Abstract
Residential losses associated with wildland fires have become a serious international fire protection problem. The radiant heat flux from burning vegetation adjacent to a structure is a principal ignition factor. A thermal radiation and ignition model estimated structure ignition potential using designated flame characteristics (inferred from various types and densities of vegetation) and flame-to-structure distances. Model results indicate that ignitions from flame radiation are unlikely to occur from burning vegetation beyond 40 meters of a structure. Thinning vegetation within 40 meters has a significant ignition mitigation effect.
Keywords
wildland/urban interface,
flame radiation,
piloted ignition,
vegetation management
Citation
Cohen, Jack D.; Butler, Bret W. 1998. Modeling potential structure ignitions from flame radiation exposure with implications for wildland/urban interface fire management. In: Proceedings of the 13th Fire and Forest Meteorology Conference, International Association of Wildland Fire. p. 81-86