based activities for disaster mitigation: A case study in Toyokawa city, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karashima, Kazuki; Ohgai, Akira

2017-10-01

Japan is a country with a high risk for earthquake disasters. The measures used to promote structures' seismic safety, such as reconstruction, widening narrow roads, and the response capacities to deal with huge earthquakes are important. Techniques to support the examination of countermeasures to huge earthquakes are required. To improve this capability, the authors developed tools to: (1) evaluate fire-spread risk, (2) evaluate the difficulty of emergency response and evacuation, and (3) evaluate capacities of neighborhood communities for disaster mitigation. The usefulness of the tools was clarified by the demonstration experiments of previous studies. The next step was implementation of the tools in community-based activities for disaster mitigation. This study aimed to clarify the usability and problems of implementing the tools in community-based activities. The tools were used at several workshops in actual community-based activities for disaster mitigation for one year. After the last workshop, interviews and a questionnaire were conducted on municipal staff and consultant staff. The results found that the tools visually showed the fire-spread risk, the difficulty of evacuation under current conditions and after improvements, and the effects of each disaster mitigation activity. The users could easily explore the draft plans to promote seismic safety of urban structures and response capabilities. The tools were positively incorporated into some community-based activities for disaster mitigation. Thus, the tools have the possibility of successful use at continuing community-based activities and the possibility of implementing the tools will be promoted.

Examining the influence of biophysical conditions on wildland-urban interface homeowners' wildfire risk mitigation activities in fire-prone landscapes

Treesearch

Christine S. Olsen; Jeffrey D. Kline; Alan A. Ager; Keith A. Olsen; Karen C. Short

2017-01-01

Expansion of the wildland–urban interface (WUI) and the increasing size and number of wildfires has policy-makers and wildfire managers seeking ways to reduce wildfire risk in communities located near fire-prone forests. It is widely acknowledged that homeowners can reduce their exposure to wildfire risk by using nonflammable building materials and reducing tree...

Initial results from a field experiment to support the assessment of fuel treatment effectiveness in reducing wildfire intensity and spread rate

Treesearch

Eric Mueller; Nicholas Skowronski; Kenneth Clark; Robert Kremens; Michael Gallagher; Jan Thomas; Mohamad El Houssami; Alexander Filkod; Bret Butler; John Hom; William Mell; Albert Simeoni

2015-01-01

Hazardous fuel reduction treatments conducted both through prescribed fire and mechanical means are a critical part of the mitigation of wildland fire risk in the United States. The US Federal Government has spent an average of $500t million each year on fuel reduction, from 2002-2012 (Gorte 2011). At present, however, rigorous experimental measurement of the...

Air Force Civil Engineer, Volume 15, Number 3, 2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

Korea during the winter. The runway is made of pierced steel plank . (U.S. Air Force photo) Transforming Air Force Firefighting...expect the fire chief and fire marshal to inform installation leadership when the mission is potentially impacted and to advocate risk mitigation...measures, and we expect leadership to listen. The use of “manage” in the phrase indicates that FES flights are expected to manage the event to the

Using fine-scale fuel measurements to assess wildland fuels, potential fire behavior and hazard mitigation treatments in the southeastern USA

Treesearch

Roger D. Ottmar; John I. Blake; William T. Crolly

2012-01-01

The inherent spatial and temporal heterogeneity of fuel beds in forests of the southeastern United States may require fine scale fuel measurements for providing reliable fire hazard and fuel treatment effectiveness estimates. In a series of five papers, an intensive, fine scale fuel inventory from the Savanna River Site in the southeastern United States is used for...

Curbing Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Industrial Boilers in China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shen, Bo; Price, Lynn K; Lu, Hongyou

China’s industrial boiler systems consume 700 million tons of coal annually, accounting for 18% of the nation’s total coal consumption. Together these boiler systems are one of the major sources of China’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, producing approximately 1.3 gigatons (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO 2) annually. These boiler systems are also responsible for 33% and 27% of total soot and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions in China, respectively, making a substantial contribution to China’s local environmental degradation. The Chinese government - at both the national and local level - is taking actions to mitigate the significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissionsmore » and air pollution related to the country’s extensive use of coal-fired industrial boilers. The United States and China are pursuing a collaborative effort under the U.S.-China Climate Change Working Group to conduct a comprehensive assessment of China’s coal-fired industrial boilers and to develop an implementation roadmap that will improve industrial boiler efficiency and maximize fuel-switching opportunities. Two Chinese cities – Ningbo and Xi’an – have been selected for the assessment. These cities represent coastal areas with access to liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and inland regions with access to interprovincial natural gas pipelines, respectively.« less

Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of Urban Fire Incidents: a Case Study of Nanjing, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, J.; Zhang, X.

2016-06-01

Fire and rescue service is one of the fundamental public services provided by government in order to protect people, properties and environment from fires and other disasters, and thus promote a safer living environment. Well understanding spatial-temporal dynamics of fire incidents can offer insights for potential determinants of various fire events and enable better fire risk estimation, assisting future allocation of prevention resources and strategic planning of mitigation programs. Using a 12-year (2002-2013) dataset containing the urban fire events in Nanjing, China, this research explores the spatial-temporal dynamics of urban fire incidents. A range of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) approaches and tools, such as spatial kernel density and co-maps, are employed to examine the spatial, temporal and spatial-temporal variations of the fire events. Particular attention has been paid to two types of fire incidents: residential properties and local facilities, due to their relatively higher occurrence frequencies. The results demonstrated that the amount of urban fire has greatly increased in the last decade and spatial-temporal distribution of fire events vary among different incident types, which implies varying impact of potential influencing factors for further investigation.

An early warning system for marine storm hazard mitigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vousdoukas, M. I.; Almeida, L. P.; Pacheco, A.; Ferreira, O.

2012-04-01

The present contribution presents efforts towards the development of an operational Early Warning System for storm hazard prediction and mitigation. The system consists of a calibrated nested-model train which consists of specially calibrated Wave Watch III, SWAN and XBeach models. The numerical simulations provide daily forecasts of the hydrodynamic conditions, morphological change and overtopping risk at the area of interest. The model predictions are processed by a 'translation' module which is based on site-specific Storm Impact Indicators (SIIs) (Ciavola et al., 2011, Storm impacts along European coastlines. Part 2: lessons learned from the MICORE project, Environmental Science & Policy, Vol 14), and warnings are issued when pre-defined threshold values are exceeded. For the present site the selected SIIs were (i) the maximum wave run-up height during the simulations; and (ii) the dune-foot horizontal retreat at the end of the simulations. Both SIIs and pre-defined thresholds were carefully selected on the grounds of existing experience and field data. Four risk levels were considered, each associated with an intervention approach, recommended to the responsible coastal protection authority. Regular updating of the topography/bathymetry is critical for the performance of the storm impact forecasting, especially when there are significant morphological changes. The system can be extended to other critical problems, like implications of global warming and adaptive management strategies, while the approach presently followed, from model calibration to the early warning system for storm hazard mitigation, can be applied to other sites worldwide, with minor adaptations.

A review of challenges to determining and demonstrating efficiency of large fire management

Treesearch

Matthew P. Thompson; Francisco Rodriguez y Silva; David E. Calkin; Michael S. Hand

2017-01-01

Characterising the impacts of wildland fire and fire suppression is critical information for fire management decision-making. Here, we focus on decisions related to the rare larger and longer-duration fire events, where the scope and scale of decision-making can be far broader than initial response efforts, and where determining and demonstrating efficiency of...

Shared values and trust: the experience of community residents in a fire-prone ecosystem

Treesearch

Patricia L. Winter; George T. Cvetkovich

2010-01-01

The risk and impact of fires have been significant on the San Bernardino National Forest. It is important to understand how residents of areas surrounded by the forest perceive the impact of fires. If fire management agencies understand these perceptions, fire management agencies will be better equipped to communicate with publics about risk-reduction efforts that...

The environmental and economic sustainability of carbon capture and storage.

PubMed

Hardisty, Paul E; Sivapalan, Mayuran; Brooks, Peter

2011-05-01

For carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be a truly effective option in our efforts to mitigate climate change, it must be sustainable. That means that CCS must deliver consistent environmental and social benefits which exceed its costs of capital, energy and operation; it must be protective of the environment and human health over the long term; and it must be suitable for deployment on a significant scale. CCS is one of the more expensive and technically challenging carbon emissions abatement options available, and CCS must first and foremost be considered in the context of the other things that can be done to reduce emissions, as a part of an overall optimally efficient, sustainable and economic mitigation plan. This elevates the analysis beyond a simple comparison of the cost per tonne of CO(2) abated--there are inherent tradeoffs with a range of other factors (such as water, NOx, SOx, biodiversity, energy, and human health and safety, among others) which must also be considered if we are to achieve truly sustainable mitigation. The full life-cycle cost of CCS must be considered in the context of the overall social, environmental and economic benefits which it creates, and the costs associated with environmental and social risks it presents. Such analysis reveals that all CCS is not created equal. There is a wide range of technological options available which can be used in a variety of industries and applications-indeed CCS is not applicable to every industry. Stationary fossil-fuel powered energy and large scale petroleum industry operations are two examples of industries which could benefit from CCS. Capturing and geo-sequestering CO(2) entrained in natural gas can be economic and sustainable at relatively low carbon prices, and in many jurisdictions makes financial sense for operators to deploy now, if suitable secure disposal reservoirs are available close by. Retrofitting existing coal-fired power plants, however, is more expensive and technically challenging, and the economic sustainability of post-combustion capture retrofit needs to be compared on a portfolio basis to the relative overall net benefit of CCS on new-build plants, where energy efficiency can be optimised as a first step, and locations can be selected with sequestration sites in mind. Examples from the natural gas processing, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and coal-fired power generation sectors, illustrate that there is currently a wide range of financial costs for CCS, depending on how and where it is applied, but equally, environmental and social benefits of emissions reduction can be considerable. Some CCS applications are far more economic and sustainable than others. CCS must be considered in the context of the other things that a business can do to eliminate emissions, such as far-reaching efforts to improve energy efficiency.

The Environmental and Economic Sustainability of Carbon Capture and Storage

PubMed Central

Hardisty, Paul E.; Sivapalan, Mayuran; Brooks, Peter

2011-01-01

For carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be a truly effective option in our efforts to mitigate climate change, it must be sustainable. That means that CCS must deliver consistent environmental and social benefits which exceed its costs of capital, energy and operation; it must be protective of the environment and human health over the long term; and it must be suitable for deployment on a significant scale. CCS is one of the more expensive and technically challenging carbon emissions abatement options available, and CCS must first and foremost be considered in the context of the other things that can be done to reduce emissions, as a part of an overall optimally efficient, sustainable and economic mitigation plan. This elevates the analysis beyond a simple comparison of the cost per tonne of CO2 abated—there are inherent tradeoffs with a range of other factors (such as water, NOx, SOx, biodiversity, energy, and human health and safety, among others) which must also be considered if we are to achieve truly sustainable mitigation. The full life-cycle cost of CCS must be considered in the context of the overall social, environmental and economic benefits which it creates, and the costs associated with environmental and social risks it presents. Such analysis reveals that all CCS is not created equal. There is a wide range of technological options available which can be used in a variety of industries and applications—indeed CCS is not applicable to every industry. Stationary fossil-fuel powered energy and large scale petroleum industry operations are two examples of industries which could benefit from CCS. Capturing and geo-sequestering CO2 entrained in natural gas can be economic and sustainable at relatively low carbon prices, and in many jurisdictions makes financial sense for operators to deploy now, if suitable secure disposal reservoirs are available close by. Retrofitting existing coal-fired power plants, however, is more expensive and technically challenging, and the economic sustainability of post-combustion capture retrofit needs to be compared on a portfolio basis to the relative overall net benefit of CCS on new-build plants, where energy efficiency can be optimised as a first step, and locations can be selected with sequestration sites in mind. Examples from the natural gas processing, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and coal-fired power generation sectors, illustrate that there is currently a wide range of financial costs for CCS, depending on how and where it is applied, but equally, environmental and social benefits of emissions reduction can be considerable. Some CCS applications are far more economic and sustainable than others. CCS must be considered in the context of the other things that a business can do to eliminate emissions, such as far-reaching efforts to improve energy efficiency. PMID:21655130

Evaluation of Containment Boxes as a Fire Mitigation Method in Elevated Oxygen Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juarez, Alfredo; Harper, Susana; Perez, Horacio

2016-01-01

NASA performed testing to evaluate the efficacy of fire containment boxes without forced ventilation. Configurational flammability testing was performed on a simulation avionics box replicating critical design features and filled with materials possessing representative flammability characteristics. This paper discusses the box's ability, under simulated end-use conditions, to inhibit the propagation of combustion to surrounding materials. Analysis was also performed to evaluate the potential for the fire containment box to serve as an overheat/ignition source to temperature sensitive equipment (such as items with lithium-ion batteries). Unrealistically severe combustion scenarios were used as a means to better understand the fire containment mechanism. These scenarios were achieved by utilizing materials/fuels not typically used in space vehicles due to flammability concerns. Oxygen depletion, during combustion within the fire containment boxes, drove self-extinguishment and proved an effective method of fire containment

Fire assisted pastoralism vs. sustainable forestry--the implications of missing markets for carbon in determining optimal land use in the wet-dry tropics of Australia.

PubMed

Ockwell, David; Lovett, Jon C

2005-04-01

Using Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia as a case study, this paper combines field sampling of woody vegetation with cost-benefit analysis to compare the social optimality of fire-assisted pastoralism with sustainable forestry. Carbon sequestration is estimated to be significantly higher in the absence of fire. Integration of carbon sequestration benefits for mitigating future costs of climate change into cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that sustainable forestry is a more socially optimal land use than fire-assisted pastoralism. Missing markets for carbon, however, imply that fire-assisted pastoralism will continue to be pursued in the absence of policy intervention. Creation of markets for carbon represents a policy solution that has the potential to drive land use away from fire-assisted pastoralism towards sustainable forestry and environmental conservation.

Temperate and boreal forest mega-fires: characteristics and challenges

Treesearch

Scott L. Stephens; Neil Burrows; Alexander Buyantuyev; Robert W. Gray; Robert E. Keane; Rick Kubian; Shirong Liu; Francisco Seijo; Lifu Shu; Kevin G. Tolhurst; Jan W. van Wagtendonk

2014-01-01

Mega-fires are often defined according to their size and intensity but are more accurately described by their socioeconomic impacts. Three factors - climate change, fire exclusion, and antecedent disturbance, collectively referred to as the "mega-fire triangle" - likely contribute to today's mega-fires. Some characteristics of mega-fires may emulate...

QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Volume 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Pattie

2011-01-01

QuEST is a publication of the NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM). This issue contains brief articles on: Risk Identification and Mitigation, Material Management and Substitution Efforts--Hexavalent Chrome-free Coatings and Low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Coatings, Lead-Free Electronics, Corn-Based Depainting Media; Alternative Energy Efforts Hydrogen Sensors and Solar Air Conditioning. Other TEERM Efforts include: Energy and Water Management and Remediation Technology Collaboration.

A Response Surface Methodology for Mitigating Hot Gasses in Enclosed Car Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faiz Tharima, Ahmad; Zamri Yusoff, Mohd; Mujibur Rahman, Md

2017-12-01

A hot gas rise towards ceiling due to fire buoyancy will cause severe damage to the building structure. The temperature rises need to be controlled as among the elements of compliance in performance-based design. The channel flow between beams has used in this study to mitigate hot gases out of the enclosure by mean of response surface methodology. Fire Dynamic Simulator was employed as a simulation tool while the result was statistically examined using analysis of variance via Minitab application. It was found that the result was linear with predicted R2 (93.25%) and within the permissible R2 (98.13%). The ceiling height has been identified not affect in controlling hot gases while four control parameters which are beam spacing, transversal beam, extraction rate and longitudinal beam with p-values of 0.00, 0.000, 0.023 and 0.000 respectively, have been found to have the significant effect on the smoke temperature control. This study contributes a good input to the fire safety community in providing the initial design of enclosed car park with better condition.

Defining fire and wilderness objectives: Applying limits of acceptable change

Treesearch

David N. Cole

1995-01-01

The Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) planning process was developed to help define objectives for recreation management in wilderness. This process can be applied to fire in wilderness if its conceptual foundation is broadened. LAC would lead decision makers to identify a compromise between the goal of allowing fire to play its natural role in wilderness and various...

Early fire history near Papineau lake, Ontario

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey; Richard P. Guyette

1996-01-01

Research that defines the role of fire in upland red oak-pine ecosystems in central Ontario is being conducted by the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Silviculture program. Site-specific fire histories are being developed that document fire frequency, fire behavior, fire effects on forest regeneration and grwoth, and the influnce of human activites on fire disturbances. This...

A New Technique for Mitigating Risk on US College Campuses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Stephanie; White, Rebecca J.; Hertz, Giles

2008-01-01

High-profile criminal acts continue to plague United States (US) college campuses despite recent efforts to implement more aggressive risk mitigation practices, such as criminal background checks. Despite these efforts, incidents such as the most recent shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University continue to demonstrate that,…

FIREX (Fire Influence on Regional and Global Environments Experiment): Measurements of Nitrogen Containing Volatile Organic Compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warneke, C.; Schwarz, J. P.; Yokelson, R. J.; Roberts, J. M.; Koss, A.; Coggon, M.; Yuan, B.; Sekimoto, K.

2017-12-01

A combination of a warmer, drier climate with fire-control practices over the last century have produced a situation in which we can expect more frequent fires and fires of larger magnitude in the Western U.S. and Canada. There are urgent needs to better understand the impacts of wildfire and biomass burning (BB) on the atmosphere and climate system, and for policy-relevant science to aid in the process of managing fires. The FIREX (Fire Influence on Regional and Global Environment Experiment) research effort is a multi-year, multi-agency measurement campaign focused on the impact of BB on climate and air quality from western North American wild fires, where research takes place on scales ranging from the flame-front to the global atmosphere. FIREX includes methods development and small- and large-scale laboratory and field experiments. FIREX will include: emission factor measurements from typical North American fuels in the fire science laboratory in Missoula, Montana; mobile laboratory deployments; ground site measurements at sites influenced by BB from several western states. The main FIREX effort will be a large field study with multiple aircraft and mobile labs in the fire season of 2019. One of the main advances of FIREX is the availability of various new measurement techniques that allows for smoke evaluation in unprecedented detail. The first major effort of FIREX was the fire science laboratory measurements in October 2016, where a large number of previously understudied Nitrogen containing volatile organic compounds (NVOCs) were measured using H3O+CIMS and I-CIMS instruments. The contribution of NVOCs to the total reactive Nitrogen budget and the relationship to the Nitrogen content of the fuel are investigated.

J-2X Turbopump Cavitation Diagnostics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Santi, I. Michael; Butas, John P.; Tyler, Thomas R., Jr.; Aguilar, Robert; Sowers, T. Shane

2010-01-01

The J-2X is the upper stage engine currently being designed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) for the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV). Propellant supply requirements for the J-2X are defined by the Ares Upper Stage to J-2X Interface Control Document (ICD). Supply conditions outside ICD defined start or run boxes can induce turbopump cavitation leading to interruption of J-2X propellant flow during hot fire operation. In severe cases, cavitation can lead to uncontained engine failure with the potential to cause a vehicle catastrophic event. Turbopump and engine system performance models supported by system design information and test data are required to predict existence, severity, and consequences of a cavitation event. A cavitation model for each of the J-2X fuel and oxidizer turbopumps was developed using data from pump water flow test facilities at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) together with data from Powerpack 1A testing at Stennis Space Center (SSC) and from heritage systems. These component models were implemented within the PWR J-2X Real Time Model (RTM) to provide a foundation for predicting system level effects following turbopump cavitation. The RTM serves as a general failure simulation platform supporting estimation of J-2X redline system effectiveness. A study to compare cavitation induced conditions with component level structural limit thresholds throughout the engine was performed using the RTM. Results provided insight into system level turbopump cavitation effects and redline system effectiveness in preventing structural limit violations. A need to better understand structural limits and redline system failure mitigation potential in the event of fuel side cavitation was indicated. This paper examines study results, efforts to mature J-2X turbopump cavitation models and structural limits, and issues with engine redline detection of cavitation and the use of vehicle-side abort triggers to augment the engine redline system.

Assessment of BART Fire-Hardening Programs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1982-09-01

This report presents the results of an assessment of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) vehicle fire hardening. The report assesses the overall effort to improve the fire safety of the current BART vehicles through the removal of prospective ...

Can Southern California Wildland Conflagrations be Stopped?

Treesearch

Clive M. Countryman

1974-01-01

In southern California, many fires start and burn under conditions that permit their control with little burned acreage and fire damage. In contrast, under other conditions of weather and topography, on a small group of fires, control effort is relatively ineffective; they become large and destructive. A major reason for these "conflagration fires" is the...

International Issues: Report of Futuring Group 9

Treesearch

1987-01-01

The wildland fire scenario outside North American is characterized by increasing amount and severity of wildfires worldwide. In Europe, most of the Mediterranean countries suffer devastating forest fires, despite fire management efforts. Examples of the wildland fire theater within the developing countries and the tropical world have been given at this Symposium on...

Health Impacts of Climate Change-Induced Subzero Temperature Fires.

