@article {bnh-8377, title = {Implementation of spatially-varying wind adjustment factor for wildfire simulations}, journal = {Environmental Modelling \& Software}, volume = {163}, year = {2023}, month = {05/2023}, pages = {105660}, abstract = {

The behaviour and rate of spread of a wildfire is strongly affected by local wind conditions depending on topography and surrounding vegetation. The wind speed within dense vegetation can be substantially lower than the open wind speed above the vegetation. This is commonly accounted for by applying a local correction factor to the local wind speed which can be called the wind adjustment factor (WAF). WAFs are often difficult to calculate and are usually based estimates for a particular vegetation type. Variation in the vegetation may result in spatially varying WAFs. We implement a model for spatially-varying WAFs based on leaf area index (LAI) and vegetation height data, which can be derived from remote sensing data sources. The model is implemented within Spark an operational wildfire prediction framework. Simulations of historical fires using the spatially-varying WAF model generally provided improved predictions compared to recorded fire extents than simulations without a spatially-varying WAF.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, modeling, spread, WAF, Wildfire, wind adjustment factor}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105660}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364815223000464?dgcid=coauthor}, author = {Duncan Sutherland and Mahmood Rashid and James Hilton and Khalid Moinuddin} } @article {bnh-8003, title = {Cultural burning and public sector practice in the Australian Capital Territory}, journal = {Australian Geographer}, year = {2021}, month = {05/2021}, abstract = {

Aboriginal peoples{\textquoteright} fire management practices captured global attention during the Australian 2019{\textendash}20 {\textquoteleft}Black Summer{\textquoteright}, as a possible method to mitigate bushfire risk; however, these {\textquoteleft}cultural burns{\textquoteright} are no straightforward matter for public sector practice. As the slow, retrospective work to address historical and contemporary discrimination is imperfectly underway, we explore a cultural burning program supported by a government agency in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In this paper, two co-authors share their experiences helping create a cultural burning program as Aboriginal people but not as Traditional Custodians. We document the steps taken to build support, create opportunities and engage Ngunnawal and Ngambri Traditional Custodians, and identify early positive results and challenging matters being generated. We demonstrate that rather than being restricted by public sector bureaucracy, the ACT cultural burning program has leveraged policy and entwined itself around the machinery of government in a way that accesses resources, creates opportunities and is slowly but surely changing public sector practice. Nonetheless, this is a journey of iteratively learning. It remains that more substantive measures are needed to recognise Traditional Custodianship if the current cultural burning program is to become a more substantial expression of Aboriginal peoples{\textquoteright} cultural land management.

}, keywords = {Aboriginal fire management, Bushfire, cool burns, cultural burning, natural resource management, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2021.1917133}, url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00049182.2021.1917133?journalCode=cage20}, author = {Dean Freeman and Bhiamie Williamson and Jessica Weir} } @article {bnh-8316, title = {Elephant Hill: Secw{\'e}pemc leadership and lessons learned from the collective story of wildfire recovery}, year = {2021}, month = {11/2021}, pages = {241}, institution = { Secwepemcúl ̓ ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society}, abstract = {

Worldwide, catastrophic wildfires and the ongoing climate crisis are catalyzing Indigenous peoples to re-assert jurisdiction to lands and waters by leading the recovery and restoration of their/our territories.

{\textquoteleft}Mega-fires{\textquoteright} are increasingly burning landscapes that have been degraded by over a century of colonial state-driven forest (mis)management and a paradigm {\textendash} and paradox {\textendash} of fire suppression. Simultaneously, many settler-colonial governments are stating their commitments to {\textquoteleft}reconciliation{\textquoteright} and implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Together, these two trends point to the critical need to uphold Indigenous rights and stewardship systems through Indigenous-led transformation of forest and (wild)fire management.

These ecological and socio-political shifts provided the context for the 2017 {\textquoteleft}Elephant Hill{\textquoteright} wildfire in British Columbia (BC), Canada, which burned close to 200,000 hectares throughout Secwepemcúl ̓ ecw {\textendash} the traditional and unceded territory of the Secw{\'e}pemc Nation. In the immediate wake of this fire, and the significant and interconnected social, cultural, economic and ecological impacts that are still ongoing, affected Secw{\'e}pemc First Nations advocated for Secw{\'e}pemc leadership in the recovery and regeneration of their territories in the months, years and decades to come.

Supported by a newly-elected provincial government with a mandate to advance reconciliation, and a provincial review that recommended {\textquotedblleft}establish[ing] Indigenous Peoples as true partners and leaders in emergency management{\textquotedblright}, Secw{\'e}pemc communities partnered with the provincial government to forge a new collaborative approach to land-based wildfire recovery. The Elephant Hill wildfire, and the joint recovery process that followed, is the focus of this report. We draw on in-depth interviews with Secw{\'e}pemc elected leadership and staff from communities and the provincial government, as well as ongoing work and action research with the Secwepemcúlecw\ Restoration and Stewardship Society, to provide a detailed account of this example of contemporary Indigenous leadership in wildfire management and land-based recovery.

This study was framed by a number of broad questions:

To highlight these lessons and demonstrate the need for transformative change, the story of the Elephant Hill wildfire and the joint leadership approach to wildfire recovery is told in four Parts:

PART 1: THE ELEPHANT HILL WILDFIRE (CHAPTERS 1{\textendash}4)

An overview of the record-breaking 2017 wildfire season in British Columbia; the experiences and responses of Secw{\'e}pemc First Nations and government agencies; and the impacts of these wildfires on Secw{\'e}pemc territories and communities.

PART 2: THE PROCESS FOR JOINT WILDFIRE RECOVERY (CHAPTERS 5{\textendash}7)

Understanding the drivers for collaboration; the process of negotiating the scope and governance of joint wildfire recovery; and a summary of land-based recovery activities and outcomes on Elephant Hill.

PART 3: REFLECTIONS ON {\textquoteleft}SUCCESS{\textquoteright} AND LESSONS LEARNED (CHAPTERS 8{\textendash}10)

Diverse views of {\textquoteleft}success{\textquoteright} and identification of key strengths, challenges and unresolved tensions to inform future collaborations.

PART 4: BEYOND ELEPHANT HILL (CHAPTERS 11{\textendash}13)

Persistent barriers; Secw{\'e}pemc priorities for advancing equal partnerships and First Nations leadership in (wild)fire management; and Secw{\'e}pemc visions for recovery, restoration and stewardship throughout Secwepemcúlecw.

}, keywords = {collaboration, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous rights, leadership, reconciliation, stewardship, Wildfire, wildfire recovery}, isbn = {ISBN 978-1-7780135-1-5}, url = {https://www.srssociety.com/lessonslearned.htm}, author = {Sarah Dickson-Hoyle and Char John} } @article {bnh-7836, title = {Integrating wildfire risk management and spatial planning {\textendash} A historical review of two Australian planning systems}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {53}, year = {2021}, month = {02/2021}, abstract = {

Recent wildfires burning throughout Australia highlight the vulnerability of settlements located in wildland urban interface (WUI) areas. Spatial planning has a critical role in operationalising wildfire risk reduction considerations in a territorial manner across the WUI. Accordingly, more integrated approaches to wildfire management and spatial planning are necessary. However, there is limited literature examining the historical interactions between wildfire and spatial planning policy sectors and how institutions and policy instruments adapt over time to integrate mutually dependent considerations. To address this gap, this research examines how Australian spatial planning institutions and instruments evolved since European settlement to incorporate wildfire considerations, through a qualitative comparative case study approach of two Australian states. Based on the findings of the case study comparison, this paper presents a conceptual framework of the pathways towards increased policy integration of spatial planning and wildfire risk reduction that consists of six phases. It is argued that the path to greater policy integration is grounded on the development of common knowledge, a cross-disciplinary understanding, and agreed policy goals between different policy sectors, that, with time, translate into new institutional arrangements and instruments that integrate the work and decision-making processes of different sectors.

}, keywords = {Disaster risk management, governance, Integration, Spatial planningm Urban planning, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101984}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420920314862?dgcid=coauthor}, author = {Constanza Gonzalez-Mathiesen and Simone Ruane and Alan March} } @article {bnh-8101, title = {The recalibration of our relationships with science (and nature) by natural hazard risk mitigation practitioners }, journal = { Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space}, year = {2021}, month = {06/2021}, abstract = {

Unrealistic expectations in society about science reducing and even eliminating the risk of natural hazards contrasts with the chaotic forces of these events, but such expectations persist nonetheless. Risk mitigation practitioners must grapple with them, including in the cycles of blame and inquiry that follow natural hazard events. We present a synthesis of such practitioner experiences from three consequential bushfire and flood risk landscapes in Australia in which science was being used to change policy and/or practice. We show how they chose to work with, counter and recalibrate unrealistic expectations of science, as well as embrace socionatural complexity and a consequential nature. The mismatch between the challenges faced by the sector and the unrealistic expectations of science, generated more stressful work conditions, less effective risk mitigation, and less effective use of research monies. In response, we argue for structural and procedural change to address legacy pathways that automatically privilege science, especially in relation to nature, with broader relevance for other environmental issues. This is not to dismiss or debase science, but to better understand its use and utility, including how facts and values relate.

