Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, Utah
The planning of fuel treatments for ecological or societal purposes requires an in-depth understanding of the conditions associated with the occurrence of free-burning fire behavior for the area of concern. Detailed fire-environment analysis for Army Garrison Camp Williams (AGCW) in north-central Ut...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Fire |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/3/1/6 |
| _version_ | 1798042898462146560 |
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| author | Scott M. Frost Martin E. Alexander R. Justin DeRose Michael J. Jenkins |
| author_facet | Scott M. Frost Martin E. Alexander R. Justin DeRose Michael J. Jenkins |
| author_sort | Scott M. Frost |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The planning of fuel treatments for ecological or societal purposes requires an in-depth understanding of the conditions associated with the occurrence of free-burning fire behavior for the area of concern. Detailed fire-environment analysis for Army Garrison Camp Williams (AGCW) in north-central Utah was completed as a prerequisite for fuel treatment planning, using a procedure that could be generally applied. Vegetation and fuels data, topographic and terrain features, and weather and climate data, were assessed and integrated into predictive fuel models to aid planning. A fire behavior fuel model map was developed from biophysical variables, vegetation type, and plot survey data using random forests, and resulted in an overall classification rate of 72%. The predominate vegetation type-fuel complex was grass, followed by lesser amounts of Gambel oak, Wyoming big sagebrush and Utah juniper. The majority of AGCW is mountainous in nature, characterized by slopes less than 40% in steepness with slightly more northerly and easterly aspects than south and west, and elevations that ranged from 1650 to 1950 m above mean sea level. Local fire weather data compiled from the three nearest remote automated weather stations indicated that average temperature maxima (32 °C) and relative humidity minima (12%) usually occurred between 1400 to 1500 hours daily, and from July to August, seasonally. The semi-arid climate at AGCW, coupled with the corresponding preponderance of flashy fuel types and sloping terrain, constitutes a formidable fire environment in which to plan for mitigating against adverse fire behavior. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:42:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fad48b58d1e142229277b3385db6ffa4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:42:01Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj.art-fad48b58d1e142229277b3385db6ffa42022-12-22T03:58:57ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552020-03-0131610.3390/fire3010006fire3010006Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, UtahScott M. Frost0Martin E. Alexander1R. Justin DeRose2Michael J. Jenkins3Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, 5230 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, USAWild Rose Fire Behaviour, 180-50435 Range Road 232, Leduc County, Alberta T4X 1L0, CanadaDepartment of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University, 5230 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, USADepartment of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, 5230 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, USAThe planning of fuel treatments for ecological or societal purposes requires an in-depth understanding of the conditions associated with the occurrence of free-burning fire behavior for the area of concern. Detailed fire-environment analysis for Army Garrison Camp Williams (AGCW) in north-central Utah was completed as a prerequisite for fuel treatment planning, using a procedure that could be generally applied. Vegetation and fuels data, topographic and terrain features, and weather and climate data, were assessed and integrated into predictive fuel models to aid planning. A fire behavior fuel model map was developed from biophysical variables, vegetation type, and plot survey data using random forests, and resulted in an overall classification rate of 72%. The predominate vegetation type-fuel complex was grass, followed by lesser amounts of Gambel oak, Wyoming big sagebrush and Utah juniper. The majority of AGCW is mountainous in nature, characterized by slopes less than 40% in steepness with slightly more northerly and easterly aspects than south and west, and elevations that ranged from 1650 to 1950 m above mean sea level. Local fire weather data compiled from the three nearest remote automated weather stations indicated that average temperature maxima (32 °C) and relative humidity minima (12%) usually occurred between 1400 to 1500 hours daily, and from July to August, seasonally. The semi-arid climate at AGCW, coupled with the corresponding preponderance of flashy fuel types and sloping terrain, constitutes a formidable fire environment in which to plan for mitigating against adverse fire behavior.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/3/1/6fire climatefire weatherfuel modelpotential fire behaviorrandom forestsremote automated weather stationtopography |
| spellingShingle | Scott M. Frost Martin E. Alexander R. Justin DeRose Michael J. Jenkins Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, Utah Fire fire climate fire weather fuel model potential fire behavior random forests remote automated weather station topography |
| title | Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, Utah |
| title_full | Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, Utah |
| title_fullStr | Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, Utah |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, Utah |
| title_short | Fire-Environment Analysis: An Example of Army Garrison Camp Williams, Utah |
| title_sort | fire environment analysis an example of army garrison camp williams utah |
| topic | fire climate fire weather fuel model potential fire behavior random forests remote automated weather station topography |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/3/1/6 |
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