Limiting the immediate and subsequent hazards associated with wildfires

Abstract

Wildfire is a unique natural hazard because it poses immediate threats to life and property as well as creating conditions that can lead to subsequent debris flows. In recent years, the immediate destructive force of wildfires has been decreased through better understanding of fire behavior. Lightning detection networks now identify the number and locations of this common ignition source. Measurements of wind speed, temperature, slope, fuel types and fire boundaries are routinely incorporated into models for fire spread, permitting real-time adjustments to fire-fighting strategies, thus increasing fire-fighting effectiveness. 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.