}, keywords = {natural hazard risk mitigation, post-truth, Science studies, socionatural complexity, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486211019828}, url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/25148486211019828}, author = {Jessica Weir and Timothy Neale and Elizabeth Clarke} } @mastersthesis {bnh-8095, title = {Spatial planning to promote settlements{\textquoteright} resilience to bushfires}, volume = {Doctor of Philosophy}, year = {2021}, month = {03/2021}, school = {University of Melbourne}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Bushfire hazards can pose significant risks at bushfire-prone urban-rural interfaces and peri-urban areas, highlighting the need to manage bushfire risk in relation to settlements{\textquoteright} planning and governance. Settlements{\textquoteright} resilience to bushfires can be purposively facilitated by the development and application of bushfire risk management knowledge. Spatial planning has the potential to support learning about and acting upon changing conditions and new bushfire information to promote settlements{\textquoteright} resilience to bushfires. However, the translation of new bushfire knowledge into meaningful spatial planning practices has been limited and spatial planning systems often struggle to integrate bushfire risk management. Thus, this research aims to contribute to understandings of spatial planning ability to improve its practices by identifying, reframing, and putting into action new considerations about bushfire risk management to promote settlements{\textquoteright} resilience to bushfires.

This research used an inductive qualitative research approach employing two case studies: the spatial planning systems of Chile and Victoria (Australia). Qualitative data was collected from documentation, archival records, and semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed using time-series analysis, qualitative content analysis, and cross-case synthesis techniques. The research was divided into four stages, two stages correspond to the individual case study analysis and the remaining two to cross-case synthesis and discussion.

The research concludes that the Chilean and Victorian spatial planning systems are still constrained in their promotion of settlements{\textquoteright} resilience to bushfires due to internal and external complexities that frame and limit their ability for bushfire risk management. In Chile, there have been several mostly unsuccessful attempts to integrate bushfire considerations into the spatial planning system, thus the current system only outlines spatial planning mechanisms for bushfire risk management generically and inapplicably. In Victoria, the spatial planning system has partially and progressively improved its ways for dealing with bushfires, however, the current system still considers bushfire risk management partially and sometimes ambiguously. In practice, this implies that both spatial planning systems are sometimes allowing and even promoting settlements patterns that perpetuate bushfire risks.

Based on a cross-case synthesis, the research concludes that spatial planning instruments that comprehensively address bushfires are necessary, suggesting an integrated approach that undertakes bushfire risk management at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels of planning mechanisms and processes. This approach establishes the instruments{\textquoteright} role in bushfire risk management and other factors that provide directions for improving their ability to promote settlements{\textquoteright} resilience to bushfire. Furthermore, the research also concludes that reflexive processes are not always conducive to the development and improvement of spatial planning systems for bushfire risk management, due to the variance of willingness, understanding, and capacity issues within the system and in the wider context. Accordingly, thesis propositions about the barriers and facilitators that influence spatial planning progressing from the identification, to the reframing and implementation of change about bushfire risk management were suggested.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, disaster risk managemet, Disaster risk reduction, resilience, spatial planning, urban planning, Wildfire}, url = {https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/267371}, author = {Constanza Gonzalez-Mathiesen} } @article {bnh-8301, title = {Walking on two legs: a pathway of Indigenous restoration and reconciliation in fire-adapted landscapes}, journal = {Restoration Ecology}, year = {2021}, month = {09/2021}, abstract = {

Worldwide, Indigenous peoples are leading the revitalization of their/our cultures through the restoration of ecosystems in which they are embedded, including in response to increasing {\textquotedblleft}megafires.{\textquotedblright} Concurrently, growing Indigenous-led movements are calling for governments to implement Indigenous rights, titles and treaties, and many settler-colonial governments are committing to reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and to implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Yet, despite growing recognition that just and effective conservation is only possible through partnerships with, or led by, Indigenous peoples, decolonizing approaches to restoration have received insufficient attention. However, reconciliation will be incomplete without Indigenous-led restoration of Indigenous lands, knowledges, and cultures. In this article, we introduce the concept of {\textquotedblleft}walking on two legs{\textquotedblright} to guide restoration scientists and practitioners in advancing the interconnected processes of Indigenous-led restoration and reconciliation in Indigenous territories. As an action-oriented framework articulated by Secw{\'e}pemc Elder Ronald E. Ignace, {\textquotedblleft}walking on two legs{\textquotedblright} seeks to bring Indigenous knowledges into balance with western scientific knowledge in service of upholding an Indigenous stewardship ethic that is embedded in Indigenous ways of relating to land and embodies principles of respect, reciprocity, and responsibility. Grounding this discussion in the context of fire-adapted ecosystems of western Canada and unceded and traditional Secw{\'e}pemc territory, Secwepemc{\'u}l̓ecw, we argue that walking on two legs, along with principles of reconciliation, offers a pathway to uphold respectful relationships with Indigenous peoples, knowledges, and territories through Indigenous-led restoration.

}, keywords = {ecocultural restoration, Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous restoration, Indigenousfire stewardship, reconcilia-tion, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13566}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/rec.13566}, author = {Sarah Dickson-Hoyle and Ronald Ignace and Marianne Ignace and Shannon Hagerman and Lori Daniels and Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz} } @inbook {bnh-6647, title = {Dimensions of Risk Justice and Resilience: Mapping Urban Planning{\textquoteright}s Role Between Individual Versus Collective Rights}, booktitle = {Natural Hazards and Disaster Justice: Challenges for Australia and Its Neighbours}, year = {2020}, pages = {93-115}, publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan}, organization = {Palgrave Macmillan}, edition = {1st}, chapter = {5}, address = {Singapore}, abstract = {

This chapter applies a justice framework to the complex of dilemmas between individual rights and the public good. It uses the case of the Wye River and Separation Creek Christmas Day 2015 bushfire in Victoria, Australia. Analysis of this event reveals the complex interactions of assumed, asserted and contested rights that play out before, during and after major destructive bushfire events, and their justice implications. The chapter suggests that there is a need to acknowledge and treat risks as complex manifestations of ongoing decisions over time; that existing emphases on individual property rights often erode the public good; that there is a need to set minimum standards in settlements; and that there is need to actively integrate individual and collective action to achieve risk justice.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, Human settlements, Justice, Public good, risk, urban planning, Wildfire}, isbn = {978-981-15-0465-5}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0466-2_5}, url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-0466-2_5}, author = {Alan March and Leonardo Nogueira de Moraes and Janet Stanley} } @article {bnh-7475, title = {Exploring the key drivers of forest flammability in wet eucalypt forests using expert-derived conceptual models}, journal = {Landscape Ecology}, volume = {35}, year = {2020}, month = {06/2020}, pages = {1775{\textendash}1798}, abstract = {

Context

Fire behaviour research has largely focused on dry ecosystems that burn frequently, with far less attention on wetter forests. Yet, the impacts of fire in wet forests can be high and therefore understanding the drivers of fire in these\ systems\ is vital.

Objectives

We sought to identify and rank by importance the factors plausibly driving flammability in wet eucalypt forests, and describe relationships between them. In doing so, we formulated a set of research priorities.

Methods

Conceptual models of forest flammability in wet eucalypt forests were elicited from 21 fire experts using a combination of elicitation techniques. Forest flammability was defined using fire occurrence and fireline intensity as measures of ignitability and heat release rate, respectively.

Results

There were shared and divergent opinions about the drivers of flammability in wet eucalypt forests. Widely agreed factors were drought, dead fine fuel moisture content, weather and topography. These factors all influence the availability of biomass to burn, albeit their effects and interactions on various dimensions of flammability are poorly understood. Differences between the models related to lesser understood factors (e.g. live and coarse fuel moisture, plant traits, heatwaves) and the links between factors.

Conclusions

By documenting alternative conceptual models, we made shared and divergent opinions explicit about flammability in wet forests. We identified four priority research areas: (1) quantifying drought and fuel moisture thresholds for fire occurrence and intensity, (2) modelling microclimate in dense vegetation and rugged terrain, (3) determining the attributes of live vegetation that influence forest flammability, (4) evaluating fire management strategies.

}, keywords = {Cognitive mapping, Conceptual models, Expert elicitation, Fire behaviour, fire intensity, flammability, Structured decision-making, Structured expert judgement, Wet forest, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01055-z}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-020-01055-z}, author = {Jane Cawson and Victoria Hemming and Ackland, A and Wendy R. Anderson and David Bowman and Ross Bradstock and Brown, T and Jamie Burton and Geoffrey J. Cary and Thomas Duff and Alex Filkov and Furlaud, James M. and Tim Gazzard and Kilinc, Musa and Petter Nyman and Ross Peacock and Mike Ryan and Jason J. Sharples and Gary J. Sheridan and Tolhurst, K.G. and Tim Wells and Phil Zylstra and Trent Penman} } @book {bnh-6841, title = {Feeling the heat: International perspectives on the prevention of wildfire ignition}, series = {Series on Climate Change and Society}, year = {2020}, pages = {319}, publisher = {Vernon Press}, organization = {Vernon Press}, edition = {1st}, address = {Wilmington}, abstract = {

In the context of climate change, world population growth and crashing ecological systems, wildfire is often a catastrophic and traumatic event. Its impact can include loss of life, life-changing injuries, long-term psychological stress; increases in domestic violence; destruction of properties, business and livestock; long-term housing insecurity; increased insurance premiums, fire-fighting, legal and health costs; as well as significant changes and species losses in the natural environment.