PubMed

Metallinou, Maria-Monika; Log, Torgrim

2017-07-20

General fire risk and the special risk related to cold climate cellulosic drying processes are outlined. Four recent subzero temperatures fires are studied with respect to health impacts: a wooden village fire, a single wood structure fire, a wildland urban interface (WUI) fire and a huge wildland fire. The health impacts range from stress related to loss of jobs, psychological effects of lost possessions, exposure to smoke and heat as well as immediate, or delayed, loss of lives. These four fires resulted in 32 fatalities, 385 persons hospitalized for shorter or longer periods, 104 structures lost and 1015 km² of wildland burned north of, and just south of, the Arctic Circle. It is shown that the combination of subzero temperature dry weather, strong winds, changing agricultural activities and declining snowpack may lead to previously anticipated threats to people and the environment. There are reasons to believe that these fires are a result of the ongoing climate changes. Risk impacts are discussed. Rural districts and/or vulnerable populations seem to be most affected. Training methods to identify and better monitor critical fire risk parameters are suggested to mitigate the health impacts of a possibly increasing number of such fires.

Health Impacts of Climate Change-Induced Subzero Temperature Fires

PubMed Central

Metallinou, Maria-Monika; Log, Torgrim

2017-01-01

General fire risk and the special risk related to cold climate cellulosic drying processes are outlined. Four recent subzero temperatures fires are studied with respect to health impacts: a wooden village fire, a single wood structure fire, a wildland urban interface (WUI) fire and a huge wildland fire. The health impacts range from stress related to loss of jobs, psychological effects of lost possessions, exposure to smoke and heat as well as immediate, or delayed, loss of lives. These four fires resulted in 32 fatalities, 385 persons hospitalized for shorter or longer periods, 104 structures lost and 1015 km2 of wildland burned north of, and just south of, the Arctic Circle. It is shown that the combination of subzero temperature dry weather, strong winds, changing agricultural activities and declining snowpack may lead to previously anticipated threats to people and the environment. There are reasons to believe that these fires are a result of the ongoing climate changes. Risk impacts are discussed. Rural districts and/or vulnerable populations seem to be most affected. Training methods to identify and better monitor critical fire risk parameters are suggested to mitigate the health impacts of a possibly increasing number of such fires. PMID:28726752

Construction of a New Fire Station, Demolition of Buildings 530 and 606 and Relocation of the Hazardous Cargo Area at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. Finding of No Significant Impact (FOSNI). Finding of No Practical Alternative(FONPA)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-09-23

hawthorn, buffaloberry and snowberry also are found in the area. In wetland areas, predominant species include Typha sp., smartweed, wild millet, cord...does not straddle the airfield flight line fence. This location will require wetland mitigation for 0.03 wetlands determined to be jurisdictional by... wetlands construction or restoration at either a wetland mitigation bank or a suitable location on base. A formal mitigation plan will be developed

Hungry Horse Dam Fisheries Mitigation, 1992-1993 Progress Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DosSantos, Joe; Vashro, Jim; Lockard, Larry

1994-06-01

In February of 1900, over forty agency representatives and interested citizens began development of the 1991 Mitigation Plan. This effort culminated in the 1993 Implementation Plan for mitigation of fish losses attributable to the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The primary purpose of this biennial report is to inform the public of the status of ongoing mitigation activities resulting from those planning efforts. A habitat improvement project is underway to benefit bull trout in Big Creek in the North Fork drainage of the Flathead River and work is planned in Hay Creek, another North Fork tributary. Bull troutmore » redd counts have been expanded and experimental programs involving genetic evaluation, outmigrant monitoring, and hatchery studies have been initiated, Cutthroat mitigation efforts have focused on habitat improvements in Elliott Creek and Taylor`s Outflow and improvements have been followed by imprint plants of hatchery fish and/or eyed eggs in those streams. Rogers Lake west of Kalispell and Lion Lake, near Hungry Horse, were chemically rehabilitated. Cool and warm water fish habitat has been improved in Halfmoon Lake and Echo Lake. Public education and public interest is important to the future success of mitigation activities. As part of the mitigation team`s public awareness responsibility we have worked with numerous volunteer groups, public agencies, and private landowners to stimulate interest and awareness of mitigation activities and the aquatic ecosystem. The purpose of this biennial report is to foster public awareness of, and support for, mitigation activities as we move forward in implementing the Hungry Horse Dam Fisheries Mitigation Implementation Plan.« less

Characterizing dichotomous fire regimes of southern California: climate, vegetation and topography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolden, C.; Abatzoglou, J. T.

2013-12-01

Southern California Mediterranean ecosystems have long been a subject of wildfire research, in part because of the extensive Wildland Urban Interface in the region. This mix of homes and vegetation at the edge of wildlands has resulted in several of the costliest wildfire events in US history due to the number of homes burned, and its extent is projected to increase significantly over the next 50 years. As such, there has been considerable investment is identifying fire regime characteristics and potential mitigation measures in the region. However, all previous wildfire research in the region has initiated from the assumption that the dominant fire regime is associated with autumn katabatic winds, known locally as Santa Ana winds or Sundowners. To-date, there has been no effort to determine whether this is an accurate assumption, or whether the fire regime is more complex. Here, we utilize a dataset of large wildfires (>40ha) from 1948-2010 and a chronology of Santa Ana (SA) wind occurrence to disaggregate two distinct fire regimes in southwestern California: wildfires associated with SA wind occurrence events, and those not associated with Santa Ana conditions (NSA) that are fuel- and topography-driven instead. By decomposing burned area into SA and NSA fires, significant differences in seasonal, biogeographic and topographic characteristics were found, as well as distinct and significantly stronger climate-fire relationships than previously reported. NSA area burned was associated with summer fires, peaking in July, and significantly higher elevation, greater forested area, steeper slopes, and broadly across all aspects. SA area burned was associated with autumn fires, peaking in October, and significantly lower elevation, greater shrubland area, lower slopes, and more southeastern aspects. Annual burned area in NSA fires was associated with low spring precipitation, high vapor pressure deficit and low fuel moistures during the summer months that increase the seasonal window for fuel flammability. Furthermore, annual burned area in forested lands was correlated to concurrent long-term drought, whereas annual burned area in shrublands was correlated with pluvial conditions during the prior growing season. By contrast, annual area burned in SA fires did not show any robust relationship to climate anomalies in preceding months. Rather, large annual area burned in SA fires was associated with a delay in the onset of cool season precipitation that enables persistent low fuel moisture into a time of the year when SA events become more frequent. A significant increase in NSA annual burned area, the number of large fires in early summer (May-Jul) and the timing of fuel-driven wildfires was observed over the 60-year record, potentially due to increased early summer vegetation stress in recent decades. Such changes are consistent with projected climate change for southern California suggesting that NSA wildfires may play a more dominant role in landscape disturbances and hazards. These findings suggest that previous research aggregating SA and NSA wildfires may produce considerably different results if these two distinct fire regimes are uncoupled and addressed individually.

An empirical machine learning method for predicting potential fire control locations for pre-fire planning and operational fire management

Treesearch

Christopher D. O' Connor; David E. Calkin; Matthew P. Thompson

2017-01-01

During active fire incidents, decisions regarding where and how to safely and effectively deploy resources to meet management objectives are often made under rapidly evolving conditions, with limited time to assess management strategies or for development of backup plans if initial efforts prove unsuccessful. Under all but the most extreme fire weather conditions,...

A Drought Index for Forest Fire Control

Treesearch

John J. Keetch; George M. Byram

1968-01-01

The moisture content of the upper soil, as well as that of the covering layer of duff, has an important effect on the fire suppression effort in forest and wildland areas. In certain forested areas of the United States, fires in deep duff fuels are of particular concern to the fire control manager. When these fuels are dry, fires burn deeply, dam-age is excessive, and...

Aircraft Engine Sump Fire Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenlieb, J. W.

1973-01-01

An investigation was performed of the conditions in which fires can result and be controlled within the bearing sump simulating that of a gas turbine engine; Esso 4040 Turbo Oil, Mobil Jet 2, and Monsanto MCS-2931 lubricants were used. Control variables include the oil inlet temperature, bearing temperature, oil inlet and scavenge rates, hot air inlet temperature and flow rate, and internal sump baffling. In addition to attempting spontaneous combustion, an electric spark and a rub (friction) mechanism were employed to ignite fires. Spontaneous combustion was not obtained; however, fires were readily ignited with the electric spark while using each of the three test lubricants. Fires were also ignited using the rub mechanism with the only test lubricant evaluated, Esso 4040. Major parameters controlling ignitions were: Sump configuration; Bearing and oil temperatures, hot air temperature and flow and bearing speed. Rubbing between stationary parts and rotating parts (eg. labyrinth seal and mating rub strip) is a very potent fire source suggesting that observed accidental fires in gas turbine sumps may well arise from this cause.

Introduction to the effects of wildland fire on aquatic ecosystems in the Western USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rieman, B.; Gresswell, Robert E.; Young, M.; Luce, C.

2003-01-01

The management of wildfire has long been controversial. The role of fire and fire-related management in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems has become an important focus in recent years, but the general debate is not new. In his recent book, Stephen Pyne (2001 )describes the political and scientific debate surrounding the creation of the U.S. Forest Service and the emergence of fire suppression as a central tenet of wildland management. Essentially, views in the first decade of the 20th century focused on fire as good or evil: a tool that might benefit other resources or interests (e.g. Indian burning) and mitigate larger more destructive fires, or a threat to the recruitment and productivity of newly designated forest reserves. The “great fires” in the Western USA in 1910 and the associated loss of human life and property largely forged the public and political will to suppress fire on a massive scale.

Remote sensing of fire severity: linking post-fire reflectance data with physiological responses in two western conifer species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sparks, A. M.; Smith, A. M.; Kolden, C.; Apostol, K. G.; Boschetti, L.

2014-12-01

Fire is a common disturbance in forested ecosystems in the western U.S. and can be responsible for long-term impacts on vegetation and soil. An improved understanding of how ecosystems recover after fire is necessary so that land managers can plan for and mitigate the effects of these disturbances. Although several studies have attempted to link fire intensity with severity, direct links between spectral indices of severity and key physiological changes in vegetation are not well understood. We conducted an assessment of how two western conifer species respond to four fire radiative energy treatments, with spectra acquired pre- and up to a month post-burn. After transforming the spectral data into Landsat 8 equivalent reflectance, burn severity indices commonly used in the remote sensing community were compared to concurrent physiological measurements including gas exchange and photosynthetic rate. Preliminary results indicate significant relationships between several fire severity indices and physiological responses measured in the conifer seedlings.

Landscape corridors can increase invasion by an exotic species and reduce diversity of native species.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Resasco, Julian; et al,

2014-04-01

Abstract. Landscape corridors are commonly used to mitigate negative effects of habitat fragmentation, but concerns persist that they may facilitate the spread of invasive species. In a replicated landscape experiment of open habitat, we measured effects of corridors on the invasive fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, and native ants. Fire ants have two social forms: polygyne, which tend to disperse poorly but establish at high densities, and monogyne, which disperse widely but establish at lower densities. In landscapes dominated by polygyne fire ants, fire ant abundance was higher and native ant diversity was lower in habitat patches connected by corridors thanmore » in unconnected patches. Conversely, in landscapes dominated by monogyne fire ants, connectivity had no influence on fire ant abundance and native ant diversity. Polygyne fire ants dominated recently created landscapes, suggesting that these corridor effects may be transient. Our results suggest that corridors can facilitate invasion and they highlight the importance of considering species’ traits when assessing corridor utility.« less

Hellsgate Big Game Winter Range Wildlife Mitigation Site Specific Management Plan for the Hellsgate Project.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berger, Matthew T.; Judd, Steven L.

This report contains a detailed site-specific management plan for the Hellsgate Winter Range Wildlife Mitigation Project. The report provides background information about the mitigation process, the review process, mitigation acquisitions, Habitat Evaluation Procedures (HEP) and mitigation crediting, current habitat conditions, desired future habitat conditions, restoration/enhancements efforts and maps.

Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy Technologies: Potential Navigational Impacts and Mitigation Measures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cool, Richard, M.; Hudon, Thomas, J.; Basco, David, R.

2009-12-10

On April 15, 2008, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Advanced Water Power Projects which included a Topic Area for Marine and Hydrokinetic Renewable Energy Market Acceleration Projects. Within this Topic Area, DOE identified potential navigational impacts of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy technologies and measures to prevent adverse impacts on navigation as a sub-topic area. DOE defines marine and hydrokinetic technologies as those capable of utilizing one or more of the following resource categories for energy generation: ocean waves; tides or ocean currents; free flowing water in rivers or streams; and energy generation frommore » the differentials in ocean temperature. PCCI was awarded Cooperative Agreement DE-FC36-08GO18177 from the DOE to identify the potential navigational impacts and mitigation measures for marine hydrokinetic technologies, as summarized herein. The contract also required cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and two recipients of awards (Pacific Energy Ventures and reVision) in a sub-topic area to develop a protocol to identify streamlined, best-siting practices. Over the period of this contract, PCCI and our sub-consultants, David Basco, Ph.D., and Neil Rondorf of Science Applications International Corporation, met with USCG headquarters personnel, with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers headquarters and regional personnel, with U.S. Navy regional personnel and other ocean users in order to develop an understanding of existing practices for the identification of navigational impacts that might occur during construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. At these same meetings, “standard” and potential mitigation measures were discussed so that guidance could be prepared for project developers. Concurrently, PCCI reviewed navigation guidance published by the USCG and international community. This report summarizes the results of this effort, provides guidance in the form of a checklist for assessing the navigational impacts of potential marine and hydrokinetic projects, and provides guidance for improving the existing navigational guidance promulgated by the USCG in Navigation Vessel Inspection Circular 02 07. At the request of the USCG, our checklist and mitigation guidance was written in a generic nature so that it could be equally applied to offshore wind projects. PCCI teleconferenced on a monthly basis with DOE, Pacific Energy Ventures and reVision in order to share information and review work products. Although the focus of our effort was on marine and hydrokinetic technologies, as defined above, this effort drew upon earlier work by the USCG on offshore wind renewable energy installations. The guidance provided herein can be applied equally to marine and hydrokinetic technologies and to offshore wind, which are collectively referred to by the USCG as Renewable Energy Installations.« less

Space Launch System NASA Research Announcement Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crumbly, Christopher M.; Craig, Kellie D.

2011-01-01

The intent of the Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction (ABEDRR) effort is to: (1) Reduce risks leading to an affordable Advanced Booster that meets the evolved capabilities of SLS (2) Enable competition by mitigating targeted Advanced Booster risks to enhance SLS affordability. Key Concepts (1) Offerors must propose an Advanced Booster concept that meets SLS Program requirements (2) Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction must relate to the Offeror s Advanced Booster concept (3) NASA Research Announcement (NRA) will not be prescriptive in defining Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction

ZrP nanoplates based fire-fighting foams stabilizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Lecheng; Cheng, Zhengdong; Li, Hai

2015-03-01

Firefighting foam, as a significant innovation in fire protection, greatly facilitates extinguishments for liquid pool fire. Recently, with developments in LNG industry, high-expansion firefighting foams are also used for extinguishing LNG fire or mitigating LNG leakage. Foam stabilizer, an ingredient in fire-fighting foam, stabilizes foam bubbles and maintains desired foam volume. Conventional foam stabilizers are organic molecules. In this work, we developed a inorganic based ZrP (Zr(HPO4)2 .H2O, Zirconium phosphate) plates functionalized as firefighting foam stabilizer, improving firefighting foam performance under harsh conditions. Several tests were conducted to illustrate performance. The mechanism for the foam stabilization is also proposed. Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA. Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843-3122

Commonalities in Transportation Fire Safety : Regulations, Research and Development, and Data Bases

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-01-01

This report presents a comprehensive review of current modal fire safety efforts within the U.S. Department of Transportation. Common fire safety problems and modal administration response are identified. Work completed includes a review of modal adm...

The efficacy of salvage logging in reducing subsequent fire severity in conifer-dominated forests of Minnesota, U.S.A.

PubMed

Fraver, Shawn; Jain, Theresa; Bradford, John B; D'Amato, Anthony W; Kastendick, Doug; Palik, Brian; Shinneman, Doug; Stanovick, John

2011-09-01

Although primarily used to mitigate economic losses following disturbance, salvage logging has also been justified on the basis of reducing fire risk and fire severity; however, its ability to achieve these secondary objectives remains unclear. The patchiness resulting from a sequence of recent disturbances-blowdown, salvage logging, and wildfire-provided an excellent opportunity to assess the impacts of blowdown and salvage logging on wildfire severity. We used two fire-severity assessments (tree-crown and forest-floor characteristics) to compare post-wildfire conditions among three treatment combinations (Blowdown-Salvage-Fire, Blowdown-Fire, and Fire only). Our results suggest that salvage logging reduced the intensity (heat released) of the subsequent fire. However, its effect on severity (impact to the system) differed between the tree crowns and forest floor: tree-crown indices suggest that salvage logging decreased fire severity (albeit with modest statistical support), while forest-floor indices suggest that salvage logging increased fire severity. We attribute the latter finding to the greater exposure of mineral soil caused by logging operations; once exposed, soils are more likely to register the damaging effects of fire, even if fire intensity is not extreme. These results highlight the important distinction between fire intensity and severity when formulating post-disturbance management prescriptions.

The efficacy of salvage logging in reducing subsequent fire severity in conifer-dominated forests of Minnesota, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fraver, S.; Jain, T.; Bradford, J.B.; D'Amato, A.W.; Kastendick, D.; Palik, B.; Shinneman, D.; Stanovick, J.

2011-01-01

Although primarily used to mitigate economic losses following disturbance, salvage logging has also been justified on the basis of reducing fire risk and fire severity; however, its ability to achieve these secondary objectives remains unclear. The patchiness resulting from a sequence of recent disturbances-blowdown, salvage logging, and ildfire- provided an excellent opportunity to assess the impacts of blowdown and salvage logging on wildfire severity. We used two fire-severity assessments (tree-crown and forest-floor characteristics) to compare post-wildfire conditions among three treatment combinations (Blowdown-Salvage-Fire, Blowdown-Fire, and Fire only). Our results suggest that salvage logging reduced the intensity (heat released) of the subsequent fire. However, its effect on severity (impact to the system) differed between the tree crowns and forest floor: tree-crown indices suggest that salvage logging decreased fire severity (albeit with modest statistical support), while forest-floor indices suggest that salvage logging increased fire severity. We attribute the latter finding to the greater exposure of mineral soil caused by logging operations; once exposed, soils are more likely to register the damaging effects of fire, even if fire intensity is not extreme. These results highlight the important distinction between fire intensity and severity when formulating post-disturbance management prescriptions. ?? 2011 by the Ecological Society of America.

Fire scars reveal variability and dynamics of eastern fire regimes

Treesearch

Richard P. Guyette; Daniel C. Dey; Michael C. Stambaugh; Rose-Marie Muzika

2006-01-01

Fire scar evidence in eastern North America is sparse and complex but shows promise in defining the dynamics of these fire regimes and their influence on ecosystems. We review fire scar data, methods, and limitations, and use this information to identify and examine the factors influencing fire regimes. Fire scar data from studies at more than 40 sites in Eastern North...

Evaluating the effectiveness of contour-felled log erosion barriers as a post-fire runoff and erosion mitigation treatment in the western United States

Treesearch

P. R. Robichaud; J. W. Wagenbrenner; R. E. Brown; P. M. Wohlgemuth; J. L. Beyers

2008-01-01

Between 1998 and 2002, six sites were established immediately after large wildfires in the western United States to determine the effectiveness of contour-felled log erosion barriers in mitigating post-wildfire runoff and erosion. In each pair of matched, burned, and small watersheds (1-13 ha), one was treated with contour-felled log erosion barriers and one was left...

Foam as a Fire Suppressant: An Evaluation

Treesearch

Paul Schlobohm; Ron Rochna

1987-01-01

The ability of fire suppressant foams to improve ground-applied fire control efforts was evaluated. Foaming agents and foam-generating systems were examined. Performance evaluations were made for direct attack, indirect attack, and mop-up. Foam was determined to suppress and repel fire in situations where water did not. Cost comparisons of mop-up work showed straight...

A foundation for initial attack simulation: the Fried and Fried fire containment model

Treesearch

Jeremy S. Fried; Burton D. Fried

2010-01-01

The Fried and Fried containment algorithm, which models the effect of suppression efforts on fire growth, allows simulation of any mathematically representable fire shape, provides for "head" and "tail" attack tactics as well as parallel attack (building fireline parallel to but at some offset distance from the free-burning fire perimeter, alone and...

Research efforts on fuels, fuel models, and fire behavior in eastern hardwood forests

Treesearch

Thomas A. Waldrop; Lucy Brudnak; Ross J. Phillips; Patrick H. Brose

2006-01-01

Although fire was historically important to most eastern hardwood systems, its reintroduction by prescribed burning programs has been slow. As a result, less information is available on these systems to fire managers. Recent research and nationwide programs are beginning to produce usable products to predict fuel accumulation and fire behavior. We introduce some of...

Evaluating potential trade-offs among fuel treatment strategies in mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Treesearch

Jens T. Stevens; Brandon M. Collins; Jonathan W. Long; Malcolm P. North; Susan J. Prichard; Leland W. Tarnay; Angela M. White

2016-01-01

Fuel treatments in fire-suppressed mixed-conifer forests are designed to moderate potential wildfire behavior and effects. However, the objectives for modifying potential fire effects can vary widely, from improving fire suppression efforts and protecting infrastructure, to reintroducing low-severity fire, to restoring and maintaining variable forest structure and...

Fire intensity, fire severity and burn severity: A brief review and suggested usage

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keeley, J.E.

