Canadian Forest Service Publications
Temporal variations in elliptical forest fire shapes. 1989. McAlpine, R.S. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 19(11): 1496-1500.
Year: 1989
Issued by: Northern Forestry Centre
Catalog ID: 11288
Language: English
Availability: Order paper copy (free), PDF (request by e-mail)
Abstract
Elliptical fire growth models are dependant on a relationship between the length to width ratio of the ellipse and the prevailing wind speed. A laboratory study of point source fires growing in two fuel types (Ponderosa Pine (Pinusponderosa Laws.) needle litter and excelsior) showed that the length to width ratio changes from the time of inception until a stabilized "equilibrium" eccentricity is established. The size of fuel bed required to allow stabilization of the length to width ratio is dependant on wind speed. Results indicate that a fuel bed 0.93 m wide is insufficient to allow length to width ratio stabilization for wind speeds above 1.6 km/h.