}, keywords = {ignition, Planning, prevention, response, risk, Wildfire}, issn = {978-1-64889-010-9}, url = {https://vernonpress.com/book/890}, author = {Janet Stanley and Alan March and James Ogloff and James Thompson} } @book {bnh-7290, title = {A handbook of wildfire engineering: guidance for wildfire suppression and resilient urban design}, year = {2020}, pages = {179}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Each year firefighters from career and volunteer agencies across Australia respond to wildfires that impact the urban interface. When such an event occurs during a period of intense fire behavior, the conditions are often incompatible with life for persons either caught in the open or those seeking refuge in a vehicle. In order to improve firefighter safety and operational effectiveness during landscape scale wildfires, as well as providing sound engineering guidance to improve community resilience to wildfire impacts, this textbook forms part of the lead author{\textquoteright}s PhD and examines critical components of wildfire response. These components are the wildfire fighting strategies and tactics applied during a landscape scale wildfire event; the procedures and protective systems utilised in the event of burnover; operational risk management; and wildfire resilient urban design. A Handbook of Wildfire Engineering (the Handbook) provides firefighters, engineers and town planners with detailed technical approaches and analysis to enhance the resilience of communities in areas prone to wildfire impacts, and enhance the safety and effectiveness of wildfire suppression at the urban interface during catastrophic wildfire conditions.

Each chapter of the Handbook is designed to build upon the previous, providing a holistic approach to understanding vegetation and wildfire basics before exploring evidence based wildfire suppression. The critical linkage between wildfire suppression, firefighter safety and urban design is also explored. Whilst the primary focus of this Handbook is wildfire suppression, there are many aspects applicable to urban designers and policy makers. These are summarised at the conclusion of each chapter.

During the preparation of this book, Australia was suffering from catastrophic wildfires on both the west and east coasts and, tragically, civilians and firefighters alike were injured or killed. The lead author was deployed as a Strike Team Leader from Western Australia and was tasked with wildfire suppression and property defense near Walcha, New South Wales. In addition to his own local experiences in Margaret River in 2011 and Yarloop 2016, during the 2019 NSW deployment he witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of wildfire on firefighters and the communities, survived near miss entrapments and nights spent on the fireground cut off by fire behaviour and falling trees. This book is dedicated to all those affected by wildfires, particularly for the firefighters of all backgrounds and jurisdictions who put themselves in harm{\textquoteright}s way to protect life, property and the environment. May the guidance provided in this book help firefighters return safely to their loved ones and provide enhanced protection of communities in wildfire prone areas.

}, keywords = {engineering, resilience, suppression, urban design, Wildfire}, issn = {978-0-6482756-8-8}, author = {Greg Penney and Daryoush Habibi and Marcus Cattani and Steven Richardson} } @article {bnh-6883, title = {Models and frameworks for assessing the value of disaster research}, journal = {Progress in Disaster Science}, volume = {6}, year = {2020}, month = {04/2020}, abstract = {

Funders, governments, stakeholders and end-users expect to see tangible evidence that an investment in research is a worthy use of resources. Research has impact if it makes a demonstrable contribution to the economy, society, culture, public policy, health, the environment, or quality of life, beyond academia.

This paper reviews frameworks that assess the impact of research and considers their usefulness in the conceptualisation and measurement of research impact in the disaster domain. Frameworks demonstrate impact through attribution, measurement and quantification of academic, social, and economic impacts in the short, medium and long term. While there is no specific framework in the hazard domain, adaptation of the {\textquotedblleft}pathways to research impact{\textquotedblright} tool created by Cruz Rivera et al. (2017) provides a well-considered basis for assessing disaster research impact.

}, keywords = {disaster, framework, Impact, research, Value, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2020.100094}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590061720300314?via\%3Dihub}, author = {Ken Strahan and Adriana Keating and John Handmer} } @mastersthesis {bnh-6632, title = {Physics-based simulation of short-range spotting in wildfires}, year = {2020}, month = {01/2020}, school = {Victoria University}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Firebrands play a vital role in the propagation of fire fronts and starting new fires called spotfires ahead of fire fronts during wildfire progression. Firebrands are a harbinger of damage to infrastructure; their effects cause a particularly important threat to people living within the wildland-urban-interface, hampers the suppression of the wildfire or even blocking the evacuation routes for communities and emergency services. Short-range firebrands (\<750m) which travel along with the wind with little or no lofting are particularly crucial in increasing the fire front propagation and damaging structures situated closed to wildland-urban interface. In the Daylesford fire of 1962, massive short-range spotting (the process of spot fire ignition and merging of spots caused by firebrands) occurred in eucalyptus forest and increased the rate of fire spread by roughly three times more than the computed using empiricial correlation used by operational fire model. Despite the massive importance of short-range firebrands, little research has been conducted because of the safety risks and challenges of fire to emergency service personnel and to the remote equipment like collection boxes, IR cameras, UAVs, which could be used by researchers to quantify and measure fire properties. An operational model to represent the transport of short-range firebrand and their likelihood to ignite the surface fuel like forest litter could be developed from a numerical model. This study first attempts to validate a numerical model of firebrand transport with a set of benchmark experiments. The validation of numerical model is carried out using idealised regular shaped firebrand. Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) is an open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based fire model which is used in this study. The validation of the numerical model is split into two parts focusing on validation of (1) transport, and (2) ignition potential of firebrands. Transport of short range firebrands are modelled in FDS using a lagrangian particle sub-model. The model was validated using two firebrand generators (a plastic pipe-based prototype and stainless steel based main firebrand generator) constructed at our facility as a part of this study. The firebrand generator is equipment which generates a repeatable firebrand shower in a confined space. There are few firebrand dragons built around the world. However, our firebrand generators produce a uniform flow field which simplifies the transport of short-range firebrand to be validated. The set of experiments conducted is used to validate the Lagrangian particle model available in FDS used in the transport of short-range firebrands. The validation is carried out on cubiform, cylindrical, and square disc-shaped firebrands. As the default drag model in FDS was not suitable for shapes of firebrands, the drag model is improved to account for a generic shape of firebrand particle. The results show a reasonable agreement with the experiments for all three shapes over a range of particle Reynolds number. A set of laboratory scale equipment is used to study the ignition likelihood from a short-range firebrand in the numerical model. The boundary fuel vegetation model of FDS is validated. The pyrolysis of vegetation is first tested using thermogravimetric analyser and then with cone calorimeter to estimate mass loss rate, heat-release rate, and time to sustained flaming ignition of three forest litter (pine, eucalyptus, and hay) fuels. Further, a set of thermo-physical properties (thermal conductivity, heat capacity, the heat of pyrolysis, the heat of combustion) of the material tested are also measured using in-house equipment required in the above numerical model. The result showed that the simple linear pyrolysis model is good enough for different forest litter tested with thermogravimetric analyser and cone calorimeter. Finally, a parametric study of short-range firebrand transport inside an open woodland forest canopy is carried out using the validated Lagrangian particle sub-model. The work focuses on understanding how firebrand distribution varies with a set of variable firebrand characteristics in a wildfire and set a stepping stone for the future study. The results are found to be qualitatively similar to the literature.

}, keywords = {Fire, Firebrands, fluid dynamics, simulation, spotting, transport, Wildfire}, url = {http://vuir.vu.edu.au/40025/}, author = {Rahul Wadhwani} } @article {bnh-6802, title = {RUIM {\textendash} A fire safety engineering model for rural urban interface firefighter taskforce deployment}, journal = {Fire Safety Journal}, volume = {113}, year = {2020}, month = {05/2020}, abstract = {

Firefighting at the rural urban interface remains one of the most dangerous activities undertaken by fire services internationally. Whilst there is a significant volume of literature and describing methods for fire engineering safety analysis in the urban environment, a significant gap remains in the context of the rural urban interface. To address this, this article presents the Rural Urban Interface Model (RUIM). An adaptation of the Fire Brigade Intervention Model (FBIM), the RUIM enables systematic analysis of firefighter safety during catastrophic and dynamic wildfire events. When applied correctly, the RUIM provides additional guidance to Incident Controllers and Incident Management Teams regarding the suitability and safety of defensive firefighting strategies. Ultimately, the inclusion of the RUIM as part of operational fire ground analysis may reduce the potential for fatalities or injuries arising from firefighting taskforces being caught in wildfire burnover.

}, keywords = {fire engineering, firefighting, RUI, Rural urban interface, safety, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2020.102986}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0379711219305843}, author = {Greg Penney and Daryoush Habibi and Marcus Cattani} } @article {bnh-6881, title = {Satellite Remote Sensing Contributions to Wildland Fire Science and Management}, journal = {Current Forestry Reports}, year = {2020}, month = {04/2020}, abstract = {

Purpose

This paper reviews the most recent literature related to the use of remote sensing (RS) data in wildland fire management.

Recent Findings

Studies dealing with pre-fire assessment, active fire detection, and fire effect monitoring are reviewed in this paper. The analysis follows the different fire management categories: fire prevention, detection, and post-fire assessment. Extracting the main trends from each of these temporal sections, recent RS literature shows growing support of the combined use of different sensors, particularly optical and radar data and lidar and optical passive images. Dedicated fire sensors have been developed in the last years, but still, most fire products are derived from sensors that were designed for other purposes. Therefore, the needs of fire managers are not always met, both in terms of spatial and temporal scales, favouring global over local scales because of the spatial resolution of existing sensors. Lidar use on fuel types and post-fire regeneration is more local, and mostly not operational, but future satellite lidar systems may help to obtain operational products. Regional and global scales are also combined in the last years, emphasizing the needs of using upscaling and merging methods to reduce uncertainties of global products. Validation is indicated as a critical phase of any new RS-based product. It should be based on the independent reference information acquired from statistically derived samples.

