(Not necessarily taught in the order listed here. See the "Schedule" tab above for schedule details.)
Background
Orientation
Recent forest fires
History and trends of forest fires in W. Canada
Indigenous forest and fire management practices and ways of thinking
.
Fire Weather
Forest-fire fundamentals
Fire behavior
Fuel and moisture indices
Fire danger indices &
Sources of fire info
.
Synoptics & Fire-Weather Forecasting
Intro to synoptics based on NWP
Atmospheric cross-sections
Weather map analysis; 3-D interpretation of the atmosphere
Weather forecasting and sources of weather info
Winds: geostrophic, gradient, jet streams, low-level jets
Mid-latitude cyclones and fronts
Accessing real-time and historical satellite, radar, NWP, lightning, smoke, hot spot, weather obs data, and other forecast resources
.
Microscale & Mesoscale Forecasting
Soundings, potential temperature
Thunderstorms, lightning & pyrocumulus
Topographically driven flows
Dynamically-driven mountain flows
.
Climate & Smoke Issues
Climate cycles and climate change
Smoke Plume Rise and Smoke Dispersion
Smoke forecasting
.
Synthesis: Fire Weather Forecasting & Society
Automated fire-weather & smoke forecasting issues
Fires, forest management, Indigenous practices & sustainable solutions
Willdland urban interface (WUI) fires & recommendations for safety
.