2009-01-01

Several recent papers have suggested replacing the terminology of fire intensity and fire severity. Part of the problem with fire intensity is that it is sometimes used incorrectly to describe fire effects, when in fact it is justifiably restricted to measures of energy output. Increasingly, the term has created confusion because some authors have restricted its usage to a single measure of energy output referred to as fireline intensity. This metric is most useful in understanding fire behavior in forests, but is too narrow to fully capture the multitude of ways fire energy affects ecosystems. Fire intensity represents the energy released during various phases of a fire, and different metrics such as reaction intensity, fireline intensity, temperature, heating duration and radiant energy are useful for different purposes. Fire severity, and the related term burn severity, have created considerable confusion because of recent changes in their usage. Some authors have justified this by contending that fire severity is defined broadly as ecosystem impacts from fire and thus is open to individual interpretation. However, empirical studies have defined fire severity operationally as the loss of or change in organic matter aboveground and belowground, although the precise metric varies with management needs. Confusion arises because fire or burn severity is sometimes defined so that it also includes ecosystem responses. Ecosystem responses include soil erosion, vegetation regeneration, restoration of community structure, faunal recolonization, and a plethora of related response variables. Although some ecosystem responses are correlated with measures of fire or burn severity, many important ecosystem processes have either not been demonstrated to be predicted by severity indices or have been shown in some vegetation types to be unrelated to severity. This is a critical issue because fire or burn severity are readily measurable parameters, both on the ground and with remote sensing, yet ecosystem responses are of most interest to resource managers.

Tongue-tied: Confused meanings for common fire terminology can lead to fuels mismanagement

Treesearch

Theresa B. Jain; Russell T. Graham; David S. Pilliod

2004-01-01

The ineffective and inconsistent use of terminology among fire managers, scientists, resource managers and the public is a constant problem in resource management. In fire management and fire science, the terms fire severity, burn severity and fire intensity are defined in a variety of ways, used inconsistently and, in some cases, interchangeably.

FireScape: A program for whole-mountain fire management in the Sky Island Region

Treesearch

Brooke Gebow; Christopher Stetson; Donald A. Falk; Corrine Dolan

2013-01-01

The Coronado National Forest’s (CNF) FireScape program works to remove barriers to fire playing its natural role on the landscape. A long-term goal is creating landscapes that are able to survive wildfire with biodiversity and key ecological processes intact, especially important in the face of a drier, hotter Southwest. The FireScape team is nurturing multiple efforts...

From strange bedfellows to natural allies: the shifting allegiance of fire service organisations in the push for federal fire-safe cigarette legislation

PubMed Central

Barbeau, E; Kelder, G; Ahmed, S; Mantuefel, V; Balbach, E

2005-01-01

Background: Cigarettes are the leading cause of fatal fires in the USA and are associated with one in four fire deaths. Although the technology needed to make fire-safe cigarettes has been available for many years, progress has been slow on legislative and regulatory fronts to require the tobacco industry to manufacture fire-safe cigarettes. Method and results: We conducted a case study, drawing on data from tobacco industry documents, archives, and key informant interviews to investigate tobacco industry strategies for thwarting fire-safe cigarette legislation in the US Congress. We apply a theoretical framework that posits that policymaking is the product of three sets of forces: interests, institutions, and ideas, to examine tobacco industry behaviour, with a special focus on their and others' attempts to court fire service organisations, including firefighters' unions as allies. We discuss the implications of our findings for future policy efforts related to fire-safe cigarettes and other tobacco control issues. Conclusions: Tobacco control advocates ought to: continue efforts to align key interest groups, including the firefighters unions; contest tobacco industry "diversionary" science tactics; and pursue a state based legislative strategy for fire-safe cigarettes, building towards national legislation. PMID:16183985

SURFACE FISSURE FORMATION ABOVE UNDERGROUND COALSEAM FIRES: DIMENSIONLESS RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SURFACE FISSURES AND SUBSURFACE SUBSIDENCE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ide, T. S.; Pollard, D. D.; Orr, F. M.

2009-12-01

Coalbed fires are uncontrolled subsurface fires that occur around the world. These fires are believed to be significant contributors to annual CO2 emissions. Although many of these fires have been burning for decades, researchers have only recently begun to investigate physical mechanisms that control fire behavior. One aspect that is poorly characterized is the relationship between subsurface combustion and surface fissures. At the surface above many fires, long, wide fissures are observed. At a coalbed fire near Durango, Colorado, these fissures form systematic orthogonal patterns that align with regional joints in the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland Formation. Understanding the mechanisms that form and widen these fissures is important, as the fissures are believed to play vital roles in sustaining the combustion in the subsurface by acting as chimneys for the escaping gases and conduits for incoming oxygen. In some of the coalbed fire simulation models available today, these fissures are treated as fixed boundary conditions, but we argue, using field observations and simulation results, that there exists a relationship between the location and magnitude of subsidence caused by the fire and the opening of fissures. Four distinct types of fissures are observed over the coalbed fire near Durango, CO. These fissures are termed ‘molehill’, ‘plateau’, ‘gaping’, and ‘narrow’ based on their surface appearances. Molehill fissures are marked by surface depressions on either side, causing the strata around the opening to form an apex towards the center of the fissure. Plateau fissures show a steep vertical offset on only one side with minimal horizontal displacement. Gaping fissures and narrow fissures are predominantly opening with little evidence for vertical displacements. Gaping fissures are defined as fissures with wide apertures (0.3 ~ 1.5m), while narrow fissures have apertures on the order of centimeters. A boundary element method code was used to show that relationships exist between the surface displacement magnitudes and directions, and the subsurface subsidence due to coal combustion. Subsidence variables include the length, magnitude, depth and location of subsidence, as well as the weight of the overburden. Each of the four types of surface features was related to these subsurface subsidence variables using a set of dimensionless curves. The simulation results were validated with field measurements from a nearby outcrop and borehole drilling. The possibility of using InSAR data to further constrain these model results is being investigated. The simulated dimensionless curves establish a useful rules of thumb to aid the interpretation and mitigation of coal fires, since these curves can be used to relate a surface fissures aperture, an easily measurable parameter, to variables such as the magnitude of subsurface subsidence that are harder to observe

Factors affecting fuel break effectiveness in the control of large fires on the Los Padres National Forest, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Syphard, Alexandra D.; Keeley, Jon E.; Brennan, Teresa J.

2011-01-01

As wildfires have increased in frequency and extent, so have the number of homes developed in the wildland-urban interface. In California, the predominant approach to mitigating fire risk is construction of fuel breaks, but there has been little empirical study of their role in controlling large fires.We constructed a spatial database of fuel breaks on the Los Padres National Forest in southern California to better understand characteristics of fuel breaks that affect the behaviour of large fires and to map where fires and fuel breaks most commonly intersect. We evaluated whether fires stopped or crossed over fuel breaks over a 28-year period and compared the outcomes with physical characteristics of the sites, weather and firefighting activities during the fire event. Many fuel breaks never intersected fires, but others intersected several, primarily in historically fire-prone areas. Fires stopped at fuel breaks 46% of the time, almost invariably owing to fire suppression activities. Firefighter access to treatments, smaller fires and longer fuel breaks were significant direct influences, and younger vegetation and fuel break maintenance indirectly improved the outcome by facilitating firefighter access. This study illustrates the importance of strategic location of fuel breaks because they have been most effective where they provided access for firefighting activities.

ISS utilization and countermeasure validation: Implementing the critical path roadmap to reduce uncertainties of extended human spaceflight expeditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leveton, Lauren B.; Robinson, Judith L.; Charles, John B.

2000-01-01

Human exploration of space requires the ability to understand and mitigate risks to crews exposed to the conditions associated with such missions. This becomes a greater imperative as we prepare for interplanetary expeditions involving humans who will be subjected to long transit periods in microgravity as they travel to a distant planet such as Mars, embark and live on the planet's surface for an extended time, and finally, return to the 1 g environment of Earth. We need to know, more definitively, what the human health, safety, and performance risks are, and how to prevent or counteract them throughout all phases of a long duration mission. The Johnson Space Center's Space and Life Sciences Directorate along with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have been engaged in a strategic planning effort that identifies the most critical risks confronting humans who will venture forth on such missions and the types of research and technology efforts required to mitigate and otherwise reduce the probability and/or severity of those risks. This paper describes the unique approach used to define, assess and prioritize the risks and presents the results of the assessment with an emphasis on the research and technology priorities that will help us to meet the challenge of long duration human spaceflight missions. .

The Critical Path Roadmap Project: Biomedical Risk Reduction for Extended Spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Charles, John B.; Leveton, Lauren B.

2000-01-01

Human exploration of space requires an understanding of the risks to which crews will be exposed during such missions, and the mitigation of those risks to the fullest extent practical. This becomes a greater imperative as we prepare for interplanetary expeditions involving long periods in weightlessness in transit to and then from the destination (a planet, such as Mars, or perhaps a point in space, such as the Lagrangian point L2), and exposure to the unique environment of the destination itself. We need to know, more definitively, what the risks are to human health, safety, and performance, and how to prevent or counteract them throughout all phases of a long duration mission. The Johnson Space Center's Space and Life Sciences Directorate and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have implemented an effort to identify the most critical risks confronting humans on such mission and the types of research and technology efforts required to mitigate and otherwise reduce the probability and severity of those risks. This paper describes the "Critical Path Roadmap Project" to define, assess and prioritize the risks and present the results of the assessment with an emphasis on the research and technology priorities to meet the challenge of long duration human spaceflight mission.

ISS Utilization and Countermeasure Validation: Implementing the Critical Path Roadmap to Reduce Uncertainties of Extended Human Spaceflight Expeditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leveton, Lauren B.; Robinson, Judith L.; Charles, John B.

2000-01-01

Human exploration of space requires the ability to understand and mitigate risks to crews exposed to the conditions associated with such missions. This becomes a greater imperative as we prepare for interplanetary expeditions involving humans who will be subjected to long transit periods in microgravity as they travel to a distant planet such as Mars, embark and live on the planet's surface for an extended time, and finally, return to the 1 g environment of Earth. We need to know, more definitively, what the human health, safety, and performance risks are, and how to prevent or counteract them throughout all phases of a long duration mission. The Johnson Space Center's Space and Life Sciences Directorate along with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have been engaged in a strategic planning effort that identifies the most critical risks confronting humans who will venture forth on such missions and the types of research and technology efforts required to mitigate and otherwise reduce the probability and/or severity of those risks. This paper describes the unique approach used to define, assess and prioritize the risks and presents the results of the assessment with an emphasis on the research and technology priorities that will help us to meet the challenge of long duration human spaceflight missions.

Preface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenzweig, Cynthia (Editor); Hillel, Daniel (Editor)

2015-01-01

The potential effects of climate change on the food production system are raising concern both globally and regionally. The system is already challenged to deliver sufficient and healthy sustenance to all people, and is certain to be even further challenged as world population grows and price shocks loom. The prospect of climate change intensifies these challenges, raising the risk that more frequent and intense extreme weather events threaten the stability of agricultural production in regions around the globe. This two-part set is an important contribution to the ongoing Imperial College Press (ICP) Series on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation. This series aims to provide the know ledge base necessary for understanding and responding to climate change, in both its current form and future manifestations. In these volumes, ·leading agricultural researchers have come together to contribute their expertise on actual and potential climate change impacts, adaptation strategies, and mitigation efforts. This ongoing series is jointly published by The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), together with ICP. We hope that this fruitful cooperation will continue for many years to come, as it spurs the global effort to define and meet the great food security and climate change challenges of our time.

The Impact of Increasing Fire Frequency on Forest Transformations in the Zabaikal Region, Southern Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conard, S. G.; Kukavskaya, E. A.; Buryak, L. V.; Shvetsov, E.; Kalenskaya, O. P.; Zhila, S.

2017-12-01

The Zabaikal region of southern Siberia is characterized by some of the highest fire activity in Russia. There has been a significant increase of fire frequency and burned area in the region over the last two decades due to a combination of high anthropogenic pressure, decreased funding to the forestry sector, and increased fire danger, which was associated with higher frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Central and southern parts of the Zabaikal region where population density is higher and road network is relatively more developed are the most disturbed by fires. Larch stands cover the largest proportion of fire-disturbed lands in the region, while the less common pine and birch stands are characterized by higher fire frequency. About 13% (3.9 M ha) of the total forest area in the Zabaikal region was burned more than once in the 20 years from 1996 to 2015, with many sites burned multiple times. Repeat disturbances led to inadequate tree regeneration on all but the moistest sites. Pine stands on dry soils, which are common in the forest-steppe zone, were the most vulnerable. After repeat burns and over large burned sites we observed transformation of the forests to steppe ecosystems. The most likely causes of insufficient forest regeneration are soil overheating, dominance of tall grasses, and lack of nearby seed sources. Extensive tree plantations have potential to mitigate negative fire impacts; however, due to high fire hazard in the recent decade about half of the plantation area has been burned. Changes in the SWVI index were used to assess postfire reforestation based on a combination of satellite and field data. In the southwestern part of the Zabaikal region, we estimated that reforestation had been hampered over 11% of the forest land area. Regional climate models project increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation across Siberia by the end of the 21st century, with changes in the Zabaikal region projected to be more than twice the average rate in Siberia. This would likely lead to higher fire activity in the region. Implementation of sustainable forest management strategies has the potential to mitigate effects of changing climate and fire regimes on forest ecosystems in the Zabaikal region. This research was supported by the RFBR grant (# 15-04-06567) and the NASA LCLUC Program.

Assessing high reliability practices in wildland fire management: an exploration and benchmarking of organizational culture

Treesearch

Anne E. Black; Brooke Baldauf McBride

2013-01-01

In an effort to improve organizational outcomes, including safety, in wildland fire management, researchers and practitioners have turned to a domain of research on organizational performance known as High Reliability Organizing (HRO). The HRO paradigm emerged in the late 1980s in an effort to identify commonalities among organizations that function under hazardous...

Seedling response to initial oak woodland restoration treatments on the Ozark National Forest

Treesearch

Jamie L. Schuler; Don C. Bragg; Eric Heitzman; Jason Milks

2013-01-01

Over the last century, the range of oak woodland ecosystems has diminished as woodlands have become more closed-canopy forests. A century of fire suppression efforts has all but eliminated the frequent ground fires necessary to maintain the open canopy characteristics of oak woodland ecosystems. Restoration efforts are underway to return some of the closed-canopy...

Recovery Act: Oxy-Combustion Techology Development for Industrial-Scale Boiler Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levasseur, Armand

2014-04-30

Alstom Power Inc. (Alstom), under U.S. DOE/NETL Cooperative Agreement No. DE-NT0005290, is conducting a development program to generate detailed technical information needed for application of oxy-combustion technology. The program is designed to provide the necessary information and understanding for the next step of large-scale commercial demonstration of oxy combustion in tangentially fired boilers and to accelerate the commercialization of this technology. The main project objectives include: • Design and develop an innovative oxyfuel system for existing tangentially-fired boiler units that minimizes overall capital investment and operating costs. • Evaluate performance of oxyfuel tangentially fired boiler systems in pilot scale testsmore » at Alstom’s 15 MWth tangentially fired Boiler Simulation Facility (BSF). • Address technical gaps for the design of oxyfuel commercial utility boilers by focused testing and improvement of engineering and simulation tools. • Develop the design, performance and costs for a demonstration scale oxyfuel boiler and auxiliary systems. • Develop the design and costs for both industrial and utility commercial scale reference oxyfuel boilers and auxiliary systems that are optimized for overall plant performance and cost. • Define key design considerations and develop general guidelines for application of results to utility and different industrial applications. The project was initiated in October 2008 and the scope extended in 2010 under an ARRA award. The project completion date was April 30, 2014. Central to the project is 15 MWth testing in the BSF, which provided in-depth understanding of oxy-combustion under boiler conditions, detailed data for improvement of design tools, and key information for application to commercial scale oxy-fired boiler design. Eight comprehensive 15 MWth oxy-fired test campaigns were performed with different coals, providing detailed data on combustion, emissions, and thermal behavior over a matrix of fuels, oxyprocess variables and boiler design parameters. Significant improvement of CFD modeling tools and validation against 15 MWth experimental data has been completed. Oxy-boiler demonstration and large reference designs have been developed, supported with the information and knowledge gained from the 15 MWth testing. The results from the 15 MWth testing in the BSF and complimentary bench-scale testing are addressed in this volume (Volume II) of the final report. The results of the modeling efforts (Volume III) and the oxy boiler design efforts (Volume IV) are reported in separate volumes.« less

A sensible climate solution for the boreal forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astrup, Rasmus; Bernier, Pierre Y.; Genet, Hélène; Lutz, David A.; Bright, Ryan M.

2018-01-01

Climate change could increase fire risk across most of the managed boreal forest. Decreasing this risk by increasing the proportion of broad-leaved tree species is an overlooked mitigation-adaption strategy with multiple benefits.

Projected changes in daily fire spread across Canada over the next century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xianli; Parisien, Marc-André; Taylor, Steve W.; Candau, Jean-Noël; Stralberg, Diana; Marshall, Ginny A.; Little, John M.; Flannigan, Mike D.

2017-02-01

In the face of climate change, predicting and understanding future fire regimes across Canada is a high priority for wildland fire research and management. Due in large part to the difficulties in obtaining future daily fire weather projections, one of the major challenges in predicting future fire activity is to estimate how much of the change in weather potential could translate into on-the-ground fire spread. As a result, past studies have used monthly, annual, or multi-decadal weather projections to predict future fires, thereby sacrificing information relevant to day-to-day fire spread. Using climate projections from the fifth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5), historical weather observations, MODIS fire detection data, and the national fire database of Canada, this study investigated potential changes in the number of active burning days of wildfires by relating ‘spread days’ to patterns of daily fire-conducive weather. Results suggest that climate change over the next century may have significant impacts on fire spread days in almost all parts of Canada’s forested landmass; the number of fire spread days could experience a 2-to-3-fold increase under a high CO2 forcing scenario in eastern Canada, and a greater than 50% increase in western Canada, where the fire potential is already high. The change in future fire spread is critical in understanding fire regime changes, but is also imminently relevant to fire management operations and in fire risk mitigation.

Assessment of Current U.S. Department of Transportation Fire Safety Efforts

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-07-01

The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA), has undertaken the task of assessing the entire area of fire research to determine how to provide means to reduce the fire threat in transit systems, and thus, to provide a safer means of transport...

Smithville Lake Historical Resources Mitigation Program: Oral History.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-02-01

of goods, Galoshes, cap.,, and overalls, Candies, cookies , and breakfast foods, Muslin, matches, and calico, and mittens, Buckets, pans and pails...i - .i If you never traded at my father’s store. You missed a lot, you see. You could even order a hand-out lunch Of soda pop, cookies ...back there. They had a little engine that ran their dough mixing machine and one thing or another. They fired up the boiler on Thursdays, and we fired

Fighting Fire with Fire: Modeling the Datacenter-Scale Effects of Targeted Superlattice Thermal Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

we propose that hot-spot mitigation using thermoelectric coolers can be used as a power management mechanism to allow global coolers to be provi...sioned for a better worst case temperature leading to substan- tial savings in cooling power. In order to quantify the potential power savings from us- ing...energy density inside a processor to maximally tolerable levels, modern microprocessors make ex- tensive use of hardware structures such as the load

Demonstrating Acquisition of Real-Time Thermal Data Over Fires Utilizing UAVs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambrosia, Vincent G.; Wegener, Steven S.; Brass, James A.; Buechel, Sally W.; Peterson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A disaster mitigation demonstration, designed to integrate remote-piloted aerial platforms, a thermal infrared imaging payload, over-the-horizon (OTH) data telemetry and advanced image geo-rectification technologies was initiated in 2001. Project FiRE incorporates the use of a remotely piloted Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV), thermal imagery, and over-the-horizon satellite data telemetry to provide geo-corrected data over a controlled burn, to a fire management community in near real-time. The experiment demonstrated the use of a thermal multi-spectral scanner, integrated on a large payload capacity UAV, distributing data over-the-horizon via satellite communication telemetry equipment, and precision geo-rectification of the resultant data on the ground for data distribution to the Internet. The use of the UAV allowed remote-piloted flight (thereby reducing the potential for loss of human life during hazardous missions), and the ability to "finger and stare" over the fire for extended periods of time (beyond the capabilities of human-pilot endurance). Improved bit-rate capacity telemetry capabilities increased the amount, structure, and information content of the image data relayed to the ground. The integration of precision navigation instrumentation allowed improved accuracies in geo-rectification of the resultant imagery, easing data ingestion and overlay in a GIS framework. We focus on these technological advances and demonstrate how these emerging technologies can be readily integrated to support disaster mitigation and monitoring strategies regionally and nationally.

A robust scientific workflow for assessing fire danger levels using open-source software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vitolo, Claudia; Di Giuseppe, Francesca; Smith, Paul

2017-04-01

Modelling forest fires is theoretically and computationally challenging because it involves the use of a wide variety of information, in large volumes and affected by high uncertainties. In-situ observations of wildfire, for instance, are highly sparse and need to be complemented by remotely sensed data measuring biomass burning to achieve homogeneous coverage at global scale. Fire models use weather reanalysis products to measure energy release and rate of spread but can only assess the potential predictability of fire danger as the actual ignition is due to human behaviour and, therefore, very unpredictable. Lastly, fire forecasting systems rely on weather forecasts to extend the advance warning but are currently calibrated using fire danger thresholds that are defined at global scale and do not take into account the spatial variability of fuel availability. As a consequence, uncertainties sharply increase cascading from the observational to the modelling stage and they might be further inflated by non-reproducible analyses. Although uncertainties in observations will only decrease with technological advances over the next decades, the other uncertainties (i.e. generated during modelling and post-processing) can already be addressed by developing transparent and reproducible analysis workflows, even more if implemented within open-source initiatives. This is because reproducible workflows aim to streamline the processing task as they present ready-made solutions to handle and manipulate complex and heterogeneous datasets. Also, opening the code to the scrutiny of other experts increases the chances to implement more robust solutions and avoids duplication of efforts. In this work we present our contribution to the forest fire modelling community: an open-source tool called "caliver" for the calibration and verification of forest fire model results. This tool is developed in the R programming language and publicly available under an open license. We will present the caliver R package, illustrate the main functionalities and show the results of our preliminary experiments calculating fire danger thresholds for various regions on Earth. We will compare these with the existing global thresholds and, lastly, demonstrate how these newly-calculated regional thresholds can lead to improved calibration of fire forecast models in an operational setting.