Summary

The main challenges of using RS for fire management rely on the need to improve the integration of sensors and methods to meet user requirements, uncertainty characterization of products, and greater efforts on statistical validation approaches.

}, keywords = {fire detection, management, remote sensing, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-020-00116-5}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40725-020-00116-5?wt_mc=socialmedia.twitter.1.SEM.ArticleAuthorOnlineFirst}, author = {Emilio Chuvieco and Inmaculada Aguado and Javier Salas and Mariano Garcia and Marta Yebra and Patricia Oliva} } @inbook {bnh-6644, title = {The Theory/Practice of Disaster Justice: Learning from Indigenous Peoples{\textquoteright} Fire Management}, booktitle = {Natural Hazards and Disaster Justice: Challenges for Australia and Its Neighbours}, year = {2020}, pages = {299-317}, publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan}, organization = {Palgrave Macmillan}, edition = {1st}, chapter = {16}, address = {Singapore}, abstract = {

Globally, Indigenous peoples have fire management practices which are not necessarily supported by the centralised land management and natural hazard institutions of nation states. This is changing in Australia with the proliferation of engagements between government authorities and Aboriginal fire management leaders. These engagements raise a series of justice issues that critique the separation of environmental and socio-political\ matters, and the discriminatory positioning of Indigenous peoples and their interests as local. In this chapter, we share the experiences of Aboriginal people that have been shared with us in three places: Central Arnhem Land, the Western Desert and the Australian Capital Territory. The theory/practice of Disaster Justice\ offers new opportunities to ensure these socio-natural\ engagements are {\textquoteleft}just{\textquoteright}, which requires careful attention to whose values matter, whose knowledge is important and whose political-legal rights and entities are recognised and resourced.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, Collective continuance, Decolonial, Environmental justice, First Nations, Wildfire}, isbn = {978-981-15-0465-5}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0466-2_16}, url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-0466-2_16}, author = {Jessica Weir and Sutton, S and Gareth Catt} } @article {bnh-6723, title = {Why don{\textquoteright}t bushfire warnings work as intended? Responses to official warnings during bushfires in New South Wales, Australia}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {45}, year = {2020}, abstract = {

Australian fire services provide two broad types of warning to people in bushfire (or wildfire) risk areas. Fire Danger Ratings communicate the possible consequences of a bushfire due to its rate of spread, intensity and difficulty of suppression. Warnings are also issued to alert people to impending bushfires and advise them how to respond. This paper examines how people threatened and affected by bushfires in New South Wales, Australia, in 2017 understood, interpreted and acted upon warning messages they received. The research involved 113 semi-structured interviews and an online survey of 549 households. Results indicate that while most people found warnings easy to understand and useful, many did not respond in ways intended by fire services. Many waited until they were threatened before they evacuated, while others stayed to defend houses and property, assist or rescue other people, and protect pets and animals. Notably, the research highlights the tendency for people to seek confirmation of the bushfire threat before taking protective action, most commonly to avoid unnecessary evacuation and its associated costs. Furthermore, the research identifies three key messages in bushfire warnings that are not personally meaningful for many people because they do not align with how they are likely to respond to a bushfire. These include: (1) people should leave bushfire risk areas on days of Catastrophic fire danger, before there is a fire; (2) houses are not defendable under Catastrophic conditions; and (3) people should {\textquoteleft}leave early{\textquoteright}. The paper offers suggestions on how fire authorities can provide better information to help people to make more effective decisions by acknowledging and working within the context in which warnings are understood, interpreted and acted upon.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, defence, Evacuation, information, preparation, Warnings, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101476}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420919304625?dgcid=author}, author = {J Whittaker and Mel Taylor and Christopher Bearman} } @mastersthesis {bnh-8090, title = {Wildfire suppression {\textendash} an international analysis of operations, strategy and firefighter safety}, volume = {Doctor of Philosophy}, year = {2020}, month = {10/2020}, pages = {430}, school = {Edith Cowan University}, abstract = {

Wildfire suppression remains an inherently dangerous yet increasingly frequent task for fire services throughout Australia and the world. Each year firefighters from career and volunteer agencies respond to wildfires that impact the urban interface. When such an event occurs during a period of intense fire behaviour the conditions are often incompatible with life for persons either caught in the open or those seeking refuge in a vehicle. In order to improve firefighter safety and operational effectiveness at the rural urban interface (RUI) during landscape scale wildfires, this dissertation serves to examine critical components of wildfire response, most notably wildfire suppression strategies and tactics applied during a landscape scale wildfire event and the procedures and protective systems utilised in the event of firefighter entrapment and burnover.

The theme of the research is firefighter safety and suppression effectiveness during mega-wildfire response at the rural urban interface (RUI), also known as the wildland urban interface (WUI). Mega-wildfires are those landscape wildfires that overwhelm firefighting resources, typically generate their own localized weather systems, and require campaign style efforts lasting extended durations. Wildfire events including Margaret River (2011), and Yarloop (2016) in Western Australia, the devastating Californian and Greece wildfires (2018) and the unprecedented wildfires throughout eastern Australia in late 2019 / early 2020 meet this category. The RUI is the land where towns and cities exist alongside forest and other vegetation that supports the development of an established headfire with a quasi-steady rate of spread (RoS) across the landscape. In such instances, firefighters are called on to protect vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure from the ember storms, radiant heat and flames that accompany the head fire. In doing so, firefighters face great personal peril. If the incorrect suppression tactics or strategies are applied, or if wildfire behaviour suddenly changes, firefighter entrapment and burnover resulting in significant injury or fatality remains an all too common consequence.

The studies not only quantify the severity of the conditions firefighters encounter when attempting to protect life, property and the environment at the RUI, but also find traditional wildfire suppression strategies and tactics at the RUI need to be reexamined. Whilst the field of wildfire engineering is in its infancy, the studies suggest its development and adoption into wildfire suppression operations has the potential to improve both operational effectiveness and firefighter safety.

}, keywords = {analysis, firefighter, international, operations, safety, strategy, suppression, Wildfire}, url = {https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2349/}, author = {Greg Penney} } @article {bnh-6246, title = {Working outside {\textquoteleft}the rules{\textquoteright}: Opportunities and challenges of community participation in risk reduction}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {44}, year = {2020}, month = {04/2020}, abstract = {

Research has shown that greater community action is needed for effective risk reduction. Community participation in risk reduction ranges from action that is initiated and led by members of the public, independently of government assistance, to those that are initiated and facilitated by government and non-government organisations. Natural hazards research has demonstrated that despite awareness of and a desire to reduce risk, many community members lack the physical, psychological or financial capacity to take action. This is particularly the case for bushfires, where preparations can be costly and physically demanding. In response to this, Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) established the Community Fire Unit (CFU) program. CFUs are groups of residents who are provided with education, training and equipment to enable them to reduce risks around their homes through enhanced preparation and some bushfire defence. This paper examines the experiences and views of CFU members after bushfires in the Blue Mountains, NSW in October 2013. The majority of respondents believed that their participation in the CFU program reduced bushfire risk and led to a greater sense of community and social capital in their local area. However, the research revealed challenges associated with participating within the formal, top-down structures of a professional fire brigade. Respondents therefore considered that greater flexibility was needed with simultaneously greater support and autonomy from FRNSW. The paper explores the experiences, challenges and opportunities presented by a top-down community based risk reduction program and considers the implications for community participation in risk reduction more generally.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, Community participation, Disaster risk reduction, hazard, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101396}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420919304832?dgcid=author}, author = {Katharine Haynes and Deanne Bird and J Whittaker} } @article {bnh-6294, title = {Challenges for wildfire-prone urban-rural interfaces: The case of Melbourne}, journal = {Urbano}, volume = {22}, year = {2019}, month = {04/2019}, pages = {88-105}, abstract = {

Wildfires are an ever-increasing threat for many residents of urban-rural interfaces located in wildfire-prone areas. Spatial planning is an important aspect of contending with wildfire risk, as it has the potential to modify the design, location and\ characteristics of settlements. However, planning systems can struggle to integrate actions to this end. Using a case-study methodology, this paper reflects on treatment responses to key wildfire risk factors in urban-rural interfaces and the challenges associated with this task. It analyses the case of Melbourne from the perspective of the spatial planning mechanisms addressing wildfire risk that are related to physical structures and the roles of agencies. The physical risk treatment responses are examined considering mapping, strategic actions and decision-making processes. Finally, the following challenges faced by spatial planning mechanisms when addressing wildfire risk are also highlighted: the direct and indirect influence of politics, other planning demands that compete with and slow risk management, implementation limitations, and problems associated with the legacy of risk in existing settlements.

