Wildfire modeling

<p>Wildfire modeling is concerned with <a href="/facts/Numerical_simulation/Re6o8vzN">numerical simulation</a> of <a href="/facts/Wildfire/LU3797A0">wildfires</a> to comprehend and predict fire behavior. Wildfire modeling aims to aid wildfire suppression, increase the safety of firefighters and the public, and minimize damage. Wildfire modeling can also aid in protecting <a href="/facts/Ecosystem/kVE8mSmR">ecosystems</a>, <a href="/facts/Drainage_basin/lzsx0XJS">watersheds</a>, and <a href="/facts/Air_quality/zmk9Dy7S">air quality</a>.
</p><p>Using <a href="/facts/Computational_science/PnVD19hw">computational science</a>, wildfire modeling involves the statistical analysis of past fire events to predict spotting risks and front behavior. Various wildfire propagation models have been proposed in the past, including simple ellipses and egg- and fan-shaped models. Early attempts to determine wildfire behavior assumed terrain and vegetation uniformity. However, the exact behavior of a wildfire's front is dependent on a variety of factors, including wind speed and slope steepness. Modern growth models utilize a combination of past ellipsoidal descriptions and <a href="/facts/Huygens%2527_Principle/t7lsjjA3">Huygens' Principle</a> to simulate fire growth as a continuously expanding polygon. <a href="/facts/Extreme_value_theory/17YICqaw">Extreme value theory</a> may also be used to predict the size of large wildfires. However, large fires that exceed suppression capabilities are often regarded as statistical outliers in standard analyses, even though fire policies are more influenced by large wildfires than by small fires.
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Wildfire modeling open-in-new

Wildfire modeling