Forest restoration as a strategy to mitigate climate impacts on wildfire, vegetation, and water in semiarid forests.

PubMed

O'Donnell, Frances C; Flatley, William T; Springer, Abraham E; Fulé, Peter Z

2018-06-25

Climate change and wildfire are interacting to drive vegetation change and potentially reduce water quantity and quality in the southwestern United States, Forest restoration is a management approach that could mitigate some of these negative outcomes. However, little information exists on how restoration combined with climate change might influence hydrology across large forest landscapes that incorporate multiple vegetation types and complex fire regimes. We combined spatially explicit vegetation and fire modeling with statistical water and sediment yield models for a large forested landscape (335,000 ha) on the Kaibab Plateau in northern Arizona, USA. Our objective was to assess the impacts of climate change and forest restoration on the future fire regime, forest vegetation, and watershed outputs. Our model results predict that the combination of climate change and high-severity fire will drive forest turnover, biomass declines, and compositional change in future forests. Restoration treatments may reduce the area burned in high-severity fires and reduce conversions from forested to non-forested conditions. Even though mid-elevation forests are the targets of restoration, the treatments are expected to delay the decline of high-elevation spruce-fir, aspen, and mixed conifer forests by reducing the occurrence of high-severity fires that may spread across ecoregions. We estimate that climate-induced vegetation changes will result in annual runoff declines of up to 10%, while restoration reduced or reversed this decline. The hydrologic model suggests that mid-elevation forests, which are the targets of restoration treatments, provide around 80% of runoff in this system and the conservation of mid- to high-elevation forests types provides the greatest benefit in terms of water conservation. We also predict that restoration treatments will conserve water quality by reducing patches of high-severity fire that are associated with high sediment yield. Restoration treatments are a management strategy that may reduce undesirable outcomes for multiple ecosystem services. © 2018 by the Ecological Society of America.

Forest Fire Advanced System Technology (FFAST): A Conceptual Design for Detection and Mapping

Treesearch

J. David Nichols; John R. Warren

1987-01-01

The Forest Fire Advanced System Technology (FFAST) project is developing a data system to provide near-real-time forest fire information to fire management at the fire Incident Command Post (ICP). The completed conceptual design defined an integrated forest fire detection and mapping system that is based upon technology available in the 1990's. System component...

Composition a Virgin Stand of Longleaf in South Alabama

Treesearch

John S. Kush; Ralph S. Meldahl

2000-01-01

The Flomaton Natural Area is a virgin stand of longleaf pine located in Escambia County, Alabama. Fire has been absent for at least the past 45 years from the stand. Efforts are underway to restore this fire-dependent ecosystem through the re-introduction of fire. This paper presents data collected in advance of the re-introduction of fire. A substantial hardwood...

Implementation of the fire and fire surrogate study— a national research effort to evaluate the consequences of fuel reduction treatments

Treesearch

Andrew Youngblood; Kerry L. Metlen; Eric E. Knapp; Kenneth W. Outcalt; Scott L. Stephens; Thomas A. Waldrop; Daniel Yaussy

2005-01-01

Many fire-dependent forests today are denser, contain fewer large trees, have higher fuel loads, and greater fuel continuity than occurred under historical fire regimes. These conditions increase the probability of unnaturally severe wildfires. Silviculturists are increasingly being asked to design fuel reduction treatments to help protect existing and future forest...

Experimental and modeling study of forest fire effect on soil thermal conductivity

Treesearch

Kathleen M. Smits; Elizabeth Kirby; William J. Massman; Scott Baggett

2016-01-01

An understanding of soil thermal conductivity after a wildfire or controlled burn is important to land management and post-fire recovery efforts. Although soil thermal conductivity has been well studied for non-fire heated soils, comprehensive data that evaluate the long-term effect of extreme heating from a fire on the soil thermal conductivity are limited....

Forest-fire model with natural fire resistance.

PubMed

Yoder, Mark R; Turcotte, Donald L; Rundle, John B

2011-04-01

Observations suggest that contemporary wildfire suppression practices in the United States have contributed to conditions that facilitate large, destructive fires. We introduce a forest-fire model with natural fire resistance that supports this theory. Fire resistance is defined with respect to the size and shape of clusters; the model yields power-law frequency-size distributions of model fires that are consistent with field observations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Enhanced sediment delivery in a changing climate in semi-arid mountain basins: Implications for water resource management and aquatic habitat in the northern Rocky Mountains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goode, Jaime R.; Luce, Charles H.; Buffington, John M.

2012-02-01

The delivery and transport of sediment through mountain rivers affects aquatic habitat and water resource infrastructure. While climate change is widely expected to produce significant changes in hydrology and stream temperature, the effects of climate change on sediment yield have received less attention. In the northern Rocky Mountains, we expect climate change to increase sediment yield primarily through changes in temperature and hydrology that promote vegetation disturbances (i.e., wildfire, insect/pathogen outbreak, drought-related die off). Here, we synthesize existing data from central Idaho to explore (1) how sediment yields are likely to respond to climate change in semi-arid basins influenced by wildfire, (2) the potential consequences for aquatic habitat and water resource infrastructure, and (3) prospects for mitigating sediment yields in forest basins. Recent climate-driven increases in the severity and extent of wildfire suggest that basin-scale sediment yields within the next few years to decades could be greater than the long-term average rate of 146 T km - 2 year - 1 observed for central Idaho. These elevated sediment yields will likely impact downstream reservoirs, which were designed under conditions of historically lower sediment yield. Episodic erosional events (massive debris flows) that dominate post-fire sediment yields are impractical to mitigate, leaving road restoration as the most viable management opportunity for offsetting climate-related increases in sediment yield. However, short-term sediment yields from experimental basins with roads are three orders of magnitude smaller than those from individual fire-related events (on the order of 10 1 T km - 2 year - 1 compared to 10 4 T km - 2 year - 1 , respectively, for similar contributing areas), suggesting that road restoration would provide a relatively minor reduction in sediment loads at the basin-scale. Nevertheless, the ecologically damaging effects of fine sediment (material < 6 mm) chronically produced from roads will require continued management efforts.

Fire-related medical science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knight, Douglas R.

1987-01-01

Spacecraft fire safety may be improved by the use of a fire-retardant atmosphere in occupied spaces. Low concentrations of oxygen can protect humans from fire damage by reducing the rate and spread of combustion, but care must be taken to avoid the hypoxic effects of oxygen-lean atmospheres. Crews can live and work in 11 percent oxygen if barometric pressure were adjusted to maintain the partial pressure of oxygen above 16 kPa. Eleven percent oxygen should prevent most types of fires, since 15 percent oxygen retards the combustion of paper and 13 percent oxygen extinguishes pentane flames. Test results indicate that seated humans can perform mental tasks in atmospheres containing 11.5 percent oxygen. Although this strategy of fire safety is under consideration for submarines, it could be adapted to spacecraft once operational procedures define a maximum hyperbaric pressure and fire research defines the effects of reduced oxygen concentrations on combustion in low gravity environments.

Investigating the association between weather conditions, calendar events and socio-economic patterns with trends in fire incidence: an Australian case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corcoran, Jonathan; Higgs, Gary; Rohde, David; Chhetri, Prem

2011-06-01

Fires in urban areas can cause significant economic, physical and psychological damage. Despite this, there has been a comparative lack of research into the spatial and temporal analysis of fire incidence in urban contexts. In this paper, we redress this gap through an exploration of the association of fire incidence to weather, calendar events and socio-economic characteristics in South-East Queensland, Australia using innovative technique termed the quad plot. Analysing trends in five fire incident types, including malicious false alarms (hoax calls), residential buildings, secondary (outdoor), vehicle and suspicious fires, results suggest that risk associated with all is greatly increased during school holidays and during long weekends. For all fire types the lowest risk of incidence was found to occur between one and six a.m. It was also found that there was a higher fire incidence in socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods and there was some evidence to suggest that there may be a compounding impact of high temperatures in such areas. We suggest that these findings may be used to guide the operations of fire services through spatial and temporal targeting to better utilise finite resources, help mitigate risk and reduce casualties.

ARkStorm@Tahoe: Science as a foundation for discussing, recognizing and mitigating storm-disaster vulnerabilities in mountain and downstream communities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarthy, M.; Dettinger, M. D.; Kauneckis, D. L.; Cox, D. A.; Albano, C.; Welborn, T.

2014-12-01

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) have historically caused ~80% of the most extreme winter storms and largest floods in California and parts of northwestern Nevada. In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey developed the ARkStorm extreme-storm scenario to quantify risks from extreme winter storms and to allow stakeholders to explore and mitigate potential impacts. The scenario was constructed by concatenating two historical AR sequences and quantified by simulating them using a regional-weather model nested within global weather fields, resulting in a climatologically plausible 23-day storm sequence. The ARkStorm@Tahoe scenario was presented at six meetings with over 300 participants from local agencies, first-responders and local communities, each meeting having a different geographic or sectoral focus. These stakeholder meetings and an 18-question survey identified a wide range of social and ecological vulnerabilities to extreme winter storms, science and information needs to prepare and mitigate consequenses, and proactive measures to minimize impacts. Interruption of transportation, communications, and lack of power and backup fuel supplies were identified as the most likely and primary points of failure across multiple sectors and geographies, as these interruptions have cascading effects on natural and human environments by impeding emergency response efforts. Natural resource impacts of greatest concern include flooding, impacts to water quality, spread and establishment of invasive species, and interactions with other disturbance types (e.g., fire, landslides). Science needs include improved monitoring and models to facilitate better prediction and response, real-time and forecast inundation mapping to understand flood risks, and vulnerability assessments related to geomorphic hazards and water quality impacts. Results from this effort highlight several opportunities for increasing the resilience of communities and the environment to extreme storm events. Information collected in these meetings was used to develop a "tabletop" emergency-response exercise with over 120 participants in March 2014, as well as reports back to the community including specific recommendations for increasing preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience to extreme winter storm events.

Filling Gaps in Biogeochemical Understanding of Wildfire Effects on Watersheds and Water Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rhoades, Charles; Covino, Timothy; Chow, Alex

2017-04-01

Large, high-severity wildfires alter the biogeochemical conditions that determine how watersheds retain and release nutrients and influence stream water quality. These effects are commonly expected to abate within a few years, but recent studies show that post-fire watershed changes can have persistent, but poorly-understood biogeochemical consequences. Owing to the increased frequency and extent of high-severity wildfires predicted for western North America, and the growing awareness of the links between wildfire and clean water supply, there is a need to address these knowledge gaps. For the past 15 years we have tracked stream nutrients, chemistry, temperature, and sediment after the 2002 Hayman Fire, the largest wildfire in Colorado history. Our earlier work showed that headwater catchments that experienced extensive, high-severity forest fires had elevated stream nitrate, temperature, and turbidity for five post-fire years. Recent sampling, conducted 13 and 14 years after the fire, found that turbidity had largely returned to pretreatment levels, but that stream nitrate remained an order of magnitude above pre-fire levels in catchments with extensive high-severity wildfire. Stream temperature and total dissolved nitrogen concentration also remained higher in those catchments compared to unburned streams. Decreased plant demand is the mechanism commonly credited for post-fire nutrient losses, though our current work is evaluating the implications of soil and stream nutrient uptake and supply on persistent nitrogen (N) export from severely-burned catchments. For example, we have measured higher total soil N and higher net N mineralization in severely-burned portions of the Hayman Fire compared to moderately or unburned areas, indicating that higher soil N supply may contribute to N losses from upland soils. Conversely, using a nutrient tracer approach we found reduced N uptake in burned streams, which suggests a switch from the N-limited conditions typical of pristine catchments. Low stream dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in severely-burned catchments suggests greater carbon limitation on in-stream biological activity. This is the likely result of organic matter losses during the wildfire compounded by low allochthonous inputs from uplands or riparian zones. We also find that catchments with severely-burned headwater reaches and sparse riparian vegetation have high stream nitrate. Our findings regarding soil N supply and in-stream N retention coupled with the persistent N losses from burned headwaters and exposed riparian zones help prioritize restoration efforts aimed at mitigating long-term water quality effects of severe wildfires.

Evaluated community fire safety interventions in the United States: a review of current literature.

PubMed

Ta, Van M; Frattaroli, Shannon; Bergen, Gwendolyn; Gielen, Andrea Carlson

2006-06-01

The purpose of the study was to assess the state of fire prevention research, provide an updated synthesis of evaluated fire prevention programs, and discuss the role of fire fighters and data systems in prevention efforts. The review included all evaluations of U.S. based fire prevention interventions published between January 1998 and September 2004 and any earlier articles about U.S. fire prevention interventions not included in two prior review articles. We retrieved information from each identified study including evaluation findings, involvement of fire service personnel and use of existing data systems. We identified twelve articles: seven reported on smoke alarm interventions, three on multi-faceted programs, and two other programs. Five programs involved fire service personnel in the design, implementation, and/or evaluation, and three used existing data systems. Studies reviewed suggest that canvassing and smoke alarm installations are the most effective means of distributing alarms and increasing the functional status of distributed alarms. The functionality of smoke alarms, an issue noted in earlier reviews, remains a problem. Programs involving partnerships with fire departments have indicated success in preventing fires and deaths, improving smoke alarm ownership and functional status, and improving children's fire safety knowledge. Using existing data systems to target and to evaluate interventions was effective. In the years since prior reviews, some improvements in the rigor of evaluation designs have been made, but there is still a need for high quality evaluations that will inform fire injury prevention efforts.

Relative importance of fuel management, ignition management and weather for area burned: Evidence from five landscape-fire-succession models

Treesearch

Geoffrey J. Cary; Mike D. Flannigan; Robert E. Keane; Ross A. Bradstock; Ian D. Davies; James M. Lenihan; Chao Li; Kimberley A. Logan; Russell A. Parsons

2009-01-01

The behaviour of five landscape fire models (CAFE, FIRESCAPE, LAMOS(HS), LANDSUM and SEMLAND) was compared in a standardised modelling experiment. The importance of fuel management approach, fuel management effort, ignition management effort and weather in determining variation in area burned and number of edge pixels burned (a measure of potential impact on assets...

Fire prevention in Delaware: a case study of fire and life safety initiatives.

PubMed

Frattaroli, Shannon; Gielen, Andrea C; Piver-Renna, Jennifer; Pollack, Keshia M; Ta, Van M

2011-01-01

Injuries resulting from residential house fires are a significant public health issue. The fire service is engaged in fire prevention activities aimed at preventing fire-related morbidity and mortality. The fire service in Delaware is regarded by some leaders in the field as a model for fire and life safety education (FLSE). We identified 3 questions to guide this research. What is the culture and context of fire prevention in Delaware? What prevention programs and policies constitute Delaware's fire prevention efforts? What can be learned from select model programs regarding their impact, sustainability, strengths, limitations, and general applicability? A discussion of the lessons learned from Delaware's experience with FLSE initiatives concludes the article. We used a single case study design and collected and analyzed data from in-depth interviews, documents, and participant observation notes to address the research questions. Data were collected in Delaware. Interviewees included a purposeful sample of members of the Delaware fire service. Descriptions of the context in which fire prevention occurs, the initiatives underway, and the factors associated with successfully supporting fire prevention in the state. Data from 16 key informant interviews, relevant documents, and direct observations of FLSE events revealed a fire service rooted in tradition, dedication, and community. A compilation of state and local FLSE initiatives illustrates the diversity of FLSE in Delaware. Thematic analysis of the data emphasize the importance of a strategic, comprehensive, and coordinated approach to realizing success in Delaware's approach to FLSE. The fire service is an important part of the public health infrastructure. While their role as first responders is evident, their contributions to prevention are also significant. This research suggests ways to support fire service prevention efforts and more fully integrate their FLSE work into the public health infrastructure.

Creating an Erosion Vulnerability Map for the Columbia River Basin to Determine Reservoir Susceptibility to Sedimentation Before and After Wildfires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, J.; Robichaud, P. J. L.; Adam, J. C.

2017-12-01

Sedimentation is important issue to most rivers and reservoirs especially in watersheds with extensive agricultural or wildfire activity. These human and natural induced disturbances have the potential to increase runoff-induced erosion and sediment load to rivers; downstream sedimentation can decrease the life expectancy of reservoir and consequently the dam. This is particularly critical in snowmelt-dominant regions because, as rising temperatures reduce snowpack as a natural reservoir, humans will become more reliant on reservoir storage. In the Northwest U.S., the Columbia River Basin (CRB) has more than 60 dams, which were built for irrigation, hydropower, and flood control, all of which are affected by sediment to varying degrees. Determining what dams are most likely to be affected by sedimentation caused by post-fire erosion is important for future management of reservoirs, especially as climate change is anticipated to exacerbate wildfire and its impacts. The objective of this study is to create a sedimentation vulnerability map for reservoirs in the CRB. There are four attributes of a watershed that determine erosion potential; soil type, topography, vegetation (such as forests, shrubs, and grasslands), and precipitation (although precipitation was excluded in this analysis). In this study, a rating system was developed on a scale of 0-90 (with 90 having the greatest erosion potential). The different layers in a Graphical Information System were combined to create an erosion vulnerability map. Results suggest that areas with agriculture have more erosion without a wildfire but that forested areas are most vulnerable to erosion rates following a fire, particularly a high severity fire. Sedimentation in dams is a growing problem that needs to be addressed especially with the likely reduction in snowpack, this vulnerability map will help determine which reservoirs in the CRB are prone to high sedimentation. This information can inform managers where post-fire erosion mitigation efforts might be prioritized.

Post-fire debris flow prediction in Western United States: Advancements based on a nonparametric statistical technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolopoulos, E. I.; Destro, E.; Bhuiyan, M. A. E.; Borga, M., Sr.; Anagnostou, E. N.

2017-12-01

Fire disasters affect modern societies at global scale inducing significant economic losses and human casualties. In addition to their direct impacts they have various adverse effects on hydrologic and geomorphologic processes of a region due to the tremendous alteration of the landscape characteristics (vegetation, soil properties etc). As a consequence, wildfires often initiate a cascade of hazards such as flash floods and debris flows that usually follow the occurrence of a wildfire thus magnifying the overall impact in a region. Post-fire debris flows (PFDF) is one such type of hazards frequently occurring in Western United States where wildfires are a common natural disaster. Prediction of PDFD is therefore of high importance in this region and over the last years a number of efforts from United States Geological Survey (USGS) and National Weather Service (NWS) have been focused on the development of early warning systems that will help mitigate PFDF risk. This work proposes a prediction framework that is based on a nonparametric statistical technique (random forests) that allows predicting the occurrence of PFDF at regional scale with a higher degree of accuracy than the commonly used approaches that are based on power-law thresholds and logistic regression procedures. The work presented is based on a recently released database from USGS that reports a total of 1500 storms that triggered and did not trigger PFDF in a number of fire affected catchments in Western United States. The database includes information on storm characteristics (duration, accumulation, max intensity etc) and other auxiliary information of land surface properties (soil erodibility index, local slope etc). Results show that the proposed model is able to achieve a satisfactory prediction accuracy (threat score > 0.6) superior of previously published prediction frameworks highlighting the potential of nonparametric statistical techniques for development of PFDF prediction systems.

Importance of the Pre-Industrial Baseline in Determining the Likelihood of Exceeding the Paris Limits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, M. E.; Schurer, A. P.; Hawkins, E.; Tett, S. F.; Hegerl, G. C.

2017-12-01

During the Paris Conference in 2015, nations of the world strengthened the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change by agreeing to holding "the increase in the globalaverage temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limitthe temperature increase to 1.5°C. However, "pre-industrial" was not defined. Here weinvestigate the implications of different choices of the pre-industrial baseline on the likelihood ofexceeding these two temperature thresholds. We find that for the strongest mitigation scenarioRCP2.6 and a medium scenario RCP4.5 the probability of exceeding the thresholds and timingof exceedance is highly dependent on the pre-industrial baseline, for example the probability ofcrossing 1.5°C by the end of the century under RCP2.6, varies from 61% to 88% depending onhow the baseline is defined. In contrast, in the scenario with no mitigation, RCP8.5, boththresholds will almost certainly be exceeded by the middle of the century with the definition ofthe pre-industrial baseline of less importance. Allowable carbon emissions for thresholdstabilisation are similarly highly dependent on the pre-industrial baseline. For stabilisation at2°C, allowable emissions decrease by as much as 40% when earlier than 19th century climatesare considered as a baseline.

U.S. Coast Guard cutter personnel on Sweetbriar train their fire ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

U.S. Coast Guard cutter personnel on Sweetbriar train their fire hoses on a burning pleasure boat in an Alaskan harbor. A U.S. Coast Guard rigid-hull inflatable helps with the fire-fighting effort - U.S. Coast Guard Cutter SWEETBRIER, Cordova, Valdez-Cordova Census Area, AK

Assessing CMAQ's contribution to Ozone and PM 2.5 from Wildland Fire Emissions

EPA Science Inventory

This poster to be delivered at the International Association of Wildland Fire Conference highlights modeling efforts that have been made to assess the impact of wildland fires on atmospheric pollution and human health. It points out the need to perform additional evaluation and m...

ERMiT: Estimating Post-Fire Erosion in Probabilistic Terms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierson, F. B.; Robichaud, P. R.; Elliot, W. J.; Hall, D. E.; Moffet, C. A.