}, keywords = {Disaster risk, peri-urban, spatial planning, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.22320/07183607.2019.22.39.05}, url = {http://revistas.ubiobio.cl/index.php/RU/article/view/3309}, author = {Constanza Gonzalez-Mathiesen and Alan March and Janet Stanley} } @article {bnh-5648, title = {Developing and testing models of the drivers of anthropogenic and lightning-caused wildfire ignitions in south-eastern Australia}, journal = {Journal of Environmental Management}, volume = {235}, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, chapter = {34-41}, abstract = {

Considerable investments are made in managing fire risk to human assets, including a growing use of fire behaviour simulation tools to allocate expenditure. Understanding fire risk requires estimation of the likelihood of ignition, spread of the fire and impact on assets. The ability to estimate and predict risk requires both the development of ignition likelihood models and the evaluation of these models in novel environments. We developed models for natural and anthropogenic ignitions in the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria incorporating variables relating to fire weather, terrain and the built environment. Fire weather conditions had a consistently positive effect on the likelihood of ignition, although they contributed much more to lightning (57\%) and power transmission (55\%) ignitions than the 7 other modelled causes (8{\textendash}32\%). The built environment played an important role in driving anthropogenic ignitions. Housing density was the most important variable in most models and proximity to roads had a consistently positive effect. In contrast, the best model for lightning ignitions included a positive relationship with primary productivity, as represented by annual rainfall. These patterns are broadly consistent with previous ignition modelling studies. The models developed for Victoria were tested in the neighbouring fire prone states of South Australia and Tasmania. The anthropogenic ignition model performed well in South Australia (AUC = 0.969) and Tasmania (AUC = 0.848), whereas the natural ignition model only performed well in South Australia (AUC = 0.972; Tasmania AUC = 0.612). Model performance may have been impaired by much lower lightning ignition rates in South Australia and Tasmania than in Victoria. This study shows that the spatial likelihood of ignition can be reliably predicted based on readily available meteorological and biophysical data. Furthermore, the strong performance of anthropogenic and natural ignition models in novel environments suggests there are some universal drivers of ignition likelihood across south-eastern Australia.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, ignition, Risk modelling, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.01.055}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479719300568}, author = {Hamish Clarke and Rebecca Gibson and Brett Cirulis and Ross Bradstock and Trent Penman} } @mastersthesis {bnh-6825, title = {Development of an interface using penalisation method for improving computational performance of bushfire simulation tools}, volume = {Master of Engineering}, year = {2019}, month = {05/2019}, pages = {350}, school = {Victoria University}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Wind is the dominant environmental factor affecting wildland fire intensity and spread. Previously, fire analysts and managers have relied on local measurements and site-specific forecasts to determine how winds influence fire. The advancements in computer hardware, increased availability of electronic topographical and experimental data, and advances in numerical methods for computing winds, have led to the development of new tools capable of simulating wind flow. Several numerical models have been developed for fire prediction and forecasting. Modelling wind in physics-based models like Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) has been shown to produce promising results, but at an inordinate cost. Because of the high computational expense, physics-based models are not suitable for operational use. Little research has been conducted to improve the computational speed of these models. The current study intends to decrease the computational cost of physics-based fire simulations and improve physics-based models by including more complicated driving winds.\ 

Physics-based wildfire simulations are driven by inlet boundary conditions which model the atmospheric boundary layer. Various inlet conditions, such as the 1/7-powerlaw or the log law models with artificial turbulence (e.g. the synthetic eddy method, [SEM]) can be used as an inlet to generate a statistically steady wind field for a fire simulation. The power-law inlet is the default inlet condition used in FDS where the wind develops turbulence as it sweeps through the domain, and is often used with wall-of-wind\ type methods. The log-law inlet generates a log wind profile similar to Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL). Development of techniques for imposing inlet conditions and initial conditions for flow simulations have been topics of interest for the past few decades. CUrrent inlet and initial conditions requires time in a scale order of 100s of CPU hours, for generating an appropriate condition to start a fire simulation, hence resulting in increased computational expense. A novel nesting method has been implemented, which involves two regions: penalisation and blending, named as the PenaBlending method. The initial conditions of the fire simulations in FDS are set to the initial condition prescribed by an external model or simulation. This is achieved by a one-way coupling method. External wind data, for which u,v,w can vary in space and time, can be obtained. The precursor data can be generated either from any reduced wind model such as Windninha, which gives terrain\ modified wind data, or by using analytical methods such as generating logarithmic windfield using Matlab.\ These external data can be introduced into the FDS domain\ through a penalization region at the inlet/outlet. A blending region has also been\ implemented near the specified inlet/outlet which allows a smooth mixing of a precursor\ wind field to that in the simulation domain. This new inlet condition allows complicated\ terrain modified temporally and spatially varying wind fields, obtained from precursor\ simulations or any other models, to be implemented relatively easily in the FDS domain. To test the implementation of this method, a flat terrain is considered in the current study.\ However, this method could also be used for complicated terrain structures, as a part of\ future studies. The PenaBlending method provides appropriate flow conditions with reduced\ computational effort (up to  80\%), to start a fire simulation, and, hence, reduces\ the computational expense of physics-based models.

The results obtained using the PenaBlending method have been compared with that obtained using the existing inlet conditions of FDS, like the SEM method, wall-of-wind method and mean-forcing methods, using the 1/7 power-law or log-law inlets. To test these three methods, a set of fire simulations have been conducted and tested against the PenaBlending method. It was found that the results of the PenaBlending methods agree well with that of existing methods, with small variations for both the wind and fire cases.\ 

FDS 6.6.0 (the version used in this study) requires a very fine grid to obtain grid convergence. This is not feasible in the case of a large-scale simulation because of very high computation cost. FDS 6.2.0, with a reaction-rate-limiter combustion model, needs less fine grids to obtain grid convergence. Therefore, this combustion model is re-introduced into FDS 6.6.0, providing an option\ \ of choosing between two different combustion models,\ as a part of this study. For all the simulations, the reaction-rate-limiter combustion\ model has been used. The simulations are carried out in a neutral-atmospheric stability\ condition. However, the PenaBlending method can apply any general driving wind, and\ the effect of atmospheric stability, could be included, as part of future studies. The PenaBlending\ method could be extended in conjunction with Monin-Obukhov Similarity\ Theory (introduced in FDS 6.6.0) to model fire in various atmospheric stability conditions.

}, keywords = {computational fluid dynamics, Fire, fire dynamics simulator, Physics-based modelling, Wildfire, wind}, url = {http://vuir.vu.edu.au/40023/}, author = {Sesa Singha Roy} } @conference {bnh-6504, title = {Experiences with the global impacts of climate change}, booktitle = {AFAC19 powered by INTERSCHUTZ - Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Research Forum}, year = {2019}, month = {12/2019}, publisher = {Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience}, organization = {Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

Textbox Australia{\textquoteright}s emergency managers are in the grips of climate change. The climate is changing in Canberra, where I work. In turn that is affecting the spectrum of incidents that we as emergency managers are responding to. This involves the community through the risks to the community (that we seek to mitigate).

I seek to explore this through my direct experiences on the job: as an emergency manager, as a technical expert and as a research scientist. Our climate in Canberra has changed, and has changed dramatically, starting with the 1997 El Ni{\~n}o event when our climate started following what is termed the {\textquotedblleft}Hockey Stick Curve{\textquotedblright} (Mann et al, 1999). A typical summer now involves: extreme heat, extreme atmospheric moisture, extreme storms and extreme raised dust. By using the hockey stick concept it is clear that this is not the {\textquotedblleft}New Norm{\textquotedblright}, rather that the situation may deteriorate quickly.

Looking more widely, across the nation, we have seen challenging wildfire outbreaks in Queensland, Tasmania (twice) and other areas. My work as a fire behaviour analyst (FBAN) makes it clear that our prior expectations are losing their validity. What do we replace them with? Looking globally, I have deployed to Canada as an FBAN and I am collaborating as part of a global atmospheric research project looking at the growing impact of fire thunderstorms (pyroCbs). This required monitoring of smoke impact on the Greenland Ice Cap, and its potential impacts. I was in the IMT for two of the world{\textquoteright}s most significant pyroCb events. We are seeing this new wildfire problem occur in new regions, starting with Australia in 2001, but now expanding rapidly every year.

Staggering changes, devastating impacts and massive challenges - are we adapting correctly? I offer some take-home messages to help, covering observing, sharing, preparing and adapting.

Download the full peer reviewed research proceedings\ from the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC Research Forumhere.

}, keywords = {Climate change, Emergency management, Fire behaviour, fire impacts, fire management, global impact, Wildfire}, url = {https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/australian-journal-of-emergency-management-monograph-series/}, author = {Rick McRae} } @article {bnh-6332, title = {Firefighter tenability and its influence on wildfire suppression}, journal = {Fire Safety Journal}, volume = {106}, year = {2019}, month = {06/2019}, pages = {38-51}, abstract = {

This paper provides analysis of international fire service siege wildfire suppression thresholds and reports on the effect of forest fuel structure, fire weather condition and terrain on the suitability of suppression strategies. Further, this study applies a fire engineering approach whereby siege wildfire behaviour is deterministically assessed against firefighter tenability thresholds. This research is significant as it is the first study to consider human tenability as a factor in determining appropriateness of wildfire suppression strategies and tactics. The results clearly demonstrate offensive siege wildfire suppression involving direct head fire attacks by personnel and appliances exposes firefighters to untenable conditions well in advance of the head fire edge. Accordingly fire services may need to consider earlier instigation of defensive strategies and increased reliance on aerial wildfire suppression.

