Notes: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology & Management Lesson 5 - PDF document

NR406 Notes: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology & Management Lesson 5 Mapping Fuels and Sim ulations in Farsite NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: FARSI TE – Dow nload Fire Area Sim ulator FARSI TE – Dow nload Fire Area Sim ulator The fire growth simulation program Farsite was developed by Mark Finney at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. You can download the program from http://www.fire.org. In this lesson you will learn what information is required as inputs to Farsite and how to use GIS to create these data. http://www.fire.org/ Mark Finney Fire Sciences Lab, Missoula, MT NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: W hat is FARSI TE? W hat is FARSI TE? Farsite is a fire growth simulation model that uses spatial • FARSITE is a fire growth simulation model. It uses spatial information on topography and fuels along with weather information on topography and fuels along with weather and and wind files. wind files to predict the spread of fires across the landscape. • FARSITE incorporates the existing models for surface fire, Farsite incorporates existing models for surface fires, crown crown fire, spotting, post-frontal combustion, and fire fire, spotting, post-frontal combustion and fire acceleration into acceleration into a 2-dimensional fire growth model. a 2-dimensional spatial fire growth model. • FARSITE runs under Microsoft Windows operating systems (Windows 98, me, NT, 2000, and XP) and features a graphical interface. • FARSITE users must have the support of a geographic information system (GIS) to use FARSITE because it requires spatial landscape information to run. NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: W hat does FARSI TE do? W hat does FARSI TE do? Farsite computes the growth of wildfires and behavior through • Computes wildfire growth and behavior through time under heterogeneous conditions of terrain, fuels, and weather. time under heterogeneous conditions of terrain, fuels and weather. It is a deterministic model which means that if you • Uses existing fire behavior m odels for surface and crown fires, post-frontal combustion, and fuel moisture. are running the model several times with the same input • It is a determ inistic model, meaning that you can relate variables the results will be the same, i.e. there is no simulation results directly to your inputs. stochastic component in the model. • Produces outputs that are compatible with PC and GIS. The outputs from Farsite are compatible with ArcGIS. You can use Farsite to ask what-if questions and compare • Can simulate air and ground suppression actions. different management scenarios. • Can be used for fire gaming, asking multiple "what-if" questions and com paring the results.

NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: Learn More… Learn More… Learn more about Farsite in the documentation pages Learn more by reading the FARSITE User’s Guide http://www.fire.org go to the FARSITE tab NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: Flow Diagram Flow Diagram This is the ‘simple’ flow diagram for how to create a Farsite GIS data project. In this Lesson you will view a demonstration on how to is required set up and run a simple project. Data layers created in a GIS to build the Landscape file are required to build the landscape file in Farsite. Since the input GIS layers to Farsite are raster data, the Spatial Analyst Extension is required for GIS data processing. NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: Landscape Layers from GI S Landscape Layers from GI S The required GIS layers are elevation, slope, aspect, fuel Required Optional model and canopy cover. Optional layers are Crown Bulk • Elevation • Crown Bulk Density Density, Crown Base Height, Stand Height, Duff Loading, • Aspect • Crown Base Height Course Woody Debris. We will focus on preparing the • Slope • Stand Height • Fuel Model • Duff Loading topographic layers and the fuel model layers in this lesson and • Canopy Cover • Course Woody exercise. NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: We do not have a fuel model map for We will prepare GIS input layers to Farsite for the Craig Craig Mountain Mountain Wildlife Management Area in west central Idaho. We have a cover type grid at a 30 m pixel size developed by the How could we estimate fuel models GAP Analysis Project (http://www.wildlife.uidaho.edu/idgap/). from vegetation? Since we do not have a fuel model dataset for Craig Mountain we will estimate the fuel models from the existing vegetation. For example the Douglas-fir cover type will be assigned Fuel Model 8 (short needle coniferous forest) and Foothills grassland will be assigned Fuel Model 1 (Short grass). This type of fuel model assignment can easily be done using the RECLASSIFY tool in ArcGIS Spatial Analyst.

NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: Fuel m odels (Anderson, 1982) Fuel m odels (Anderson, 1982) A few fuel models are listed here. If you are not familiar with the concept of the Anderson fuel models, please take some FM 1 – Short Grass time to read: FM 2 – Open Timber Grass Understory Anderson, Hal E. 1982. Aids to determining fuel models for FM 5 – Short Brush estimating fire behavior. USDA For. Serv. Gen. Tech. Rep. FM 8 – Closed Short Needle Conifer INT-122, 22p. lntermt. For. and Range Exp. Stn., Ogden, Utah FM 9 – Closed Long Needle Conifer 84401 Available at: FM 10 – Closed Timber Heavy DWD http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs_int/int_gtr122.html FM 11 – Light Logging Slash GIS Fuel Model data layers are available for download from the Landfire web site (http://www.Landfire.gov). Lesson 8 covers the Landfire project and access to Landfire data. NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: Digital Elevation Models Digital Elevation Models Digital elevation models are available for most areas in USA. Digital elevation models This elevation model was downloaded from the INSIDE Idaho are available for most areas in USA. GIS clearing-house http://inside.uidaho.edu This elevation model was Slope and aspect grids can be derived from the digital downloaded from the INSIDE I daho GIS elevation model in Spatial Analyst. clearing-house http: / / inside.uidaho.edu Slope and aspect grids can be derived from the digital elevation model in Spatial Analyst. NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: TI P TI P After the data layers have been prepared in ArcGIS they must be converted to the Grid ASCII format. You can do this in All raster data must be ArcToolbox. converted to ASCII GRIDS in ArcINFO or ArcToolbox NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: Files Required to Run Farsite Files Required to Run Farsite Other files required to run Farsite are information about Required weather, wind, and fuel moistures. • Weather (.WTR) • Wind (.WND) • Adjustment Factors (.ADJ) • Initial Fuel Moistures (.FMS) Optional • Custom Fuel Models (.CFM) • Burn Period (.BPD) • Coarse Woody Profiles (.CWD) • Fuel Model Conversions (.CNV)

NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management August 12, 2000, path 42 row 28 Notes: Craig Mountain Management Area Craig Mountain Management Area Craig Mountain Management Area This is a Landsat satellite image from August 12, 2000 over the Craig Mountain Management Area south of Lewiston in west central Idaho. The fire we will be simulating in Farsite started at the eastern end of the management area. NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management September 13, 2000, path 42 row 28 Notes: Craig Mountain Management Area Craig Mountain Management Area The same area a month later after the Maloney Creek fire had stopped burning. NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: Progression of Maloney Creek Fire on Craig Mtn. Progression of Maloney Creek Fire on Craig Mtn. This map shows the fire progression map for the Maloney Creek fire on Craig Mountain in August 2000. Enable spot fires! Barriers can be added Start Aug 12? NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: FARSI TE – Dem o FARSI TE – Dem o The fire is here burning in Farsite. Notice how the progression of the fire in this graphic is very similar to the extent of the fire on August 15 in the previous slide.

NR406: GIS Applications in Fire Ecology and Management Notes: FARSI TE – Dem o FARSI TE – Dem o The fire has here been allowed to burn in Farsite longer that the Maloney Creek fire actually burned on Craig Mountain. In the following lab you will learn now to use GIS to prepare the necessary input data layers for simulation in Farsite.