2006-12-01

Mitigating the impact of post-wildfire runoff and erosion on life, property, and natural resources have cost the United States government tens of millions of dollars over the past decade. The decision of where, when, and how to apply the most effective mitigation treatments requires land managers to assess the risk of damaging runoff and erosion events occurring after a fire. The Erosion Risk Management Tool (ERMiT) is a web-based application that estimates erosion in probabilistic terms on burned and recovering forest, range, and chaparral lands. Unlike most erosion prediction models, ERMiT does not provide `average annual erosion rates;' rather, it provides a distribution of erosion rates with the likelihood of their occurrence. ERMiT combines rain event variability with spatial and temporal variabilities of hillslope burn severity, soil properties, and ground cover to estimate Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model input parameter values. Based on 20 to 40 individual WEPP runs, ERMiT produces a distribution of rain event erosion rates with a probability of occurrence for each of five post-fire years. Over the 5 years of modeled recovery, the occurrence probability of the less erodible soil parameters is increased and the occurrence probability of the more erodible soil parameters is decreased. In addition, the occurrence probabilities and the four spatial arrangements of burn severity (arrangements of overland flow elements (OFE's)), are shifted toward lower burn severity with each year of recovery. These yearly adjustments are based on field measurements made through post-fire recovery periods. ERMiT also provides rain event erosion rate distributions for hillslopes that have been treated with seeding, straw mulch, straw wattles and contour-felled log erosion barriers. Such output can help managers make erosion mitigation treatment decisions based on the probability of high sediment yields occurring, the value of resources at risk for damage, cost, and other management considerations.

TA-54 (Area G) Risk Assessment from Extreme Wildfire Scenarios

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Linn, Rodman Ray; Koo, Eunmo; Honig, Kristen Ann

2016-08-10

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and surrounding areas have been exposed to at least four significant wildfires since 1977 and there have been numerous others within 50 miles of LANL. Based on this history, wildfires are considered a risk to LANL facilities and their contents. While many LANL facilities are at risk to wildfire to some degree, they are found in a wide variety of conditions, thus they have varying sensitivities to wildfires. Additionally, LANL facilities have various functions and different assets, so they have a wide range of values or consequences if compromised. Therefore, determining the risks and precautionsmore » that are warranted to mitigate these risks must be done on a case-by-case basis. In an effort to assess possible wildfire risks to sensitive materials stored in a Perma-Con ® in dome TA-54-0375, a conventional fire risk analysis was performed. This conventional risk analysis is documented in Engineering Evaluation Form AP-FIRE-001-FM1, which is dated 9/28/2015 and was titled ‘Wildland Fire Exposure Evaluation for Building TA-54-0375’ (Hall 2015). This analysis acknowledged that there was significant chance of wildfire in the vicinity of TA-54-0375, but the amount of combustible material surrounding the building was deemed low. The wildland fuels that were closest to the building were largely fine fuels and were not expected to have significant duration of heat release. The prevailing winds at this location are from the south and southwest and the nearest significant upwind fuels (tree crowns or unmown grasses) are at least 300 feet away. Based on these factors the conventional wildland fire risk to TA-54-0375 was deemed minimal, “Acceptable As Is, No Action Required.” This risk evaluation was based on a combined assessment of low probability of wildfires arriving at the site from other directions (where higher fuel loadings might be present) as well as the effective setback of fuels in the direction that fire is expected to arrive from.« less

Response Mechanism: Blast/Fire Interactions.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-01

A WORK UNIT NUMBERS University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN L FEMA WU No. 2564H ItI. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12. REPORT DATE Fedqral...Fires 9 Class A Fires 10 Control by Physics or Chemistry? 11 Conments 14 EXTINCTION AND IGNITION 15 Pool Fire 15 Analysis 17 Charring Solid Fire 21...post-explosion time, although its magnitude may make the efforts to control appear futile in the wake of a nuclear attack. There is considerable

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

33 CFR 149.414 - What are the requirements for a fire detection and alarm system?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for fire detection and fire alarm... fire detection and alarm system? 149.414 Section 149.414 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... EQUIPMENT Firefighting and Fire Protection Equipment Firefighting Requirements § 149.414 What are the...

Emergency assessments of postfire debris-flow hazards for the 2009 La Brea, Jesusita, Guiberson, Morris, Sheep, Oak Glen, Pendleton, and Cottonwood fires in southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E.; Rupert, Michael G.; Michael, John A.

2010-01-01

This report presents an emergency assessment of potential debris-flow hazards from basins burned by the 2009 La Brea and Jesusita fires in Santa Barbara County, the Guiberson fire in Ventura County, the Morris fire in Los Angeles County, the Sheep, Oak Glen, and Pendleton fires in San Bernardino County, and the Cottonwood fire in Riverside County, southern California. Statistical-empirical models developed to analyze postfire debris flows are used to estimate the probability and volume of debris-flows produced from drainage basins within each of the burned areas. Debris-flow probabilities and volumes are estimated as functions of different measures of basin burned extent, gradient, and material properties in response to both a 3-hour-duration, 2-year-recurrence thunderstorm and to a widespread, 12-hour-duration, 2-year-recurrence winter storm. This assessment provides critical information for issuing warnings, locating and designing mitigation measures, and planning evacuation timing and routes within the first two winters following the fire.

An estimate of carbon emissions from 2004 wildfires across Alaskan Yukon River Basin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tan, Zhengxi; Tieszen, Larry L.; Zhu, Zhiliang; Liu, Shuguang; Howard, Stephen M.

2007-01-01

BackgroundWildfires are an increasingly important component of the forces that drive the global carbon (C) cycle and climate change as progressive warming is expected in boreal areas. This study estimated C emissions from the wildfires across the Alaskan Yukon River Basin in 2004. We spatially related the firescars to land cover types and defined the C fractions of aboveground biomass and the ground layer (referring to the top 15 cm organic soil layer only in this paper) consumed in association with land cover types, soil drainage classes, and the C stocks in the ground layer.ResultsThe fires led to a burned area of 26,500 km2 and resulted in the total C emission of 81.1 ± 13.6 Tg (Tg, Teragram; 1 Tg = 1012 g) or 3.1 ± 0.7 kg C m-2 burned. Of the total C emission, about 73% and 27% could be attributed to the consumption of the ground layer and aboveground biomass, respectively.ConclusionThe predominant contribution of the ground layer to the total C emission implies the importance of ground fuel management to the control of wildfires and mitigation of C emissions. The magnitude of the total C emission depends on fire extent, while the C loss in kg C m-2 burned is affected strongly by the ground layer and soil drainage condition. The significant reduction in the ground layer by large fires may result in profound impacts on boreal ecosystem services with an increase in feedbacks between wildfires and climate change.

Wildland fire emissions, carbon, and climate: wildland fire detection and burned area in the United States

Treesearch

Wei Min Hao; Narasimhan K. Larkin

2014-01-01

Biomass burning is a major source of greenhouse gases, aerosols, black carbon, and atmospheric pollutants that affects regional and global climate and air quality. The spatial and temporal extent of fires and the size of burned areas are critical parameters in the estimation of fire emissions. Tremendous efforts have been made in the past 12 years to characterize the...

Average stand age from forest inventory plots does not describe historical fire regimes in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America

Treesearch

Jens T. Stevens; Hugh D. Safford; Malcolm P. North; Jeremy S. Fried; Andrew N. Gray; Peter M. Brown; Christopher R. Dolanc; Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Donald A. Falk; Calvin A. Farris; Jerry F. Franklin; Peter Z. Fulé; R. Keala Hagmann; Eric E. Knapp; Jay D. Miller; Douglas F. Smith; Thomas W. Swetnam; Alan H. Taylor; Julia A. Jones

2016-01-01

Quantifying historical fire regimes provides important information for managing contemporary forests. Historical fire frequency and severity can be estimated using several methods; each method has strengths and weaknesses and presents challenges for interpretation and verification. Recent efforts to quantify the timing of historical high-severity fire events in forests...

Engaging communities in post-fire restoration: forest treatments and community-agency relations after the Cerro Grande fire

Treesearch

Robert L. Ryan; Elisabeth M. Hamin

2006-01-01

Our research provides advice to managers in their work in post-fire forest rehabilitation based on focus groups and interviews in the Los Alamos, New Mexico, community after the Cerro Grande fire of 2000. We address two key issues: how different restoration efforts compare to natural revegetation from the public?s perspective, and how to effectively communicate with...

Does Place Attachment Predict Wildfire Mitigation and Preparedness? A Comparison of Wildland-Urban Interface and Rural Communities.

PubMed

Anton, Charis E; Lawrence, Carmen

2016-01-01

Wildfires are a common occurrence in many countries and are predicted to increase as we experience the effects of climate change. As more people are expected to be affected by fires, it is important to increase people's wildfire mitigation and preparation. Place attachment has been theorized to be related to mitigation and preparation. The present study examined place attachment and wildfire mitigation and preparation in two Australian samples, one rural and one on the wildland-urban interface. The study consisted of 300 participants who responded to questionnaires about their place attachment to their homes and local areas, as well as describing their socio-demographic characteristics and wildfire mitigation and preparedness. Hierarchical regression showed that place attachment to homes predicted wildfire mitigation and preparedness in the rural sample but not in the wildland-urban interface sample. The results suggest that place attachment is a motivator for mitigation and preparation only for people living rurally. Reminding rural residents of their attachment to home at the beginning of wildfire season may result in greater mitigation and preparedness. Further research focusing on why attachment does not predict mitigation and preparedness in the wildland-urban interface is needed.

Catchment-scale Validation of a Physically-based, Post-fire Runoff and Erosion Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, D.; Brooks, E. S.; Robichaud, P. R.; Dobre, M.; Brown, R. E.; Wagenbrenner, J.

2017-12-01

The cascading consequences of fire-induced ecological changes have profound impacts on both natural and managed forest ecosystems. Forest managers tasked with implementing post-fire mitigation strategies need robust tools to evaluate the effectiveness of their decisions, particularly those affecting hydrological recovery. Various hillslope-scale interfaces of the physically-based Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model have been successfully validated for this purpose using fire-effected plot experiments, however these interfaces are explicitly designed to simulate single hillslopes. Spatially-distributed, catchment-scale WEPP interfaces have been developed over the past decade, however none have been validated for post-fire simulations, posing a barrier to adoption for forest managers. In this validation study, we compare WEPP simulations with pre- and post-fire hydrological records for three forested catchments (W. Willow, N. Thomas, and S. Thomas) that burned in the 2011 Wallow Fire in Northeastern Arizona, USA. Simulations were conducted using two approaches; the first using automatically created inputs from an online, spatial, post-fire WEPP interface, and the second using manually created inputs which incorporate the spatial variability of fire effects observed in the field. Both approaches were compared to five years of observed post-fire sediment and flow data to assess goodness of fit.

Forecasting wildland fire behavior using high-resolution large-eddy simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munoz-Esparza, D.; Kosovic, B.; Jimenez, P. A.; Anderson, A.; DeCastro, A.; Brown, B.

2016-12-01

Wildland fires are responsible for large socio-economic impacts. Fires affect the environment, damage structures, threaten lives, cause health issues, and involve large suppression costs. These impacts can be mitigated via accurate fire spread forecast to inform the incident management team. To this end, the state of Colorado is funding the development of the Colorado Fire Prediction System (CO-FPS). The system is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model enhanced with a fire behavior module (WRF-Fire). Realistic representation of wildland fire behavior requires explicit representation of small scale weather phenomena to properly account for coupled atmosphere-wildfire interactions. Moreover, transport and dispersion of biomass burning emissions from wildfires is controlled by turbulent processes in the atmospheric boundary layer, which are difficult to parameterize and typically lead to large errors when simplified source estimation and injection height methods are used. Therefore, we utilize turbulence-resolving large-eddy simulations at a resolution of 111 m to forecast fire spread and smoke distribution using a coupled atmosphere-wildfire model. This presentation will describe our improvements to the level-set based fire-spread algorithm in WRF-Fire and an evaluation of the operational system using 12 wildfire events that occurred in Colorado in 2016, as well as other historical fires. In addition, the benefits of explicit representation of turbulence for smoke transport and dispersion will be demonstrated.

Predicting fire impact from plant traits?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoof, Cathelijne; Ottink, Roos; Zylstra, Philip; Cornelissen, Hans; Fernandes, Paulo

2017-04-01

Fire can considerably increase the landscape's vulnerability to flooding and erosion, which is in part caused by fire-induced soil heating, vegetation removal and resulting hydrological changes. While the magnitude of these fire effects and ecosystem responses is frequently studied, there is still little attention for the fundamental mechanisms that drive these changes. One example is on the effect of plants: while it is known that plants can alter the fire environment, there is a major knowledge gap regarding the fundamental mechanisms by which vegetation mediates fire impact on soil and hydrology. Essential to identifying these mechanisms is consideration of the effects of vegetation on flammability and fire behaviour, which are studied both in ecology and traditional fire science. Here we discuss the challenges of integrating these very distinct fields and the potential benefits of this integration for improved understanding of fire effects on soil and hydrology. We furthermore present results of a study in which we assessed the spatial drivers controlling the proportion of live and dead fuel in a natural park in northern Portugal, and evaluated the impacts on the spatial variability of fire behaviour and potential soil heating using BehavePlus modeling. Better understanding of the role of (spatial variability in) plant traits on fire impact can facilitate the development of risk maps to ultimately help predict and mitigate fire risk and impact across landscapes.

Forecasting wildland fire behavior using high-resolution large-eddy simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munoz-Esparza, D.; Kosovic, B.; Jimenez, P. A.; Anderson, A.; DeCastro, A.; Brown, B.

2017-12-01

Wildland fires are responsible for large socio-economic impacts. Fires affect the environment, damage structures, threaten lives, cause health issues, and involve large suppression costs. These impacts can be mitigated via accurate fire spread forecast to inform the incident management team. To this end, the state of Colorado is funding the development of the Colorado Fire Prediction System (CO-FPS). The system is based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model enhanced with a fire behavior module (WRF-Fire). Realistic representation of wildland fire behavior requires explicit representation of small scale weather phenomena to properly account for coupled atmosphere-wildfire interactions. Moreover, transport and dispersion of biomass burning emissions from wildfires is controlled by turbulent processes in the atmospheric boundary layer, which are difficult to parameterize and typically lead to large errors when simplified source estimation and injection height methods are used. Therefore, we utilize turbulence-resolving large-eddy simulations at a resolution of 111 m to forecast fire spread and smoke distribution using a coupled atmosphere-wildfire model. This presentation will describe our improvements to the level-set based fire-spread algorithm in WRF-Fire and an evaluation of the operational system using 12 wildfire events that occurred in Colorado in 2016, as well as other historical fires. In addition, the benefits of explicit representation of turbulence for smoke transport and dispersion will be demonstrated.

Fire prevention on airplanes. Part I

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sabatier, J

1929-01-01

Various methods for preventing fires in airplanes are presented with most efforts centering around prevention of backfires, new engine and carburetor designs, as well as investigations on different types of fuels.

Identifying non-traditional stakeholders with whom to engage, when mitigating antimicrobial resistance in foodborne pathogens (Canada).

PubMed

Majowicz, Shannon E; Parmley, E Jane; Carson, Carolee; Pintar, Katarina

2018-03-12

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical public health issue that involves interrelationships between people, animals, and the environment. Traditionally, interdisciplinary efforts to mitigate AMR in the food chain have involved public health, human and veterinary medicine, and agriculture stakeholders. Our objective was to identify a more diverse range of stakeholders, beyond those traditionally engaged in AMR mitigation efforts, via diagramming both proximal and distal factors impacting, or impacted by, use and resistance along the Canadian food chain. We identified multiple stakeholders that are not traditionally engaged by public health when working to mitigate AMR in the food chain, including those working broadly in the area of food (e.g., nutrition, food security, international market economists) and health (e.g., health communication, program evaluation), as well as in domains as diverse as law, politics, demography, education, and social innovation. These findings can help researchers and policymakers who work on issues related to AMR in the food chain to move beyond engaging the 'traditional' agri-food stakeholders (e.g., veterinarians, farmers), to also engage those from the wider domains identified here, as potential stakeholders in their AMR mitigation efforts.

The NASA Aviation Safety Program: Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shin, Jaiwon

2000-01-01

In 1997, the United States set a national goal to reduce the fatal accident rate for aviation by 80% within ten years based on the recommendations by the Presidential Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. Achieving this goal will require the combined efforts of government, industry, and academia in the areas of technology research and development, implementation, and operations. To respond to the national goal, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a program that will focus resources over a five year period on performing research and developing technologies that will enable improvements in many areas of aviation safety. The NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is organized into six research areas: Aviation System Modeling and Monitoring, System Wide Accident Prevention, Single Aircraft Accident Prevention, Weather Accident Prevention, Accident Mitigation, and Synthetic Vision. Specific project areas include Turbulence Detection and Mitigation, Aviation Weather Information, Weather Information Communications, Propulsion Systems Health Management, Control Upset Management, Human Error Modeling, Maintenance Human Factors, Fire Prevention, and Synthetic Vision Systems for Commercial, Business, and General Aviation aircraft. Research will be performed at all four NASA aeronautics centers and will be closely coordinated with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other government agencies, industry, academia, as well as the aviation user community. This paper provides an overview of the NASA Aviation Safety Program goals, structure, and integration with the rest of the aviation community.

40 CFR 63.6100 - What emission and operating limitations must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... combustion turbine, a lean premix oil-fired stationary combustion turbine, a diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine, or a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by...

40 CFR 63.6100 - What emission and operating limitations must I meet?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... combustion turbine, a lean premix oil-fired stationary combustion turbine, a diffusion flame gas-fired stationary combustion turbine, or a diffusion flame oil-fired stationary combustion turbine as defined by...

41 CFR 102-80.135 - Who is a qualified fire protection engineer?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... protection engineer? 102-80.135 Section 102-80.135 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property... qualified fire protection engineer? A qualified fire protection engineer is defined as an individual with a thorough knowledge and understanding of the principles of physics and chemistry governing fire growth...

36 CFR 294.21 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) Has a geographic feature that aids in creating an effective fire break, such as a road or a ridge top; or (3) Is in condition class 3 as defined by HFRA. Fire hazard and risk: The fuel conditions on the landscape. Fire occurrence: The probability of wildfire ignition based on historic fire occurrence records...

36 CFR 294.21 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) Has a geographic feature that aids in creating an effective fire break, such as a road or a ridge top; or (3) Is in condition class 3 as defined by HFRA. Fire hazard and risk: The fuel conditions on the landscape. Fire occurrence: The probability of wildfire ignition based on historic fire occurrence records...

36 CFR 294.21 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) Has a geographic feature that aids in creating an effective fire break, such as a road or a ridge top; or (3) Is in condition class 3 as defined by HFRA. Fire hazard and risk: The fuel conditions on the landscape. Fire occurrence: The probability of wildfire ignition based on historic fire occurrence records...

Development of the International Space Station Fine Water Mist Portable Fire Extinguisher

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriquez, Branelle; Young, GIna

2013-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a Fine Water Mist (FWM) Portable Fire Extinguisher (PFE) for use on the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS presently uses two different types of fire extinguishers: a water foam extinguisher in the Russian Segments, and a carbon dioxide extinguisher in the United States Orbital Segments, which include Columbus and Kibo pressurized elements. Currently, there are operational and compatibility concerns with the emergency breathing equipment and the carbon dioxide extinguisher. ISS emergency response breathing equipment does not filter carbon dioxide; therefore, crew members are required to have an oxygen supply present during a fire event since the carbon dioxide PFE creates an unsafe breathing environment. The ISS program recommended a nontoxic fire extinguisher to mitigate this operational risk. The FWM PFE can extinguish a fire without creating a hazardous breathing environment for crewmembers. This paper will discuss the unique functional and performance requirements that have been levied on the FWM PFE, identify unique microgravity design considerations for liquid and gas systems, and discuss the NASA ISS specific fire standards that were developed to establish an acceptable portable fire extinguisher s performance.

Potential postwildfire debris-flow hazards: a prewildfire evaluation for the Sandia and Manzano Mountains and surrounding areas, central New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillery, Anne C.; Haas, Jessica R.; Miller, Lara W.; Scott, Joe H.; Thompson, Matthew P.

2014-01-01

Wildfire can drastically increase the probability of debris flows, a potentially hazardous and destructive form of mass wasting, in landscapes that have otherwise been stable throughout recent history. Although there is no way to know the exact location, extent, and severity of wildfire, or the subsequent rainfall intensity and duration before it happens, probabilities of fire and debris-flow occurrence for different locations can be estimated with geospatial analysis and modeling efforts. The purpose of this report is to provide information on which watersheds might constitute the most serious, potential, debris-flow hazards in the event of a large-scale wildfire and subsequent rainfall in the Sandia and Manzano Mountains. Potential probabilities and estimated volumes of postwildfire debris flows in the unburned Sandia and Manzano Mountains and surrounding areas were estimated using empirical debris-flow models developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in combination with fire behavior and burn probability models developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The locations of the greatest debris-flow hazards correlate with the areas of steepest slopes and simulated crown-fire behavior. The four subbasins with the highest computed debris-flow probabilities (greater than 98 percent) were all in the Manzano Mountains, two flowing east and two flowing west. Volumes in sixteen subbasins were greater than 50,000 square meters and most of these were in the central Manzanos and the western facing slopes of the Sandias. Five subbasins on the west-facing slopes of the Sandia Mountains, four of which have downstream reaches that lead into the outskirts of the City of Albuquerque, are among subbasins in the 98th percentile of integrated relative debris-flow hazard rankings. The bulk of the remaining subbasins in the 98th percentile of integrated relative debris-flow hazard rankings are located along the highest and steepest slopes of the Manzano Mountains. One of the subbasins is several miles upstream from the community of Tajique and another is several miles upstream from the community of Manzano, both on the eastern slopes of the Manzano Mountains. This prewildfire assessment approach is valuable to resource managers because the analysis of the debris-flow threat is made before a wildfire occurs, which facilitates prewildfire management, planning, and mitigation. In northern New Mexico, widespread watershed restoration efforts are being carried out to safeguard vital watersheds against the threat of catastrophic wildfire. This study was initiated to help select ideal locations for the restoration efforts that could have the best return on investment.