}, keywords = {fire engineering, Fire weather, fuel, suppression thresholds, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2019.03.012}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0379711218303515}, author = {Greg Penney and Daryoush Habibi and Marcus Cattani} } @article {bnh-6393, title = {Frequency of Dynamic Fire Behaviours in Australian Forest Environments}, journal = {Fire}, volume = {3}, year = {2019}, month = {12/2019}, abstract = {

Wildfires can result in significant social, environmental and economic losses. Fires in which dynamic fire behaviours (DFBs) occur contribute disproportionately to damage statistics. Little quantitative data on the frequency at which DFBs occur exists. To address this problem, we conducted a structured survey using staff from fire and land management agencies in Australia regarding their experiences with DFBs. Staff were asked which, if any, DFBs were observed within fires greater than 1000 ha from the period 2006{\textendash}2016 that they had experience with. They were also asked about the nature of evidence to support these observations. One hundred thirteen fires were identified. Eighty of them had between one and seven DFBs with 73\% (58 fires) having multiple types of DFBs. Most DFBs could commonly be identified through direct data, suggesting an empirical analysis of these phenomena should be possible. Spotting, crown fires and pyro-convective events were the most common DFBs (66\%); when combined with eruptive fires and conflagrations, these DFBs comprise 89\% of all cases with DFBs. Further research should be focused on these DFBs due to their high frequencies and the fact that quantitative data are likely to be available.

}, keywords = {anecdotal data, direct data, dynamic fire behaviours, indirect data, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.3390/fire3010001}, url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/3/1/1}, author = {Alex Filkov and Thomas Duff and Trent Penman} } @article {bnh-6673, title = {Planned and unplanned fire regimes on public land in south-east Queensland}, journal = {International Journal of Wildland Fire }, year = {2019}, month = {08/2019}, abstract = {

Land management agencies in Queensland conduct planned burning for a variety of reasons, principally for management of fuels for human asset protection and biodiversity management. Using Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service{\textquoteright}s archived manually derived fire reports, this study considered the individual components of the fire regime (extent, frequency and season) to determine variation between planned and unplanned fire regimes in south-east Queensland. Overall, between 2004 and 2015, planned fire accounted for 31.6\% and unplanned fire 68.4\% of all fire on Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service state-managed land. Unplanned fire was more common in spring (September{\textendash}October), and planned fire was more common in winter (June{\textendash}August). Unplanned fire affected 71.4\% of open forests and woodlands (148 563 ha), whereas 58.8\% of melaleuca communities (8016 ha) and 66.6\% of plantations (2442 ha) were burnt with planned fire. Mapping fire history at a regional scale can be readily done with existing publicly available datasets, which can be used to inform the assessment of planned burning effectiveness for human asset protection and the management of biodiversity. Fire management will benefit from the continued recording of accurate fire occurrence data, which allows for detailed fire regime mapping and subsequent adaptive management of fire regimes in the public domain.

}, keywords = {controlled burn, ecological burn, fire mapping, prescribed fire, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18213}, url = {https://www.publish.csiro.au/wf/WF18213}, author = {Martyn Eliott and Tom Lewis and Tyron Venn and Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava} } @article {bnh-5615, title = {Quantification of inter-regional differences in risk mitigation from prescribed burning across multiple management values}, journal = {International Journal of Wildland Fire}, year = {2019}, month = {06/2019}, abstract = {

Fire agencies are moving towards planning systems based on risk assessment; however, knowledge of the most effective way to quantify changes in risk to key values by application of prescribed fire is generally lacking. We present a quantification and inter-regional comparison of how risk to management values responds to variations in prescribed burning treatment rate. Fire simulations were run using the PHOENIX RapidFire fire behaviour simulator for two case study landscapes in interface zones in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia. A Bayesian network approach used these data to explore the influence of treatment and weather on risk from wildfire. Area burnt, length of powerline damaged and length of road damaged responded more strongly to treatment in the ACT than in Tasmania, whereas treatment mitigated house loss and life loss more strongly in Tasmania than the ACT. The effect of prescribed burning treatment rate on area burnt below minimum tolerable fire interval was similar in each case study landscape. Our study shows that the effectiveness of prescribed burning at mitigating area burnt by wildfire and other key values varies considerably across landscapes and values.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, Climate change, trends, Wildfire, wildland fire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18135}, url = {http://www.publish.csiro.au/WF/WF18135}, author = {Brett Cirulis and Hamish Clarke and Matthias M. Boer and Trent Penman and Owen Price and Ross Bradstock} } @article {bnh-6856, title = {Quantification of inter-regional differences in risk mitigation from prescribed burning across multiple management values}, journal = {International Journal of Wildland Fire}, volume = {29}, year = {2019}, month = {09/2019}, pages = {414-426}, abstract = {

Fire agencies are moving towards planning systems based on risk assessment; however, knowledge of the most effective way to quantify changes in risk to key values by application of prescribed fire is generally lacking. We present a quantification and inter-regional comparison of how risk to management values responds to variations in prescribed burning treatment rate. Fire simulations were run using the PHOENIX RapidFire fire behaviour simulator for two case study landscapes in interface zones in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia. A Bayesian network approach used these data to explore the influence of treatment and weather on risk from wildfire. Area burnt, length of powerline damaged and length of road damaged responded more strongly to treatment in the ACT than in Tasmania, whereas treatment mitigated house loss and life loss more strongly in Tasmania than the ACT. The effect of prescribed burning treatment rate on area burnt below minimum tolerable fire interval was similar in each case study landscape. Our study shows that the effectiveness of prescribed burning at mitigating area burnt by wildfire and other key values varies considerably across landscapes and values.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, Climate change, trends, Wildfire, wildland fire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1071/WF18135}, url = {https://www.publish.csiro.au/WF/WF18135}, author = {Brett Cirulis and Hamish Clarke and Matthias M. Boer and Trent Penman and Owen Price and Ross Bradstock} } @article {bnh-5478, title = {Walking together: a decolonising experiment in bushfire management on Dja Dja Wurrung country}, journal = {Cultural Geographies}, volume = {1}, year = {2019}, month = {01/2019}, abstract = {

Within certain settler colonial nations, Indigenous peoples are increasingly becoming present and influential in the agencies legally responsible for the management of their ancestral territories, their environments and their hazards. On the Australian continent, for example, Aboriginal peoples are becoming more formally involved in the management of bushfire (or {\textquoteleft}wildfire{\textquoteright} elsewhere). This environmental phenomenon is at once of profound cultural significance to many Aboriginal peoples and a major natural hazard to human life and property, managed by an extensive professional bureaucracy of settler government agencies. Drawing upon a case study of collaborative bushfire management between Dja Dja Wurrung peoples and settler bushfire management agencies on Dja Dja Wurrung country (or, ancestral territory) in the southeast Australian state of Victoria, this article argues for an understanding of such collaborations as {\textquoteleft}decolonising experiments{\textquoteright}. For geographers and others, this means paying attention to the open-ended character of collaborative initiatives, whether and how they materially improve the position of Indigenous peoples, as well as whether and how they give rise to new resources and strategies for the creation of other decolonising futures.

}, keywords = {Australia, collaboration, environment, indigenous, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474018821419}, url = {https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/qtacPrmvVqKUhMciuDJa/full}, author = {Timothy Neale and Rodney Carter and Trent Nelson and Mick Bourke} } @mastersthesis {bnh-5690, title = {Approaches for investigating wildfire impacts on catchment hydrology}, volume = {Doctor of Philosophy}, year = {2018}, month = {10/2018}, school = {The University of Sydney}, address = {Sydney}, abstract = {

Wildfire has serious impacts on the hydrological cycle and water quality of forested catchments. Forested catchments are commonly used as an important source of drinking water supply in Australia and internationally. Monitoring short-term and long-term post-wildfire catchment hydrology (water quantity and quality) change is important for catchment management. Past studies are limited by data availability and method used. In this thesis, we firstly used empirical (linear mixed model and k-mean clustering) and physical-based hydrological model {\textendash} Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to detect the effect of wildfire on forested catchment hydrology and then built scenarios using physical-based model to investigate the cause of the catchment hydrology change and identify the wildfire sensitive areas in catchments for catchment protection. The case study used here is the 2001/2002 Sydney wildfire, 10 years of pre-wildfire and 10 years of post-wildfire water quantity and quality data were collected by WaterNSW and used in this study. We have successfully used linear mixed model and SWAT to detect the wildfire effect on catchment hydrology in the thesis. As a result, the empirical model observed a long-term (5 - 10 years) post-wildfire water quality change; this change is more considerable during post-wildfire event period. The result from physical-based hydrological models also indicated a long-term change in total suspended sediments concentration during post-wildfire period. In addition to the change detected. Our scenario in physical-based models also observed that post-wildfire soil carbon change has limited effect on catchment hydrology and vegetation change is the main cause of post-wildfire catchment hydrological change. Out models also suggested that sub-catchments with higher slope increases, shorter slope, and smaller soil top layer bulk density, clay, and carbon content, are the most wildfire sensitive areas and should be protected the most.

}, keywords = {soil and water assessment tool, soil carbon, TSS, water quality, Wildfire}, url = {http://hdl.handle.net/2123/20565}, author = {Mengran Yu} } @article {bnh-6331, title = {Establishing Design Principles for Wildfire Resilient Urban Planning}, journal = {Planning Practice and Research}, volume = {33}, year = {2018}, month = {02/2019}, pages = {97-119}, abstract = {

This study elaborates on the built and natural environment disciplines{\textquoteright} potential to develop applied understandings of resilience, using the example of land-use planning design guides in wildfire-prone areas. It argues that land-use planning can develop and apply spatial and physical resilience principles to disasters, contributing to developing meaningful ways of achieving resilience by bridging the space between overarching goals and the specificity of individual contexts, focusing on physical resistance. It concludes that there are nine design principles that can improve settlements resilience in wildfire-prone areas to reduce risks, organized under two major categories: acting on resistance and facilitating response.

