Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions
The global COVID-19 pandemic will pose unique challenges to the management of wildland fire in 2020. Fire camps may provide an ideal setting for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, intervention strategies can help minimize disease spread and reduce the risk to th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Fire |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/3/3/38 |
| _version_ | 1827711809396670464 |
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| author | Matthew P Thompson Jude Bayham Erin Belval |
| author_facet | Matthew P Thompson Jude Bayham Erin Belval |
| author_sort | Matthew P Thompson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global COVID-19 pandemic will pose unique challenges to the management of wildland fire in 2020. Fire camps may provide an ideal setting for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, intervention strategies can help minimize disease spread and reduce the risk to the firefighting community. We developed a COVID-19 epidemic model to highlight the risks posed by the disease during wildland fire incidents. Our model accounts for the transient nature of the population on a wildland fire incident, which poses unique risks to the management of communicable diseases in fire camps. We used the model to assess the impact of two types of interventions: the screening of a firefighter arriving on an incident, and social distancing measures. Our results suggest that both interventions are important to mitigate the risks posed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, screening is relatively more effective on short incidents, whereas social distancing is relatively more effective during extended campaigns. We conclude with a discussion of model limitations and potential extensions to the model. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:02:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-27b686748be04cf8845d86de4de617a3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:02:53Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj.art-27b686748be04cf8845d86de4de617a32023-11-20T08:44:33ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552020-08-01333810.3390/fire3030038Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and InterventionsMatthew P Thompson0Jude Bayham1Erin Belval2Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USADepartment of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USADepartment of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USAThe global COVID-19 pandemic will pose unique challenges to the management of wildland fire in 2020. Fire camps may provide an ideal setting for the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. However, intervention strategies can help minimize disease spread and reduce the risk to the firefighting community. We developed a COVID-19 epidemic model to highlight the risks posed by the disease during wildland fire incidents. Our model accounts for the transient nature of the population on a wildland fire incident, which poses unique risks to the management of communicable diseases in fire camps. We used the model to assess the impact of two types of interventions: the screening of a firefighter arriving on an incident, and social distancing measures. Our results suggest that both interventions are important to mitigate the risks posed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, screening is relatively more effective on short incidents, whereas social distancing is relatively more effective during extended campaigns. We conclude with a discussion of model limitations and potential extensions to the model.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/3/3/38SARS-CoV-2wildland fireworkforce capacitysuppressionrisk |
| spellingShingle | Matthew P Thompson Jude Bayham Erin Belval Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions Fire SARS-CoV-2 wildland fire workforce capacity suppression risk |
| title | Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions |
| title_full | Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions |
| title_fullStr | Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions |
| title_short | Potential COVID-19 Outbreak in Fire Camp: Modeling Scenarios and Interventions |
| title_sort | potential covid 19 outbreak in fire camp modeling scenarios and interventions |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 wildland fire workforce capacity suppression risk |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/3/3/38 |
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