Fire frequency, area burned, and severity: A quantitative approach to defining a normal fire year

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lutz, J.A.; Key, C.H.; Kolden, C.A.; Kane, J.T.; van Wagtendonk, J.W.

2011-01-01

Fire frequency, area burned, and fire severity are important attributes of a fire regime, but few studies have quantified the interrelationships among them in evaluating a fire year. Although area burned is often used to summarize a fire season, burned area may not be well correlated with either the number or ecological effect of fires. Using the Landsat data archive, we examined all 148 wildland fires (prescribed fires and wildfires) >40 ha from 1984 through 2009 for the portion of the Sierra Nevada centered on Yosemite National Park, California, USA. We calculated mean fire frequency and mean annual area burned from a combination of field- and satellite-derived data. We used the continuous probability distribution of the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) values to describe fire severity. For fires >40 ha, fire frequency, annual area burned, and cumulative severity were consistent in only 13 of 26 years (50 %), but all pair-wise comparisons among these fire regime attributes were significant. Borrowing from long-established practice in climate science, we defined "fire normals" to be the 26 year means of fire frequency, annual area burned, and the area under the cumulative probability distribution of dNBR. Fire severity normals were significantly lower when they were aggregated by year compared to aggregation by area. Cumulative severity distributions for each year were best modeled with Weibull functions (all 26 years, r2 ??? 0.99; P < 0.001). Explicit modeling of the cumulative severity distributions may allow more comprehensive modeling of climate-severity and area-severity relationships. Together, the three metrics of number of fires, size of fires, and severity of fires provide land managers with a more comprehensive summary of a given fire year than any single metric.

Ecological assessment of a wetlands mitigation bank (Phase I: baseline ecological conditions and initial restoration efforts)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-08-01

The Tulula Wetlands Mitigation Bank, the first wetlands mitigation bank in the Blue Ridge Province of North Carolina, was created to compensate for losses resulting from highway projects in western North Carolina. The overall objective for the Tulula...

Carbon dioxide emissions from forestry and peat land using land-use/land-cover changes in North Sumatra, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basyuni, M.; Sulistyono, N.; Slamet, B.; Wati, R.

2018-03-01

Forestry and peat land including land-based is one of the critical sectors in the inventory of CO2 emissions and mitigation efforts of climate change. The present study analyzed the land-use and land-cover changes between 2006 and 2012 in North Sumatra, Indonesia with emphasis to CO2 emissions. The land-use/land-cover consists of twenty-one classes. Redd Abacus software version 1.1.7 was used to measure carbon emission source as well as the predicted 2carbon dioxide emissions from 2006-2024. Results showed that historical emission (2006-2012) in this province, significant increases in the intensive land use namely dry land agriculture (109.65%), paddy field (16.23%) and estate plantation (15.11%). On the other hand, land-cover for forest decreased significantly: secondary dry land forest (7.60%), secondary mangrove forest (9.03%), secondary swamp forest (33.98%), and the largest one in the mixed dry land agriculture (79.96%). The results indicated that North Sumatra province is still a CO2 emitter, and the most important driver of emissions mostly derived from agricultural lands that contributed 2carbon dioxide emissions by 48.8%, changing from forest areas into degraded lands (classified as barren land and shrub) shared 30.6% and estate plantation of 22.4%. Mitigation actions to reduce carbon emissions was proposed such as strengthening the forest land, rehabilitation of degraded area, development and plantation forest, forest protection and forest fire control, and reforestation and conservation activity. These mitigation actions have been simulated to reduce 15% for forestry and 18% for peat land, respectively. This data is likely to contribute to the low emission development in North Sumatra.

Nighttime View of California’s Rim Fire

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-08-27

The winter of 2013 was among the driest on record for California, setting the stage for an active fire season. By August 26, the Rim Fire had made its way into the record books. At just 15 percent contained, the fire is now the 13th largest in California since records began in 1932. Apart from being large, the fire is also threatening one of the United States’ greatest natural treasures: Yosemite National Park. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite tracked the growth of the fire between August 23 and August 26 in a series of nighttime images. The VIIRS day-night band is extremely sensitive to low light, making it possible to see the fire front from space. The brightest, most intense parts of the fire glow white, exceeding the brightness of the lights of Reno, Nevada to the north. Pale gray smoke streams north away from the fire throughout the sequence. The perimeter of the fire grows from day to day along different fronts, depending on winds and fire fighting efforts. On August 24, fire fighters focused their efforts on containing the western edge of the fire to prevent it from burning into Tuolumne City and the populated Highway 108 corridor. They also fought the eastern edge of the fire to protect Yosemite National Park. These efforts are evident in the image: Between August 23 and 24, the eastern edge of the fire held steady, and the western edge receded. The fire grew in the southeast. On the morning of August 25 fire managers reported that the fire was growing in the north and east. In the image, the most intense activity is just inside Yosemite National Park. Fire fighters reported that the Rim Fire continued to be extremely active on its eastern front on the morning of August 26, and this activity is visible in the image. By 8:00 a.m., the fire had burned 149,780 acres. The fire forced firefighters in Yosemite National Park to take measures to protect the Merced and Tuolumne Groves of Giant Sequoias, but the National Park Service reported that the trees were not in imminent danger. While parts of the park are closed, webcams show that most of the park has not been impacted. The Rim Fire started on the afternoon of August 17. It has destroyed 23 structures and threatened 4,500 other buildings. Its cause is under investigation. More details: 1.usa.gov/18ilEAA NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day Night Band data. Caption by Holli Riebeek. Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Nighttime View of California’s Rim Fire

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The winter of 2013 was among the driest on record for California, setting the stage for an active fire season. By August 26, the Rim Fire had made its way into the record books. At just 15 percent contained, the fire is now the 13th largest in California since records began in 1932. Apart from being large, the fire is also threatening one of the United States’ greatest natural treasures: Yosemite National Park. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite tracked the growth of the fire between August 23 and August 26 in this series of nighttime images. The VIIRS day-night band is extremely sensitive to low light, making it possible to see the fire front from space. The brightest, most intense parts of the fire glow white, exceeding the brightness of the lights of Reno, Nevada to the north. Pale gray smoke streams north away from the fire throughout the sequence. The perimeter of the fire grows from day to day along different fronts, depending on winds and fire fighting efforts. On August 24, fire fighters focused their efforts on containing the western edge of the fire to prevent it from burning into Tuolumne City and the populated Highway 108 corridor. They also fought the eastern edge of the fire to protect Yosemite National Park. These efforts are evident in the image: Between August 23 and 24, the eastern edge of the fire held steady, and the western edge receded. The fire grew in the southeast. On the morning of August 25 fire managers reported that the fire was growing in the north and east. In the image, the most intense activity is just inside Yosemite National Park. Fire fighters reported that the Rim Fire continued to be extremely active on its eastern front on the morning of August 26, and this activity is visible in the image. By 8:00 a.m., the fire had burned 149,780 acres. The fire forced firefighters in Yosemite National Park to take measures to protect the Merced and Tuolumne Groves of Giant Sequoias, but the National Park Service reported that the trees were not in imminent danger. While parts of the park are closed, webcams show that most of the park has not been impacted. The Rim Fire started on the afternoon of August 17. It has destroyed 23 structures and threatened 4,500 other buildings. Its cause is under investigation. More details: 1.usa.gov/18ilEAA NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using VIIRS Day Night Band data. Caption by Holli Riebeek. Instrument: Suomi NPP - VIIRS NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

The sources of atmospheric black carbon at a European gateway to the Arctic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winiger, P.; Andersson, A.; Eckhardt, S.; Stohl, A.; Gustafsson, Ö.

2016-09-01

Black carbon (BC) aerosols from incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuel contribute to Arctic climate warming. Models--seeking to advise mitigation policy--are challenged in reproducing observations of seasonally varying BC concentrations in the Arctic air. Here we compare year-round observations of BC and its δ13C/Δ14C-diagnosed sources in Arctic Scandinavia, with tailored simulations from an atmospheric transport model. The model predictions for this European gateway to the Arctic are greatly improved when the emission inventory of anthropogenic sources is amended by satellite-derived estimates of BC emissions from fires. Both BC concentrations (R2=0.89, P<0.05) and source contributions (R2=0.77, P<0.05) are accurately mimicked and linked to predominantly European emissions. This improved model skill allows for more accurate assessment of sources and effects of BC in the Arctic, and a more credible scientific underpinning of policy efforts aimed at efficiently reducing BC emissions reaching the European Arctic.

The sources of atmospheric black carbon at a European gateway to the Arctic

PubMed Central

Winiger, P; Andersson, A; Eckhardt, S; Stohl, A; Gustafsson, Ö.

2016-01-01

Black carbon (BC) aerosols from incomplete combustion of biomass and fossil fuel contribute to Arctic climate warming. Models—seeking to advise mitigation policy—are challenged in reproducing observations of seasonally varying BC concentrations in the Arctic air. Here we compare year-round observations of BC and its δ13C/Δ14C-diagnosed sources in Arctic Scandinavia, with tailored simulations from an atmospheric transport model. The model predictions for this European gateway to the Arctic are greatly improved when the emission inventory of anthropogenic sources is amended by satellite-derived estimates of BC emissions from fires. Both BC concentrations (R2=0.89, P<0.05) and source contributions (R2=0.77, P<0.05) are accurately mimicked and linked to predominantly European emissions. This improved model skill allows for more accurate assessment of sources and effects of BC in the Arctic, and a more credible scientific underpinning of policy efforts aimed at efficiently reducing BC emissions reaching the European Arctic. PMID:27627859

Thermionic system evaluated test (TSET) facility description

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fairchild, Jerry F.; Koonmen, James P.; Thome, Frank V.

1992-01-01

A consortium of US agencies are involved in the Thermionic System Evaluation Test (TSET) which is being supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO). The project is a ground test of an unfueled Soviet TOPAZ-II in-core thermionic space reactor powered by electrical heat. It is part of the United States' national thermionic space nuclear power program. It will be tested in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the New Mexico Engineering Research Institute complex by the Phillips Laboratoty, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the University of New Mexico. One of TSET's many objectives is to demonstrate that the US can operate and test a complete space nuclear power system, in the electrical heater configuration, at a low cost. Great efforts have been made to help reduce facility costs during the first phase of this project. These costs include structural, mechanical, and electrical modifications to the existing facility as well as the installation of additional emergency systems to mitigate the effects of utility power losses and alkali metal fires.

Accelerated weathering of limestone for CO2 mitigation opportunities for the stone and cement industries

USGS Publications Warehouse

Langer, W.H.; Juan, C.A.S.; Rau, G.H.; Caldeira, K.

2009-01-01

Large amounts of limestone fines coproduced during the processing of crushed limestone may be useful in the sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO 2). Accelerated weathering of limestone (AWL) is proposed as a low-tech method to capture and sequester CO2 from fossil fuel-fired power plants and other point-sources such as cement manufacturing. AWL reactants are readily available, inexpensive, and environmentally benign. Waste CO 2 is hydrated with water to produce carbonic acid, which then reacts with and is neutralized by limestone fines, thus converting CO2 gas to dissolved calcium bicarbonate. AWL waste products can be disposed of in the ocean. Feasibility requires access to an inexpensive source of limestone and to seawater, thus limiting AWL facilities within about 10 km of the coastline. The majority of U.S. coastal power generating facilities are within economical transport distance of limestone resources. AWL presents opportunities for collaborative efforts among the crushed stone industry, electrical utilities, cement manufactures, and research scientists.

Monitoring Disasters by Use of Instrumented Robotic Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wegener, Steven S.; Sullivan, Donald V.; Dunagan, Steven E.; Brass, James A.; Ambrosia, Vincent G.; Buechel, Sally W.; Stoneburner, Jay; Schoenung, Susan M.

2009-01-01

Efforts are under way to develop data-acquisition, data-processing, and data-communication systems for monitoring disasters over large geographic areas by use of uninhabited aerial systems (UAS) robotic aircraft that are typically piloted by remote control. As integral parts of advanced, comprehensive disaster- management programs, these systems would provide (1) real-time data that would be used to coordinate responses to current disasters and (2) recorded data that would be used to model disasters for the purpose of mitigating the effects of future disasters and planning responses to them. The basic idea is to equip UAS with sensors (e.g., conventional video cameras and/or multispectral imaging instruments) and to fly them over disaster areas, where they could transmit data by radio to command centers. Transmission could occur along direct line-of-sight paths and/or along over-the-horizon paths by relay via spacecraft in orbit around the Earth. The initial focus is on demonstrating systems for monitoring wildfires; other disasters to which these developments are expected to be applicable include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, leaks of toxic chemicals, and military attacks. The figure depicts a typical system for monitoring a wildfire. In this case, instruments aboard a UAS would generate calibrated thermal-infrared digital image data of terrain affected by a wildfire. The data would be sent by radio via satellite to a data-archive server and image-processing computers. In the image-processing computers, the data would be rapidly geo-rectified for processing by one or more of a large variety of geographic-information- system (GIS) and/or image-analysis software packages. After processing by this software, the data would be both stored in the archive and distributed through standard Internet connections to a disaster-mitigation center, an investigator, and/or command center at the scene of the fire. Ground assets (in this case, firefighters and/or firefighting equipment) would also be monitored in real time by use of Global Positioning System (GPS) units and radio communication links between the assets and the UAS. In this scenario, the UAS would serve as a data-relay station in the sky, sending packets of information concerning the locations of assets to the image-processing computer, wherein this information would be incorporated into the geo-rectified images and maps. Hence, the images and maps would enable command-center personnel to monitor locations of assets in real time and in relation to locations affected by the disaster. Optionally, in case of a disaster that disrupted communications, the UAS could be used as an airborne communication relay station to partly restore communications to the affected area. A prototype of a system of this type was demonstrated in a project denoted the First Response Experiment (Project FiRE). In this project, a controlled outdoor fire was observed by use of a thermal multispectral scanning imager on a UAS that delivered image data to a ground station via a satellite uplink/ downlink telemetry system. At the ground station, the image data were geo-rectified in nearly real time for distribution via the Internet to firefighting managers. Project FiRE was deemed a success in demonstrating several advances essential to the eventual success of the continuing development effort.

AGWA DESIGN DOCUMENTATION: MIGRATING TO ARCGIS AND THE INTERNET

EPA Science Inventory

Rapid post-fire watershed assessment to identify potential trouble spots for erosion and flooding can potentially aid land managers and Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER) teams in deploying mitigation and rehabilitation resources.

These decisions are inherently co...

How green can black be? Assessing the potential for equipping USA's existing coal fleet with carbon capture and storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrizio, Piera; Leduc, Sylvain; Mesfun, Sennai; Yowargana, Ping; Kraxner, Florian

2017-04-01

The mitigation of adverse environmental impacts due to climate change requires the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions - also from the U.S. energy sector, a dominant source of greenhouse-gas emissions. This is especially true for the existing fleet of coal-fired power plants, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the U.S. energy sectors' total CO2 emissions. With this aim, different carbon mitigation options have been proposed in literature, such as increasing the energy efficiency, co-firing of biomass and/or the adoption of carbon capturing technologies (BECCS). However, the extent to which these solutions can be adopted depends on a suite of site specific factors and therefore needs to be evaluated on a site-specific basis. We propose a spatially explicit approach to identify candidate coal plants for which carbon capture technologies are economically feasible, according to different economic and policy frameworks. The methodology implies the adoption of IIASA's techno economic model BeWhere, which optimizes the cost of the entire BECCS supply chain, from the biomass resources to the storage of the CO2 in the nearest geological sink. The results shows that biomass co-firing appears to be the most appealing economic solution for a larger part of the existing U.S. coal fleet, while the adoption of CCS technologies is highly dependent on the level of CO2 prices as well as on local factors such as the type of coal firing technology and proximity of storage sites.

Status of wildland fire prevention evaluation in the United States.

Treesearch

Larry Doolittle; Linda R. Donoghue

1991-01-01

Presents findings of an assessment of the evaluation of wildland prevention efforts by all U.S. Wildland fire management agencies, and offers recommendations for improvements in prevention valuation techniques and procedures.

The causes of fires on northeastern national forests.

Treesearch

William A. Main; Donald A. Haines

1974-01-01

Presents cross-tabulations of classes of people, activities, and causes responsible for forest fires on national forests. The data combinations indicate that greater prevention efforts might be directed toward hunters and fishermen.

Los Angeles Library Fire--Learning the Hard Way.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, John

1987-01-01

Describes the damage and salvage efforts resulting from the burning of the Los Angeles Central Library in 1986, and makes several recommendations for fire and arson prevention measures and contingency salvage plans. (CLB)

Determination of Realistic Fire Scenarios in Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dietrich, Daniel L.; Ruff, Gary A.; Urban, David

2013-01-01

This paper expands on previous work that examined how large a fire a crew member could successfully survive and extinguish in the confines of a spacecraft. The hazards to the crew and equipment during an accidental fire include excessive pressure rise resulting in a catastrophic rupture of the vehicle skin, excessive temperatures that burn or incapacitate the crew (due to hyperthermia), carbon dioxide build-up or accumulation of other combustion products (e.g. carbon monoxide). The previous work introduced a simplified model that treated the fire primarily as a source of heat and combustion products and sink for oxygen prescribed (input to the model) based on terrestrial standards. The model further treated the spacecraft as a closed system with no capability to vent to the vacuum of space. The model in the present work extends this analysis to more realistically treat the pressure relief system(s) of the spacecraft, include more combustion products (e.g. HF) in the analysis and attempt to predict the fire spread and limiting fire size (based on knowledge of terrestrial fires and the known characteristics of microgravity fires) rather than prescribe them in the analysis. Including the characteristics of vehicle pressure relief systems has a dramatic mitigating effect by eliminating vehicle overpressure for all but very large fires and reducing average gas-phase temperatures.

Materials characterization on efforts for ablative materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tytula, Thomas P.; Schad, Kristin C.; Swann, Myles H.

1992-01-01

Experimental efforts to develop a new procedure to measure char depth in carbon phenolic nozzle material are described. Using a Shor Type D Durometer, hardness profiles were mapped across post fired sample blocks and specimens from a fired rocket nozzle. Linear regression was used to estimate the char depth. Results are compared to those obtained from computed tomography in a comparative experiment. There was no significant difference in the depth estimates obtained by the two methods.

Effects of soil amendments and other practices on the success of the Virginia Department of Transportation's non-tidal wetland mitigation efforts.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-01-01

Construction of created wetlands to mitigate for highway impacts requires more than $100,000 per ha of impacts. A detailed study of soil, hydrology, and vegetation at 10 recently constructed non-tidal mitigation sites indicates excessive soil compact...

77 FR 57070 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-17

... their behavior to mitigate that threat. Type of information collected will include (1) risk perceptions... and Climate Change: Risk Mitigation Behaviors of Homeowners. OMB Control Number: 0596-New. Summary of... risk to human and ecosystem health. In efforts to mitigate this risk the U.S. Forest Service (FS) uses...

Utilizing multi-sensor fire detections to map fires in the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, Stephen M.; Picotte, Joshua J.; Coan, Michael

2014-01-01

In 2006, the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project began a cooperative effort between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) to map and assess burn severity all large fires that have occurred in the United States since 1984. Using Landsat imagery, MTBS is mandated to map wildfire and prescribed fire that meet specific size criteria: greater than 1000 acres in the west and 500 acres in the east, regardless of ownership. Relying mostly on federal and state fire occurrence records, over 15,300 individual fires have been mapped. While mapping recorded fires, an additional 2,700 “unknown” or undocumented fires were discovered and assessed. It has become apparent that there are perhaps thousands of undocumented fires in the US that are yet to be mapped. Fire occurrence records alone are inadequate if MTBS is to provide a comprehensive accounting of fire across the US. Additionally, the sheer number of fires to assess has overwhelmed current manual procedures. To address these problems, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Applied Sciences Program is helping to fund the efforts of the USGS and its MTBS partners (USFS, National Park Service) to develop, and implement a system to automatically identify fires using satellite data. In near real time, USGS will combine active fire satellite detections from MODIS, AVHRR and GOES satellites with Landsat acquisitions. Newly acquired Landsat imagery will be routinely scanned to identify freshly burned area pixels, derive an initial perimeter and tag the burned area with the satellite date and time of detection. Landsat imagery from the early archive will be scanned to identify undocumented fires. Additional automated fire assessment processes will be developed. The USGS will develop these processes using open source software packages in order to provide freely available tools to local land managers providing them with the capability to assess fires at the local level.

Utilizing Multi-Sensor Fire Detections to Map Fires in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, S. M.; Picotte, J. J.; Coan, M. J.