}, keywords = {disaster, land-use planning, resilience, Wildfire}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2018.1429787}, url = {https://rsa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02697459.2018.1429787$\#$.XfrID49xXb0}, author = {Constanza Gonzalez-Mathiesen and Alan March} } @article {bnh-7973, title = {An integrative review of the 2017 Port Hill fires{\textquoteright} impact on animals, their owners and first responders{\textquoteright} encounters with the human-animal interface}, journal = {Australasian Journal of Disaster and Truma Studies}, volume = {22}, year = {2018}, month = {12/2018}, abstract = {

Animal welfare emergency management is a critical component of modern emergency management, because the powerful bond between people and animals influences decisions and actions taken during emergency events. High risk behaviour and poor decision-making can negatively affect evacuation compliance, observance of cordons, the safety of frontline responders and the psychosocial recovery of responders and animal owners. This paper reviews documents, including official reports, peer-reviewed journal articles and media reports, concerning the impacts of the 2017 Port Hill Fires on animals, with the aim of providing direction for future research and identifying other information needs. Key themes were identified, including evacuation, cordons, animal rescue, communication and co-ordination. The implications of these for emergency management practice are discussed, including recommendations to: consider animals across all phases of wildfire management; enhance emergency responders{\textquoteright} understandings of animal owners{\textquoteright} emotional drivers; develop a national animal loss database; include animal ownership in relevant public education; leverage the human-animal bond as a motivator for mitigation and emergency preparedness; more carefully consider animal evacuation logistics, and; develop relevant wildfire response strategy.

}, keywords = {2017 Port Hills fires, Animal welfare, Emergency management, Wildfire}, url = {https://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/2018-2/AJDTS_22_2_Squance.pdf}, author = {Hayley Squance and David Johnston and C Stewart and Chris Riley} } @article {bnh-5456, title = {Self-evacuation archetypes in Australian bushfire}, journal = {International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction}, volume = {27}, year = {2018}, month = {03/2019}, abstract = {

Australian householders respond to bushfire in diverse and complex ways according to their circumstances and characteristics. They tend not to simply make a binary decision to evacuate from or remain at their property, or simply to {\textquoteright}wait and see{\textquoteright} what happens before they decide. Seven self-evacuation archetypes displaying universally recognisable, fundamentally human characteristics were identified through cluster and discriminant function analysis of data from 457 householders who had recently experienced a bushfire.

These seven archetypes characterise the diverse attitudes and behaviour of typical groupings of householders faced with making a protective decision during a bushfire. The archetypes comprise those who deny a threat exists (Threat Denier), who do not believe that they are responsible for themselves (Responsibility Denier) or are unable to take responsibility for their safe evacuation (Dependent Evacuator). They include those who are determined to safely evacuate (Considered Evacuator), those who look to advice and guidance from their community (Community Guided) and those who make considerable efforts to remain but are concerned they lack the experience to do so successfully (Worried Waverers). Some, who are experienced with bushfire, self-reliant and well prepared are committed to remaining (Experienced Independents) but in unfavourable circumstances may evacuate. Bushfire safety policy and programs should not treat these householders as simply stereotypical {\textquoteright}evacuators{\textquoteright} or {\textquoteright}remainers{\textquoteright} but accommodate the diversity of these archetypes to effectively meet their educational and engagement needs.

}, keywords = {hazard, Personal safety, Public policy, Wildfire}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.10.016}, url = {https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:46864}, author = {Ken Strahan and J Whittaker and John Handmer} } @article {bnh-5064, title = {Should we leave now? Behavioral factors in evacuation under wildfire threat}, journal = {Fire Technology}, year = {2018}, month = {07/2018}, pages = {30}, chapter = {1}, abstract = {

Wildfires pose a serious threat to life in many countries. For police, fire and emergency services authorities in most jurisdictions in North America and Australia evacuation is now the option that is preferred overwhelmingly. Wildfire evacuation modeling can assist authorities in planning evacuation responses to future threats. Understanding residents{\textquoteright} behavior under wildfire threat may assist in wildfire evacuation modeling. This paper reviews North American and Australian research into wildfire evacuation behavior published between January 2005 and June 2017. Wildfire evacuation policies differ across the two regions: in North America mandatory evacuations are favored, in Australia most are advisory. Research from both regions indicates that following a wildfire evacuation warning some threatened residents will wish to remain on their property in order to protect it, many will delay evacuating, and some residents who are not on their property when an evacuation warning is issued may seek to return. Mandatory evacuation is likely to result in greater compliance, enforcement policies are also likely to be influential. Self-delayed evacuation is likely if warnings are not sufficiently informative: residents are likely to engage in information search rather than initiating evacuation actions. The wildfire warning and threat histories of a location may influence residents{\textquoteright} decisions and actions. The complexities of behavioral factors influencing residents{\textquoteright} actions following an evacuation warning pose challenges for wildfire evacuation modeling. Suggestions are offered for ways in which authorities might reduce the numbers of residents who delay evacuating following a wildfire warning.

}, keywords = {Bushfire, delay, Evacuation, human behavior, modeling, Wildfire}, doi = {10.1007/s10694-018-0753-8 }, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10694-018-0753-8}, author = {Jim McLennan and Barbara Ryan and Christopher Bearman and Keith Toh} } @mastersthesis {bnh-5457, title = {Factors influencing householder self-evacuation in two Australian bushfires}, year = {2017}, month = {08/2017}, school = {RMIT}, type = {Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

The thesis investigated householder self-evacuation decision-making during bushfires in the Perth and Adelaide Hills in 2014 and 2015. It explored the factors that influenced householders{\textquoteright} decisions to evacuate, identified factors that predict self-evacuation and established the characteristics of self-evacuators. The Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) provided a conceptual framework for the research. Its theoretical and analytical usefulness in an Australian context, was assessed. A mixed methods research strategy was used involving quantitative telephone surveys of 457 bushfire-affected participants and face-to-face interviews of 109 participants in 59 households.\ 

The study concluded that environmental and social cues and warnings and householders{\textquoteright} perceptions of the threat, of hazard adjustments and of other stakeholders, influenced self-evacuation decision-making. Protective action perceptions, particularly the effectiveness of evacuating or not evacuating in protecting personal safety or property, were most important in predicting self-evacuation. Receipt of official warnings and the perception of likely impact of the bushfire on property were also important predictors. Undertaking long-run hazard adjustments, although not predictive of self-evacuation, was pivotal in shaping perceptions of the effectiveness of evacuating and remaining in protecting personal safety and property and indirectly influenced evacuation decisions. Seven archetypes that characterised householders{\textquoteright} self-evacuation attitudes and behaviour were identified. These included Threat, and Responsibility Deniers, Dependent, and Considered Evacuators, Community Guided and Experienced Independents all who took different decisional {\textquoteleft}rules of thumb{\textquoteright} and routes toward evacuating or remaining . The PADM needs to be split into two separate models to incorporate the influence of long-run hazard adjustments on protective action decision-making in an Australian bushfire.

The findings suggest that future research on those who wait and see during a bushfire should take account of their decisional rules of thumb and that design and targeting of Australian bushfire safety policy should better account for self-evacuator characteristics.\ 

}, keywords = {{\textquoteright}Dependent Evacuator{\textquoteright}, {\textquoteright}Wait and See{\textquoteright}, Archetypes, Bushfire, decision-making, Long-run hazard adjustment, PADM, Prediction Policy, Self-evacuation, Wildfire}, url = {https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:162093}, author = {Ken Strahan} } @article {bnh-2755, title = {Examining bushfire policy in action: Preparedness and behaviour in the 2009 Black Saturday fires}, journal = {Environmental Science \& Policy}, volume = {63}, year = {2016}, month = {09/2016}, chapter = {55}, abstract = {

An important part of reducing the risk of disaster is the preparedness of the people at risk. Australian bushfire authorities have policies and publicity about what households should do to be prepared {\textendash} which include knowledge about fire risk, awareness of one{\textquoteright}s own risk, taking specific steps to reduce risk including having an emergency plan. Yet, there is sparse empirical evidence about the link between preparedness and actual behaviour in the face of a major disaster.

The authors had an opportunity to examine the circumstances surrounding the 172 civilian fatalities which occurred in the 2009 Victorian {\textquoteleft}Black Saturday{\textquoteright} bushfires, through the examination of a detailed fatality dataset compiled by the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. This dataset allows detailed examination of Victorian bushfire safety policy ({\textquoteleft}Stay or go{\textquoteright}) in action on a day of extreme fire danger: from preparedness (both before and on the day of the fire) to behaviour on the day of the fire itself.

This analysis presents three overarching findings. First, some aspects of {\textquoteleft}Stay or go{\textquoteright} appear to be supported: being well-prepared to evacuate remains the safest option in a bushfire; sheltering passively is very dangerous. Second, successful implementation of {\textquoteleft}Stay or go{\textquoteright} depends on a multitude of factors, which can challenge even the most capable householders. Third, events like Black Saturday challenge the {\textquoteleft}Stay or go{\textquoteright} approach, and indicate the need for a different approach on extreme fire danger days. We conclude by reflecting on the findings from this research in terms of the most recent changes to bushfire policy in Victoria.

