New guide to fire spread

How do bushfires behave? How fast will fire spread, and where? Where and how best can fire be controlled?

Helping agencies to answer these questions, AFAC and CSIRO have released, based on a Bushfire CRC commissioned synthesis report, a publication designed to assist fire behaviour analysts and incident managers answer some of these critical questions in predicting bushfire behaviour.

A Guide to Rate of Fire Spread Models for Australian Vegetation consolidates, for the first time, all available Australian rate of fire spread models into one practical reference guide to assist fire behaviour analysts and incident managers with bushfire predictions and suppression planning.

Different fire spread models work in different burning conditions.

“The challenge is  knowing which to apply in formulating accurate and timely predictions,” AFAC CEO Stuart Ellis said.

“This publication will assist fire managers and incident managers in making decisions for the best outcomes in different bushfire conditions. These are decisions that can save lives.”

The practical guide details all currently available fire spread models used in Australia and the science that underpins them, covering fire behaviour in vegetation such as grasslands, shrublands and native eucalypt forests as well as in pine plantations. It also provides a comprehensive evaluation of the performance and potential applications of the models for bushfire spread prediction or prescribed burning planning.

A Guide to Rate of Fire Spread Models for Australian Vegetation was written by scientists from CSIRO, the University of Alberta, and the Department of Parks and Wildlife WA, and published by AFAC as a research utilisation initiative, drawing on joint research conducted by the Bushfire CRC and CSIRO.

Copies of the book are available at the AFAC shop at www.afac.com.au