2014-11-01

In 2006, the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) project began a cooperative effort between the US Forest Service (USFS) and the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) to map and assess burn severity all large fires that have occurred in the United States since 1984. Using Landsat imagery, MTBS is mandated to map wildfire and prescribed fire that meet specific size criteria: greater than 1000 acres in the west and 500 acres in the east, regardless of ownership. Relying mostly on federal and state fire occurrence records, over 15,300 individual fires have been mapped. While mapping recorded fires, an additional 2,700 "unknown" or undocumented fires were discovered and assessed. It has become apparent that there are perhaps thousands of undocumented fires in the US that are yet to be mapped. Fire occurrence records alone are inadequate if MTBS is to provide a comprehensive accounting of fire across the US. Additionally, the sheer number of fires to assess has overwhelmed current manual procedures. To address these problems, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Applied Sciences Program is helping to fund the efforts of the USGS and its MTBS partners (USFS, National Park Service) to develop, and implement a system to automatically identify fires using satellite data. In near real time, USGS will combine active fire satellite detections from MODIS, AVHRR and GOES satellites with Landsat acquisitions. Newly acquired Landsat imagery will be routinely scanned to identify freshly burned area pixels, derive an initial perimeter and tag the burned area with the satellite date and time of detection. Landsat imagery from the early archive will be scanned to identify undocumented fires. Additional automated fire assessment processes will be developed. The USGS will develop these processes using open source software packages in order to provide freely available tools to local land managers providing them with the capability to assess fires at the local level.

Atmosphere-fire simulation of effects of low-level jets on pyro-convective plume dynamics

Treesearch

Colin C. Simpson; Marwan Katurji; Michael T. Kiefer; Shiyuan Zhong; Joseph J. Charney; Warren E. Heilman; Xindi Bian

2013-01-01

Blow-up fire behaviour can be broadly defined as a rapid escalation in the intensity or forward rate of spread of a wildland fire, and is often accompanied by extreme pyro-convection associated with rapid smoke release and dispersion. Blow-up fire behaviour is difficult to predict and has been linked to firefighter fatalities, making it an important fire management...

2008 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

C. T. Lindsey; K. A. Gano

2008-09-30

The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2008 and includes 22 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and two bat habitat mitigation projects.

Hydrogen Fire Spectroscopy Issues Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youngquist, Robert C. (Compiler)

2014-01-01

The detection of hydrogen fires is important to the aerospace community. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has devoted significant effort to the development, testing, and installation of hydrogen fire detectors based on ultraviolet, near-infrared, mid-infrared, andor far-infrared flame emission bands. Yet, there is no intensity calibrated hydrogen-air flame spectrum over this range in the literature and consequently, it can be difficult to compare the merits of different radiation-based hydrogen fire detectors.

Can acceptable risk be defined in wildland firefighting?

Treesearch

David Clancy

2011-01-01

Risk is an ever-present challenge for fire agencies, fire managers, and firefighters, who must ensure that risks are managed at a level that is as low as reasonably practicable. This challenge provides a significant dilemma as there is no one prescriptive method for—or consensus on—defining "acceptable risk" in the field of firefighting....

Communicating about smoke from wildland fire: challenges and ways to address them

Treesearch

Christine S. Olsen; Danielle K. Mazzotta; Eric Toman; A. Paige Fischer

2014-01-01

Wildland fire and associated management efforts are dominant topics in natural resource fields. Smoke from fires can be a nuisance and pose serious health risks and aggravate pre-existing health conditions. When it results in reduced visibility near roadways, smoke can also pose hazardous driving conditions and reduce the scenic value of vistas. Communicating about...

Tree-centered spot firing - a technique for prescribed burning beneath standing trees.

Treesearch

C. Phillip Weatherspoon; George A. Almond; Carl N. Skinner

1989-01-01

Prescribed burning beneath standing trees normally requires efforts to protect residual trees from excessive fire damage. Damage to both crowns and boles is strongly influenced by flame length, a fire characteristic functionally related to fireline intensity (Albini 1976). In a good prescribed burn, therefore, the prescription specifies desired or maximum flame lengths...

Statistical model for forecasting monthly large wildfire events in western United States

Treesearch

Haiganoush K. Preisler; Anthony L. Westerling

2006-01-01

The ability to forecast the number and location of large wildfire events (with specified confidence bounds) is important to fire managers attempting to allocate and distribute suppression efforts during severe fire seasons. This paper describes the development of a statistical model for assessing the forecasting skills of fire-danger predictors and producing 1-month-...

Soil nitrogen transformations under alternative management strategies in Appalachian forests

Treesearch

T. Adam Coates; Ralph E.J. Boerner; Thomas A. Waldrop; Daniel A. Yaussy

2008-01-01

Once subject to frequent fire and strongly N limited, the forests of the Appalachian Mountain region of eastern North America have experienced almost a century of fire suppression, and changes in tree species composition, understory density and composition, and accumulations of detritus have paralleled the changes in fire frequency. In an effort to restore these...

A Comprehensive Review of Firefighter Post-Secondary Training and Education in Florida. Program Review Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florida State Dept. of Education, Tallahassee. Div. of Vocational, Adult, and Community Education.

Florida's community college and school district postsecondary adult vocational programs in fire fighter training and fire science technology were subjected to a statewide program review. Efforts were made to reach Florida's entire community of career and volunteer fire fighters. Data were collected in the following ways: site interviews with…

Spatially explicit forecasts of large wildland fire probability and suppression costs for California

Treesearch

Haiganoush Preisler; Anthony L. Westerling; Krista M. Gebert; Francisco Munoz-Arriola; Thomas P. Holmes

2011-01-01

In the last decade, increases in fire activity and suppression expenditures have caused budgetary problems for federal land management agencies. Spatial forecasts of upcoming fire activity and costs have the potential to help reduce expenditures, and increase the efficiency of suppression efforts, by enabling them to focus resources where they have the greatest effect...

Managing wildland fire risk in Florida

Treesearch

J. Brenner; D. Carlton; S. McLellan; A. Dozier; T. Spencer; D. Buckley; A. Ralowicz

2010-01-01

Florida’s Wildland Fire Risk Assessment (FRA), which was completed in 2002, is a statewide effort to develop a comprehensive suite of standardized spatial data layers developed to support implementation of a statewide fuels management strategy. By maintaining focus on fire and fuel dynamics for use with scientifically credible local to statewide applications, the FRA...

Neural encoding of competitive effort in the anterior cingulate cortex.

PubMed

Hillman, Kristin L; Bilkey, David K

2012-09-01

In social environments, animals often compete to obtain limited resources. Strategically electing to work against another animal represents a cost-benefit decision. Is the resource worth an investment of competitive effort? The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been implicated in cost-benefit decision-making, but its role in competitive effort has not been examined. We recorded ACC neurons in freely moving rats as they performed a competitive foraging choice task. When at least one of the two choice options demanded competitive effort, the majority of ACC neurons exhibited heightened and differential firing between the goal trajectories. Inter- and intrasession manipulations revealed that differential firing was not attributable to effort or reward in isolation; instead ACC encoding patterns appeared to indicate net utility assessments of available choice options. Our findings suggest that the ACC is important for encoding competitive effort, a cost-benefit domain that has received little neural-level investigation despite its predominance in nature.

Fire in the Vegetation and Peatlands of Borneo, 1997-2007: Patterns, Drivers and Emissions from Biomass Burning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spessa, Allan; Weber, Ulrich; Langner, Andreas; Siegert, Florian; Heil, Angelika

2010-05-01

The peatland forests of equatorial SE Asia cover over 20 Mha with most located in Indonesia. Indonesian peatlands are globally one of the largest near-surface reserves of terrestrial organic carbon, with peat deposits of up to 20m thick and an estimated carbon storage of 55-61 Gt. The destructive fires in Indonesia during the exceptionally strong drought of late 1997 and early 1998 mark some of the largest peak emissions events in recorded history of global fires. Past studies estimate that about 1Gt of carbon was released to the atmosphere from the Indonesian fires in 1997- equivalent to 14% of the average global annual fossil fuel emissions released during the 1990s. Previous studies have established a non-linear negative correlation between fires and antecedent rainfall in Borneo, with ENSO-driven droughts being identified as the main cause of below-average rainfall events over the past decade or so. However, while these studies suggest that this non-linear relationship is mediated by ignitions associated with land use and land cover change (LULCC), they have not demonstrated it. A clear link between fires and logging in Borneo has been reported, but this work was restricted to eastern Kalimantan and the period 1997-98. The relationship between fires, emissions, rainfall and LULCC across the island of Borneo therefore remains to be examined using available fine resolution data over a multi-year period. Using rainfall data, up-to-date peat maps and state-of-the art satellite sensor data to determine burnt area and deforestation patterns over the decade 1997-2007, we show at a pixel working resolution of 0.25 degrees the following: Burning across Borneo predominated in southern Kalimantan. Fire activity is negatively and non-linearly correlated to rainfall mainly in pixels that have undergone a significant reduction in forest cover, and that the bigger the reduction, the stronger the correlation. Such pixels occur overwhelmingly in southern Kalimantan. These correlations are noticeably much weaker or absent in Sarawak and Sabah, and central Borneo, where little or no deforestation was observed. Emissions from biomass burning reflect fire activity, and that fires in the carbon-rich peats of southern Kalimantan dominate the emissions profile during the El Nino years of 1997-98, 2002, 2004 and 2006. Previous work in southern Amazon forests demonstrates that recurrent fires promote a change from tree-dominated to grass-dominated ecosystems which, in turn, promotes even more fires. We show that recurrent fire and deforestation are also linked as part of a similar positive feedback process in Kalimantan. Our results support the detailed field work undertaken in 1997-98 in East Kalimantan, and reinforce these findings across time and space. Emissions from fires in Kalimantan peatlands represent a serious perturbation in terms of forcing from trace gases and aerosols on regional and global climate. Several global and regional climate modelling studies have reported that equatorial SE Asia, including Borneo, will experience reduced rainfall in future decades. At the same time, demands for establishing pulp paper and palm oil plantations to replace native rainforests, especially on peatlands where tenure conflicts among land owners tend to be minimal, is forecast to increase. These joint scenarios imply even more fires and emissions in future. It is critical therefore that present efforts to mitigate emissions through reduced deforestation programs in the region works, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.

Historical, observed, and modeled wildfire severity in montane forests of the Colorado Front Range.

PubMed

Sherriff, Rosemary L; Platt, Rutherford V; Veblen, Thomas T; Schoennagel, Tania L; Gartner, Meredith H

2014-01-01

Large recent fires in the western U.S. have contributed to a perception that fire exclusion has caused an unprecedented occurrence of uncharacteristically severe fires, particularly in lower elevation dry pine forests. In the absence of long-term fire severity records, it is unknown how short-term trends compare to fire severity prior to 20th century fire exclusion. This study compares historical (i.e. pre-1920) fire severity with observed modern fire severity and modeled potential fire behavior across 564,413 ha of montane forests of the Colorado Front Range. We used forest structure and tree-ring fire history to characterize fire severity at 232 sites and then modeled historical fire-severity across the entire study area using biophysical variables. Eighteen (7.8%) sites were characterized by low-severity fires and 214 (92.2%) by mixed-severity fires (i.e. including moderate- or high-severity fires). Difference in area of historical versus observed low-severity fire within nine recent (post-1999) large fire perimeters was greatest in lower montane forests. Only 16% of the study area recorded a shift from historical low severity to a higher potential for crown fire today. An historical fire regime of more frequent and low-severity fires at low elevations (<2260 m) supports a convergence of management goals of ecological restoration and fire hazard mitigation in those habitats. In contrast, at higher elevations mixed-severity fires were predominant historically and continue to be so today. Thinning treatments at higher elevations of the montane zone will not return the fire regime to an historic low-severity regime, and are of questionable effectiveness in preventing severe wildfires. Based on present-day fuels, predicted fire behavior under extreme fire weather continues to indicate a mixed-severity fire regime throughout most of the montane forest zone. Recent large wildfires in the Front Range are not fundamentally different from similar events that occurred historically under extreme weather conditions.

Historical, Observed, and Modeled Wildfire Severity in Montane Forests of the Colorado Front Range

PubMed Central

Sherriff, Rosemary L.; Platt, Rutherford V.; Veblen, Thomas T.; Schoennagel, Tania L.; Gartner, Meredith H.

2014-01-01

Large recent fires in the western U.S. have contributed to a perception that fire exclusion has caused an unprecedented occurrence of uncharacteristically severe fires, particularly in lower elevation dry pine forests. In the absence of long-term fire severity records, it is unknown how short-term trends compare to fire severity prior to 20th century fire exclusion. This study compares historical (i.e. pre-1920) fire severity with observed modern fire severity and modeled potential fire behavior across 564,413 ha of montane forests of the Colorado Front Range. We used forest structure and tree-ring fire history to characterize fire severity at 232 sites and then modeled historical fire-severity across the entire study area using biophysical variables. Eighteen (7.8%) sites were characterized by low-severity fires and 214 (92.2%) by mixed-severity fires (i.e. including moderate- or high-severity fires). Difference in area of historical versus observed low-severity fire within nine recent (post-1999) large fire perimeters was greatest in lower montane forests. Only 16% of the study area recorded a shift from historical low severity to a higher potential for crown fire today. An historical fire regime of more frequent and low-severity fires at low elevations (<2260 m) supports a convergence of management goals of ecological restoration and fire hazard mitigation in those habitats. In contrast, at higher elevations mixed-severity fires were predominant historically and continue to be so today. Thinning treatments at higher elevations of the montane zone will not return the fire regime to an historic low-severity regime, and are of questionable effectiveness in preventing severe wildfires. Based on present-day fuels, predicted fire behavior under extreme fire weather continues to indicate a mixed-severity fire regime throughout most of the montane forest zone. Recent large wildfires in the Front Range are not fundamentally different from similar events that occurred historically under extreme weather conditions. PMID:25251103

Environmental Outreach

Science.gov Websites

System Environmental Outreach Feature Stories Individual Permit for Storm Water Public Reading Room calendar to provide input on the subject matter. Visit the Public Reading Rooms and study our environmental Mitigating Wildland Fires Public Reading Room: Environmental Documents, Reports Los Alamos National

Geophysical survey for groundwater potential investigation in peat land area, Riau, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Islami, N.; Irianti, M.; Azhar; Nor, M.; Fakhrudin

2018-04-01

Tropical forests, especially peat lands, are particularly vulnerable to forest fires. Fires are the most common disasters in peat lands in the dry season, especially in Riau Province, Indonesia. In the process of extinguishing the peat fire, several substantial problems arise to stop peat fires during this period. This study aims to determine the possibility of using ground water as a source of water to anticipate the early mitigation of peat land fires disaster. The geoelectrical resistivity surveys were used to predict the subsurface geological data including peat thickness and depth of aquifers. The geometry of peat lands was determined using geostatistics based on geoelectrical resistivity interpretation data. Peat Land thickness varies up to 4 m in the north and is thinner to the south. A shallower and deeper aquifer is available at a depth of 13 m to 18 m and 70 m to 90 m respectively. In general, the potential of groundwater in the shallow aquifer is predicted to be sufficient for peat land watering anytime.

Hungry Horse Mitigation; Flathead Lake, 2003-2004 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2005-06-01

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the ''Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam'' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Objective 1 in the workplan is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of Objectives 2-8.« less

Hungry Horse Mitigation : Flathead Lake : Annual Progress Report 2007.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2008-12-22

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the 'Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Work Element A in the Statement of Work is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of all remaining Work Elements.« less

Hungry Horse Mitigation; Flathead Lake, 2004-2005 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2006-06-01

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the ''Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam'' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Work Element A in the Statement of Work is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of all remaining Work Elements.« less

Hungry Horse Mitigation : Flathead Lake : Annual Progress Report 2008.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Barry; Evarts, Les

2009-08-06

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) wrote the 'Fisheries Mitigation Plan for Losses Attributable to the Construction and Operation of Hungry Horse Dam' in March 1991 to define the fisheries losses, mitigation alternatives and recommendations to protect, mitigate and enhance resident fish and aquatic habitat affected by Hungry Horse Dam. On November 12, 1991, the Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) approved the mitigation plan with minor modifications, called for a detailed implementation plan, and amended measures 903(h)(1) through (7). A long-term mitigation plan was submitted in August 1992, was approved by themore » Council in 1993, and the first contract for this project was signed on November 11, 1993. The problem this project addresses is the loss of habitat, both in quality and quantity, in the Flathead Lake and River basin resulting from the construction and operation of Hungry Horse Dam. The purpose of the project is to both implement mitigation measures and monitor the biological responses to those measures including those implemented by Project Numbers 9101903 and 9101904. Goals and objectives of the 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program (Section 10.1) addressed by this project are the rebuilding to sustainable levels weak, but recoverable, native populations injured by the hydropower system. The project mitigates the blockage of spawning runs by Hungry Horse Dam by restoring and even creating spawning habitats within direct drainages to Flathead Lake. The project also addresses the altered habitat within Flathead Lake resulting from species shifts and consequent dominance of new species that restricts the potential success of mitigation measures. Specific goals of this project are to create and restore habitat and quantitatively monitor changes in fish populations to verify the efficacy of our mitigation measures. The project consists of three components: monitoring, restoration and research. Monitoring, for example, includes a spring gillnetting series conducted annually in Flathead Lake and builds on an existing data set initiated in 1981. Monitoring of the experimental kokanee reintroduction was a primary activity of this project between 1992 and 1997. Lake trout, whose high densities have precluded successful mitigation of losses of other species in Flathead Lake, have been monitored since 1996 to measure several biological parameters. Results of this work have utility in determining the population status of this key predator in Flathead Lake. The project has also defined the baseline condition of the Flathead Lake fishery in 1992-1993 and has conducted annual lakewide surveys since 1998. The restoration component of the project has addressed several stream channel, riparian, and fish passage problems, and suppression of non-native fish. The research component of the project began in FY 2000 and measured trophic linkages between M. relicta and other species to assist in predicting the results of our efforts to suppress lake trout. Only Work Element A in the Statement of Work is funded entirely by Hungry Horse Mitigation funds. Additional funds are drawn from other sources to assist in completion of all remaining Work Elements.« less

Development of Large-Scale Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruff, Gary A.; Urban, David; Fernandez-Pello, A. Carlos; T'ien, James S.; Torero, Jose L.; Legros, Guillaume; Eigenbrod, Christian; Smirnov, Nickolay; Fujita, Osamu; Cowlard, Adam J.;

Bangladesh arsenic mitigation programs: lessons from the past

PubMed Central

Milton, Abul Hasnat; Hore, Samar Kumar; Hossain, Mohammad Zahid; Rahman, Mahfuzar

2012-01-01

Ensuring access to safe drinking water by 2015 is a global commitment by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In Bangladesh, significant achievements in providing safe water were made earlier by nationwide tubewell-installation programme. This achievement was overshadowed in 1993 by the presence of arsenic in underground water. A total of 6 million tubewells have been tested for arsenic since then, the results of which warranted immediate mitigation. Mitigation measures included tubewell testing and replacing; usage of deeper wells; surface water preservation and treatment; use of sanitary dug wells, river sand and pond sand filters; rainwater collection and storage; household-scale and large-scale arsenic filtrations; and rural pipeline water supply installation. Shallow tubewell installation was discouraged. Efforts have been made to increase people's awareness. This paper describes the lessons learned about mitigation efforts by the authors from experience of arsenic-related work. In spite of national mitigation plans and efforts, a few challenges still persist: inadequate coordination between stakeholders, differences in inter-sectoral attitudes, inadequate research to identify region-specific, suitable safe water options, poor quality of works by various implementing agencies, and inadequate dissemination of the knowledge and experiences to the people by those organizations. Issues such as long-time adaptation using ground water, poor surface water quality including bad smell and turbidity, and refusal to using neighbor's water have delayed mitigation measures so far. Region-specific mitigation water supply policy led by the health sector could be adopted with multisectoral involvement and responsibility. Large-scale piped water supply could be arranged through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in new national approach. PMID:22558005

Bangladesh arsenic mitigation programs: lessons from the past.

PubMed

Milton, Abul Hasnat; Hore, Samar Kumar; Hossain, Mohammad Zahid; Rahman, Mahfuzar

2012-01-01

Ensuring access to safe drinking water by 2015 is a global commitment by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In Bangladesh, significant achievements in providing safe water were made earlier by nationwide tubewell-installation programme. This achievement was overshadowed in 1993 by the presence of arsenic in underground water. A total of 6 million tubewells have been tested for arsenic since then, the results of which warranted immediate mitigation. Mitigation measures included tubewell testing and replacing; usage of deeper wells; surface water preservation and treatment; use of sanitary dug wells, river sand and pond sand filters; rainwater collection and storage; household-scale and large-scale arsenic filtrations; and rural pipeline water supply installation. Shallow tubewell installation was discouraged. Efforts have been made to increase people's awareness. This paper describes the lessons learned about mitigation efforts by the authors from experience of arsenic-related work. In spite of national mitigation plans and efforts, a few challenges still persist: inadequate coordination between stakeholders, differences in inter-sectoral attitudes, inadequate research to identify region-specific, suitable safe water options, poor quality of works by various implementing agencies, and inadequate dissemination of the knowledge and experiences to the people by those organizations. Issues such as long-time adaptation using ground water, poor surface water quality including bad smell and turbidity, and refusal to using neighbor's water have delayed mitigation measures so far. Region-specific mitigation water supply policy led by the health sector could be adopted with multisectoral involvement and responsibility. Large-scale piped water supply could be arranged through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in new national approach.

Persistent exposure to arsenic via drinking water in rural Bangladesh despite major mitigation efforts.