}, keywords = {Behaviour, Preparedness, Safety policy, Vulnerability, Wildfire}, doi = {doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2016.05.011}, url = {http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1T6tW5Ce0rOF7M}, author = {John Handmer and O{\textquoteright}Neill, Saffron J} } @article {bnh-1657, title = {Children{\textquoteright}s knowledge of bushfire emergency response}, journal = {International Journal of Wildland Fire}, volume = {24}, year = {2015}, month = {10/03/2015}, pages = {179-189}, chapter = {179}, abstract = {

In the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfire disaster, the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission recommended that bushfire education be made a formal part of the Australian national curriculum. Crucially, the success of any hazards education program depends on the degree to which the learner{\textquoteright}s existing knowledge and experience is accommodated in the education process. Yet accommodating children{\textquoteright}s knowledge in bushfire education is hampered by a lack of research on how children conceptualise bushfire hazards. To address this gap, this paper presents a detailed qualitative analysis of children{\textquoteright}s knowledge of bushfire hazards with a specific focus on emergency response. Across four bushfire-prone locations in south-eastern Australia, 26 focus group interviews were conducted with 87 children aged between 8 and 12 years. To better understand the construction of children{\textquoteright}s knowledge, individual interviews were also conducted with 37 parents. Through their engagement in the research process, children demonstrated a capacity for engaging in serious discussions about bushfire hazards and although their knowledge was often characterised by gaps and misconceptions, they also demonstrated a capacity for understanding the fundamental principles of emergency response, particularly when they had been involved in bushfire planning within their household.

}, keywords = {Emergency management, hazards education, Wildfire}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF13153}, url = {http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=WF13153}, author = {Briony Towers} } @article {BF-4275, title = {Bushfires are {\textquotedblleft}men{\textquoteright}s business{\textquotedblright}: The importance of gender and rural hegemonic masculinity}, journal = {Journal of Rural Studies}, volume = {30}, year = {2013}, month = {04/2013}, pages = {110-119}, chapter = {110}, abstract = {This paper offers a critical review of the international literature on gender, disaster and rural masculinities. Empirical reference is made to bushfires in Australia, offering new evidence from the State of Victoria. Bushfires loom large in the Australian imagination and there is an increasing amount of research now being conducted in relation to bushfire events. A significant gap remains, however, with regard to the issue of gender. Despite increasing evidence that gender plays a significant role with reference to disaster risk assessment, preparation and response, a gendered analysis of bushfire preparation and response has not been a sustained research priority. Building on the writing of others, a critical assessment is provided of the concept of a specifically Australian, rural hegemonic masculinity as a possible way of better understanding the social dimensions of gender, and bushfire preparation and response in the Australian context. This conceptual consideration is extended to draw attention to the process whereby alternative conceptions of masculinities may emerge. This recognition provides a basis for further research on gender and disaster internationally.}, keywords = {Bushfire, Community Fireguard, Gender, Masculinity, Wildfire}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2013.01.002}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016713000041}, author = {Meagan Tyler and Peter Fairbrother} } @article {BF-4274, title = {Environmental circumstances surrounding bushfire fatalities in Australia 1901{\textendash}2011}, journal = {Environmental Science \& Policy}, year = {2013}, month = {11/2013}, pages = {1-12}, chapter = {1}, abstract = {This paper describes the development and analysis of a dataset covering bushfire related life loss in Australia over the past 110 years (1901{\textendash}2011). Over this time period 260 bushfires have been associated with a total of 825 known civilian and firefighter fatalities. This database was developed to provide an evidence base from which an Australian national fire danger rating system can be developed and has benefits in formalising our understanding of community exposure to bushfire. The database includes detail of the spatial, temporal and localised context in which the fatalities occurred. This paper presents the analysis of 674 civilian fatalities. The analysis has focused on characterising the relationship between fatal exposure location, weather conditions (wind speed, temperature, relative humidity and drought indices), proximity to fuel, activities and decision making leading up to the death. The analysis demonstrates that civilian fatalities were dominated by several iconic bushfires that have occurred under very severe weather conditions. The fatalities from Australia{\textquoteright}s 10 worst bushfire days accounted for 64\% of all civilian fatalities. Over 50\% of all fatalities occurred on days where the McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) exceeded 100 (the current threshold for declaring a day as {\textquoteleft}catastrophic{\textquoteright}) proximal to the fatality. The dominant location category was open air representing 58\% of all fatalities followed by 28\% in structures, and 8\% in vehicles (6\% are unknown). For bushfires occurring under weather conditions exceeding an FFDI value of 100, fatalities within structures represented over 60\% of all fatalities. These were associated with people dying while attempting to shelter mainly in their place of residence. Of the fatalities that occurred inside a structure in a location that was specifically known, 41\% occurred in rooms with reduced visibility to the outside conditions. Over 78\% of all fatalities occurred within 30 m of the forest.}, keywords = {Fatalities, Policy, Warnings, Wildfire, WUI}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2013.09.013}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901113002074}, author = {Blanchi, Raphaele and Justin Leonard and Katharine Haynes and Kimberley Opie and Melissa James and Felipe Dimer de Oliveira} } @article {BF-4281, title = {Quantifying spatio-temporal differences between fire shapes: Estimating fire travel paths for the improvement of dynamic spread models}, journal = {Environmental Modelling \& Software}, volume = {46}, year = {2013}, month = {08/2013}, pages = {33-43}, chapter = {33}, abstract = {Dynamic fire spread models are a recent development in landscape management that provide for the simulation of the spread of fires through time under complex weather conditions. These allow risks to be assessed and resources to be strategically managed. The need for reliable and accurate fire models is of particular importance in the face of recent catastrophic wildfires in Australia, Europe and the United States. However, while fire spread models are developed using physical knowledge and empirical observations, there are few techniques which can be used to objectively assess the {\textquoteleft}goodness of fit{\textquoteright} of spatial predictions of fire spread. We propose a new method to allow the comparison of fire perimeters, providing for the discrimination of sources of simulation error and assisting in the collection of empirical spread data from observed fires. Differences between fire perimeters are quantified using linear vectors aligned with the direction of spread of the perimeter being sampled. These can provide an indication of difference in terms of the fire spread distance on the ground. The location, direction and length of these vectors can be used to assess spread rates to assist with model calibration. We demonstrated the utility of this method using a case study which assessed differences between the observed and simulated progression of an Australian wildfire. The new indices were found to be effective descriptors of differences in fire shape and hold potential for the spatial evaluation of fire spread models. The indices can be used to compare similar fire shapes; however they are unsuited for cases where there are large differences between perimeters.}, keywords = {Bushfire, Morphometrics, Perimeter, Shape analysis, Spatial validation, Wildfire}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2013.02.005}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815213000455}, author = {Thomas Duff and Chong, Derek and Tolhurst, K.G.} } @article {BF-3999, title = {A spatial optimisation model for multi-period landscape level fuel management to mitigate wildfire impacts}, journal = {European Journal of Operational Research}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Elevated fuel loads are contributing to an increase in the occurrence of, and area burned by, severe wildfires in many regions across the globe. In an attempt to reverse this trend, fire and land management agencies are investing in extensive fuel management programs. However, the planning of fuel treatment activities poses complicated decision-making problems with spatial and temporal dimensions. Here, we present a mixed integer programming model for spatially explicit multi-period scheduling of fuel treatments. The model provides a flexible framework that allows for landscape heterogeneity and a range of ecological and operational considerations and constraints. The model{\textquoteright}s functionality is demonstrated on a series of hypothetical test landscapes and a number of implementation issues are discussed.}, keywords = {Fuel management, Integer programming, OR in natural resources, Spatial optimization, Wildfire, wildland fire}, doi = {10.1016/j.ejor.2013.07.026}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221713006073}, author = {Minas, James P. and John Hearne and Martell, David} } @article {2047, title = {Australian bushfire fatalities 1900-2008: exploring trends in relation to the {\textquoteleft}Prepare, stay and defend or leave early{\textquoteright} policy}, journal = {Environmental Science \& Policy}, volume = {13}, year = {2010}, month = {05/2010}, pages = {185 - 194}, abstract = {

In many jurisdictions, including parts of the US, authorities often dictate mandatory evacuations of communities threatened by bushfire (wildfire). Prior to the 2009 [{\textquoteleft}]Black Saturday{\textquoteright} fires in Victoria, Australian fire authorities in all States advised residents to decide whether they would prepare to stay and defend homes or leave early. The clear intent of that policy was to avoid late evacuations and the risks to life that this could entail. This study re-examines evidence underpinning this policy using analyses of a database of bushfire fatalities. The database contains information on 552 civilian (non-fire fighter) fatalities obtained from print media archives at Risk Frontiers and forensic, witness and police statements contained within coronial inquest reports for all bushfire fatalities between 1901 and 2008. This data, compiled before the Black Saturday fires, clearly show the dangers of being caught outside during a bushfire and the gendered division of the circumstances of these deaths. While men have been most often killed outside while attempting to protect assets, most female and child fatalities occurred while sheltering in the house or attempting to flee. The database provides a benchmark against which the Black Saturday experience can be examined.

}, keywords = {Community safety, Fatalities, Policy, Wildfire, Wildland-urban interface}, isbn = {1462-9011}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2010.03.002}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1462901110000201}, author = {Katharine Haynes and John Handmer and John McAneney and Tibbits, Amalie and Coates, Lucinda} }