PubMed

Gardner, Renee; Hamadani, Jena; Grandér, Margaretha; Tofail, Fahmida; Nermell, Barbro; Palm, Brita; Kippler, Maria; Vahter, Marie

2011-12-01

Elevated arsenic levels in tube-well water in Bangladesh have prompted extensive mitigation projects. We evaluated the effectiveness of long-term mitigation efforts by longitudinally measuring arsenic exposure in pregnant women and their children, the most susceptible population groups. The study was nested in a population-based nutrition intervention in Matlab, Bangladesh. Mother-child pairs (n = 1951) were followed from 2001 to 2003, beginning in early gestation and continuing to 5 years postpartum. We measured arsenic concentrations in urine (U-As) of the 5-year-old children by using high-performance liquid chromatography online with hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and compared them with earlier childhood U-As and maternal U-As during pregnancy. Children had elevated U-As at 5 years old (median = 51 μg/L, 5th-95th percentiles = 16-355 μg/L), and U-As distribution was similar to that observed in the mothers during gestation. Children's U-As at 5 years old significantly correlated with their U-As at 1.5 years old and to maternal U-As during early and late gestation. Despite major mitigation efforts, arsenic exposure remains highly elevated in rural Bangladesh. Further mitigation strategies are required and must be rigorously evaluated for long-term efficacy.

Persistent Exposure to Arsenic via Drinking Water in Rural Bangladesh Despite Major Mitigation Efforts

PubMed Central

Gardner, Renee; Hamadani, Jena; Grandér, Margaretha; Tofail, Fahmida; Nermell, Barbro; Palm, Brita; Kippler, Maria

2011-01-01

Objectives. Elevated arsenic levels in tube-well water in Bangladesh have prompted extensive mitigation projects. We evaluated the effectiveness of long-term mitigation efforts by longitudinally measuring arsenic exposure in pregnant women and their children, the most susceptible population groups. Methods. The study was nested in a population-based nutrition intervention in Matlab, Bangladesh. Mother–child pairs (n = 1951) were followed from 2001 to 2003, beginning in early gestation and continuing to 5 years postpartum. We measured arsenic concentrations in urine (U-As) of the 5-year-old children by using high-performance liquid chromatography online with hydride generation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and compared them with earlier childhood U-As and maternal U-As during pregnancy. Results. Children had elevated U-As at 5 years old (median = 51 μg/L, 5th–95th percentiles = 16–355 μg/L), and U-As distribution was similar to that observed in the mothers during gestation. Children's U-As at 5 years old significantly correlated with their U-As at 1.5 years old and to maternal U-As during early and late gestation. Conclusions. Despite major mitigation efforts, arsenic exposure remains highly elevated in rural Bangladesh. Further mitigation strategies are required and must be rigorously evaluated for long-term efficacy. PMID:21778503

Unraveling the Complexity of Wildland Urban Interface Fires.

PubMed

Mahmoud, Hussam; Chulahwat, Akshat

2018-06-18

Recent wildland urban interface fires have demonstrated the unrelenting destructive nature of these events and have called for an urgent need to address the problem. The Wildfire paradox reinforces the ideology that forest fires are inevitable and are actually beneficial; therefore focus should to be shifted towards minimizing potential losses to communities. This requires the development of vulnerability-based frameworks that can be used to provide holistic understanding of risk. In this study, we devise a probabilistic approach for quantifying community vulnerability to wildfires by applying concepts of graph theory. A directed graph for community in question is developed to model wildfire inside a community by incorporating different fire propagation modes. The model accounts for relevant community-specific characteristics including wind conditions, community layout, individual structural features, and the surrounding wildland vegetation. We calibrate the framework to study the infamous 1991 Oakland fire in an attempt to unravel the complexity of community fires. We use traditional centrality measures to identify critical behavior patterns and to evaluate the effect of fire mitigation strategies. Unlike current practice, the results are shown to be community-specific with substantial dependency of risk on meteorological conditions, environmental factors, and community characteristics and layout.

Health concerns of the U.S. fire service: perspectives from the firehouse.

PubMed

Jahnke, Sara A; Poston, Walker S C; Jitnarin, Nattinee; Haddock, C Keith

2012-01-01

Firefighters are expected to respond to any domestic emergency at a moment's notice, and therefore their health and readiness are key to the public safety net. Although emerging research is focusing on understanding firefighters' increased risk for disease and injury, the perspectives of fire service personnel is lacking. This study uses the cross-sectional qualitative data collection techniques of key informant interviews and focus groups. Data collection occurred with a national sample of firefighters from 28 (municipal and federal) career fire departments. Participants were 332 career firefighters (57.2%), company officers (23.4%), fire chiefs (15.4%), and other fire service personnel (3.9%). Focus groups and informant interviews were conducted with firefighters, fire chiefs, health promotion personnel, and medical directors to assess attitudes, opinions, and perceptions about firefighter health. Major themes that developed among fire service personnel included concerns about cancer, risk of cardiovascular disease, the importance of and barriers to physical fitness, the food culture of the firehouse, psychological stress resulting from repeated exposure to trauma, sleep disruptions, injuries, and risk for infectious disease. Health concerns identified by firefighters are juxtaposed with current efforts and trends within the national fire service. The health concerns of firefighters parallel both available epidemiological research and the health priorities of national fire service organizations. Unfortunately, these concerns often are in contrast with efforts by local governments to limit their financial liability for illnesses presumed to be caused by occupational exposures and long-held traditions in the fire service. This study highlights the need for epidemiological surveillance of firefighters and innovative health and organizational policy in the fire service. Future directions for the fire service, the public health community, and researchers are discussed.

33 CFR 149.641 - What are the structural fire protection requirements for accommodation spaces and modules?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... national consensus standard, as that term is defined in 29 CFR 1910.2, for the structural fire protection... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false What are the structural fire...: DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND EQUIPMENT Design and Equipment Structural Fire Protection § 149.641 What are...

2007 River Corridor Closure Contractor Revegetation and Mitigation Monitoring Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

K. A. Gano; C. T. Lindsey

2007-09-27

The purpose of this report is to document the status of revegetation projects and natural resources mitigation efforts that have been conducted for remediated waste sites and other activities associated with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) cleanup of National Priorities List waste sites at Hanford. This report documents the results of revegetation and mitigation monitoring conducted in 2007 and includes 11 revegetation/restoration projects, one revegetation/mitigation project, and 3 bat habitat mitigation projects.

Conservation issues: California chaparral

USGS Publications Warehouse

Halsey, Richard W.; Keeley, Jon E.

2016-01-01

California chaparral, a sclerophyllous shrub-dominated plant community shaped by a Mediterranean-type climate and infrequent, high-intensity fire, is one of the most biodiverse and threatened habitats on Earth. Distinct forms of chaparral, distinguished by differing species composition, geography, and edaphic characteristics, can cover thousands of hectares with dense vegetation or be restricted to smaller communities identified by the presence of endemic species. To maintain the biodiversity of chaparral, protective land management actions will be required to mitigate the loss due to the impacts of human population growth, development, climate change, and increased fire frequencies.

Mitigating Hillslope Erosion After Post-fire Salvage Logging Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robichaud, P. R.; Bone, E. D.; Brown, R. E.

2017-12-01

In the past decades, wildfires around the world have continued to increase in size, severity, and cost. Major concerns after wildfires are the increased runoff and erosion due to loss of the protective forest floor layer, loss of water storage, and creation of water repellent soil conditions. Salvage logging is often a post-fire forest management action to recoup the economic loss of the burned timber, yet concerns arise on the impacts of this activity on water quality. Recently, several studies have been conducted to determine the effect of salvage logging on hillslope erosion. Logging skid trails have been cited as being the cause of high erosion during and after salvage operations. We investigated the impacts of adding operational logging slash to skid trails to reduce hillslope erosion after salvage operations on the 2015 North Star Fire, Washington. We implemented well-designed rapid response approach to compare slash treatment effectiveness by monitoring sediment yield and runoff response from hillslopes with a concentrated flow (rill) experiment. Various runoff amounts are incrementally added to 4 m hillslope plots with and without slash treatments. Our initial results suggest that adding logging slash increased ground cover significantly which contributed to an order of magnitude decrease in hillslope erosion. Integrating erosion mitigation strategies into salvage logging operations should be commonplace when hillslope erosion is a concern.

The flomaton natural area: Demostrating the benefits of fuel management and the risks of fire exclusion in an old-growth longleaf pine ecosystem

Treesearch

John S. Kush; Ralph S. Meldahl; Charles K. McMahon

2003-01-01

The FNA is a microcosm of the recent history and many threats facing fire adapted longleaf pine ecosystems. Many of the remanant old-gowth longleaf pine stands which remain have been reduced to isolated, often degraded patches in the southern landscape. The FNA was one of these stands before restoration efforts began in 1995. In an effort to restore this longleaf pine...

Sensitivity of climate mitigation strategies to natural disturbances

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Le Page, Yannick LB; Hurtt, George; Thomson, Allison M.

2013-02-19

The present and future concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide depends on both anthropogenic and natural sources and sinks of carbon. Most proposed climate mitigation strategies rely on a progressive transition to carbon12 efficient technologies to reduce industrial emissions, substantially supported by policies to maintain or enhance the terrestrial carbon stock in forests and other ecosystems. This strategy may be challenged if terrestrial sequestration capacity is affected by future climate feedbacks, but how and to what extent is little understood. Here, we show that climate mitigation strategies are highly sensitive to future natural disturbance rates (e.g. fires, hurricanes, droughts), because ofmore » potential effect of disturbances on the terrestrial carbon balance. Generally, altered disturbance rates affect the pace of societal and technological transitions required to achieve the mitigation target, with substantial consequences on the energy sector and on the global economy. Understanding the future dynamics and consequences of natural disturbances on terrestrial carbon balance is thus essential for developing robust climate mitigation strategies and policies« less

Comparative advantage strategy for rapid pollution mitigation in China.

PubMed

Xu, Yuan

2013-09-03

Due to its sheer size and growth trend, no other country is facing more daunting challenges than China in reducing its pollutant emissions. A critical but inadequately addressed question is how rapidly China could feasibly achieve such mitigation. The stake is high not only about how much worse China's environmental quality could become but also about how the world can prevent catastrophic climate change. Through examining sulfur dioxide (SO2) mitigation in coal-fired power plants and wind energy development for carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation, this article proposes a comparative advantage strategy for overcoming high barriers to fast pollution mitigation. On the demand side, China could first make progress in the deployment of more pollution control facilities and then improve their operational performance. The resulting low technological market entry barriers could help to build enough industrial capacity to meet the huge demand with prices under control. The strategy in the current practice could be improved to establish not only a large supply industry but also a strong one to enable other countries to move more rapidly in pollution mitigation.

Analysis of climate and topographic effect on wildfire regime in Liguria, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiorucci, Paolo; Biondi, Guido; Campo, Lorenzo; D'Andrea, Mirko; Degli Esposti, Silvia

2016-04-01

Wildfire risk is particularly significant in Italy, both in summer and winter season due to the high topographic and vegetation heterogeneity of the territory. Liguria is one of the few regions in Italy affected by wildfires both in summer and winter. Most of the fires in Italy occur in summer season and the burned area is largely greater than in winter season. In Liguria, the number of wildfires and the burned area is higher in winter than in summer. Winter fire regime is mainly due to frequent extremely dry winds from the north in condition of curing for most of the herbaceous species. Southern and central regions and the large islands are characterized by a severe summer fire regime, because of the higher temperatures and prolonged lack of precipitation. The threat of wildfires in Italy is not confined to wooded areas as they extend to agricultural areas and urban-forest interface areas. In view of the limited availability of fire risk management resources, most of which are used in the management of national and regional air services, it is necessary to precisely identify the areas most vulnerable to fire risk. The few resources available can thus be used on a yearly basis to mitigate problems in the areas at highest risk by defining a program of forest management interventions. The availability of a mapping of fire perimeters spans almost 20 years (1996-2013), and this, combined with a detailed knowledge of topography, climate and land cover allowed to understand which are the main features involved in forest fire occurrences and their behavior. The seasonality of the fire regime was also considered, partitioning the analysis in two macro season (November-April and May- October). Total precipitation and average air temperature obtained from the interpolation of 30 years-long time series from 164 raingauges and 127 thermometers series were considered. The analysis was based on a recursive-quantiles subdivision of the territory in classes based on the different available information layers: elevation, slope, aspect, rainfall height, temperature (the latter subdivided in winter and summer periods). The algorithm is designed in order to assure the equal representation of each class, in which the number of fires occurred in the period of analysis is considered, in order to have an estimation of the fire hazard with a constant statistical confidence. The analysis was carried out at a spatial resolution of 20 m on the Liguria region territory (5400 km2) by using a dataset of fires occurrences that spans from 1996 to 2013. The results show a very high correlation with the topographic aspects both in winter and summer. Rainfall is almost uncorrelated in both season. Air temperature is high correlated with the burned area but it is strictly related with elevation. Independently by the season and the vegetation cover, elevation and slope show a very high correlation with the burned area determining almost completely the wildfire regime in Liguria.

EVALUATION AND MITIGATION OF VISIBLE ACIDIC AEROSOL PLUMES FROM COAL FIRED POWER BOILERS

EPA Science Inventory

The formation of sulfur trioxide during the combustion of coal can increase significantly following the installation and operation of selective catalytic reduction systems for reduction of nitrogen oxides. This can in turn lead to adverse environmental impacts, including visible...

44 CFR 204.43 - Ineligible costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Ineligible costs. 204.43... Ineligible costs. Costs not directly associated with the incident period are ineligible. Ineligible costs include the following: (a) Costs incurred in the mitigation, management, and control of undeclared fires...

Modelling global CO2 emissions into the atmosphere from crown, ground, and peat fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliseev, Alexey V.; Mokhov, Igor I.; Chernokulsky, Alexander V.

2015-04-01

The scheme for natural fires implemented in the climate model (CM) developed at the A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP RAS) is extended by a module accounting for ground and peat fires. With the IAP RAS CM, the simulations are performed for 1700-2300 in accordance with the CMIP5 (Coupled Models Intercomparison Project, phase 5) protocol. The modelled present-day burnt area, BA, and the corresponding CO2 emissions into the atmosphere E agree with the GFED-3.1 estimates at most regions. In the 21st century, under the RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways) scenarios, the global BA increases by 10-41% depending on scenario, and E increases by 11-39%. Under the mitigation scenario RCP 2.6, both BA and E slightly decrease in the 22nd-23rd centuries. For scenarios RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5, they continue to increase in these two centuries. All these changes are mostly due to changes in natural fires activity in the boreal regions. Ground and peat fires contribute significantly to the total emissions of CO2 from natural fires (20-25% at the global scale depending on scenario and calendar year). Peat fires markedly intensify interannual variability of regional CO2 emissions from natural fires.

Forage nutritive quality in the Serengeti ecosystem: The roles of fire and herbivory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderson, T.M.; Ritchie, M.E.; Mayemba, E.; Eby, S.; Grace, J.B.; McNaughton, S.J.

2007-01-01

Fire and herbivory are important determinants of nutrient availability in savanna ecosystems. Fire and herbivory effects on the nutritive quality of savanna vegetation can occur directly, independent of changes in the plant community, or indirectly, via effects on the plant community. Indirect effects can be further subdivided into those occurring because of changes in plant species composition or plant abundance (i.e., quality versus quantity). We studied relationships between fire, herbivory, rainfall, soil fertility, and leaf nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sodium (Na) at 30 sites inside and outside of Serengeti National Park. Using structural equation modeling, we asked whether fire and herbivory influences were largely direct or indirect and how their signs and strengths differed within the context of natural savanna processes. Herbivory was associated with enhanced leaf N and P through changes in plant biomass and community composition. Fire was associated with reduced leaf nutrient concentrations through changes in plant community composition. Additionally, fire had direct positive effects on Na and nonlinear direct effects on P that partially mitigated the indirect negative effects. Key mechanisms by which fire reduced plant nutritive quality were through reductions of Na-rich grasses and increased abundance of Themeda triandra, which had below-average leaf nutrients. ?? 2007 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Meetings with Registrants of Pet Spot-on Products

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Information about EPA efforts to mitigate adverse effects from spot-on products used on pets and the meetings the agency had with producers, or registrants of the products to discuss product-specific mitigation.

Variation in ant populations with elevation, tree cover, and fire in a pinyon-juniper-dominated watershed

Treesearch

Eugenie M. MontBlanc; Jeanne C. Chambers; Peter E. Brussard

2007-01-01

Climate change and fire suppression have facilitated expansion of pinyon-juniper woodlands into sagebrush- steppe ecosystems of the Great Basin, USA, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. To assess the effects of using prescribed fire in restoration efforts, ant abundance, species richness, and composition were examined pre- and post-burn along the elevation and...

Fire Prevention Efforts in the Northwest

Treesearch

A.W. Lindenmuth; J.J. Keetch

1952-01-01

The frequency of forest fires in 13 northeastern states dropped about one-half from 1943 to 1950, exclusive of the fluctuations due to weather. The average downward trend and the annual observations from which the trend is determined are shown graphically in the lower chart on the other side of this page. Each dot on the chart is the ratio of fire occurrence (actual...

Restoration of fire in managed forests: a model to prioritize landscapes and analyze tradeoffs

Treesearch

Alan A. Ager; Nicole M. Vaillant; Andrew McMahan

2013-01-01

Ongoing forest restoration on public lands in the western US is a concerted effort to counter the growing incidence of uncharacteristic wildfire in fire-adapted ecosystems. Restoration projects cover 725,000 ha annually, and include thinning and underburning to remove ladder and surface fuel, and seeding of fire-adapted native grasses and shrubs. The backlog of areas...

Southwest Oregon Biscuit Fire: an analysis of forest resources and fire severity

Treesearch

David L. Azuma; Joseph Donnegan; Donald Gedney

2004-01-01

The Biscuit Fire in southwestern Oregon was one of the largest and most costly in recent history, burning over 499,000 acres and costing over 150 million dollars in suppression efforts. This study uses prefire resource information in conjunction with postfire burn severity to generate statistically reliable prefire resource estimates for the land within the Biscuit...

Boosting fire drill participation in hospital settings.

PubMed

Prosper, Darryl

2015-01-01

In a health system with over 100 sites in a geographically dispersed region, boosting fire drill participation to meet government requirements, according to the author, is a constant effort, both to achieve and to maintain. In this article, he describes a comprehensive approach that entails engagement of executive, site committees and local fire authorities, as well as comprehensive training and awareness campaigns.

Demonstration of Spacecraft Fire Safety Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruff, Gary A.; Urban, David L.

2012-01-01

During the Constellation Program, the development of spacecraft fire safety technologies were focused on the immediate questions related to the atmosphere of the habitable volume and implementation of fire detection, suppression, and postfire clean-up systems into the vehicle architectures. One of the difficulties encountered during the trade studies for these systems was the frequent lack of data regarding the performance of a technology, such as a water mist fire suppression system or an optically-based combustion product monitor. Even though a spacecraft fire safety technology development project was being funded, there was insufficient time and funding to address all the issues as they were identified. At the conclusion of the Constellation Program, these knowledge gaps formed the basis for a project proposed to the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Program. This project, subsequently funded by the AES Program and in operation since October 2011, has as its cornerstone the development of an experiment to be conducted on an ISS resupply vehicle, such as the European Space Agency (ESA) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) or Orbital Science s Cygnus vehicle after it leaves the ISS and before it enters the atmosphere. The technology development efforts being conducted in this project include continued quantification of low- and partial-gravity maximum oxygen concentrations of spacecraft-relevant materials, development and verification of sensors for fire detection and post-fire monitoring, development of standards for sizing and selecting spacecraft fire suppression systems, and demonstration of post-fire cleanup strategies. The major technology development efforts are identified in this paper but its primary purpose is to describe the spacecraft fire safety demonstration being planned for the reentry vehicle.

Importance of the pre-industrial baseline for likelihood of exceeding Paris goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schurer, Andrew P.; Mann, Michael E.; Hawkins, Ed; Tett, Simon F. B.; Hegerl, Gabriele C.

2017-08-01

During the Paris conference in 2015, nations of the world strengthened the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by agreeing to holding `the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C' (ref. ). However, `pre-industrial' was not defined. Here we investigate the implications of different choices of the pre-industrial baseline on the likelihood of exceeding these two temperature thresholds. We find that for the strongest mitigation scenario RCP2.6 and a medium scenario RCP4.5, the probability of exceeding the thresholds and timing of exceedance is highly dependent on the pre-industrial baseline; for example, the probability of crossing 1.5 °C by the end of the century under RCP2.6 varies from 61% to 88% depending on how the baseline is defined. In contrast, in the scenario with no mitigation, RCP8.5, both thresholds will almost certainly be exceeded by the middle of the century with the definition of the pre-industrial baseline of less importance. Allowable carbon emissions for threshold stabilization are similarly highly dependent on the pre-industrial baseline. For stabilization at 2 °C, allowable emissions decrease by as much as 40% when earlier than nineteenth-century climates are considered as a baseline.

Costs and Risks of Continuous Purges for Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Secunda, M.; De Garcia, K. Montt

2018-01-01

As instruments are built, tested, and launched, they are exposed to environments that have various levels of cleanliness. Often, Scientists and Contamination Control Engineers specify a purge to mitigate the instrument's exposure to a non-clean environment, protect sensitive optics from a specific threat, such as water, or as insurance against things going wrong in a clean environment. The cost of the purge, in effort, dollars and risk, is often understated when the requirements are being established, and the need for purge is not clearly justifiable. This paper will more clearly define some of the costs and risks associated with the continuous purging of instruments during the course of building, testing and launching instruments.

QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Pattie

2012-01-01

Articles in this issue inlude: (1) Foundation of Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM) Technology Evaluation is Testing and Qualification, (2) Materials Management and Substitution Efforts, (3 Recycling and Pollution Control Efforts, and (4) Remediation Efforts

KSC-98pc797

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-07-02

A Kennedy Space Center railroad tanker car loaded with 20,000 gallons of water and retrofitted with a special attachment for directly filling fire trucks was transported to the scene of a fire in north Brevard County to assist with firefighting efforts