| Topic | Activities & Assignments | Learning Goals. By the end of this section, you will be able to ... |
|---|---|---|
| Lab / HW | Start reviewing the topics below and answering the assignment questions in class as Lab work, and finish at home as homework. Submit via Canvas within a week after today. | Focus your studies of the topics below in order to answer the attached Lab/Homework questions. |
| Fire Triangles | Read the websites discussing the fire triangle, and wildfire triangle. See fb02 and the links in the Learning Goals column. |
Explain why fires need fuel, oxygen and ignition/heat. Also explain the roles of season, weather, and topography. NWT has a good overview. |
| Fire Behavior Ranking in BC | Read the websites discussing how fire behavior is ranked in British Columbia. See fb03 and the links in the Learning-Goals column. | For different-intensity fires, explain how to classify them into ranks, and describe how they are fought. Also, estimate ranks based on fire appearance and behavior. |
| Forest Maps & Layers | Follow the online lecture on forest maps and layers. See fb04. | Locate on a map the main ecological zones and forest types, and describe the layers of deep fuels (e.g., peat), duff, surface, understory, and crown for temperate and boreal forests. Describe how the fuel layers of deep duff (& peat), duff, surface, understory, and crown relate to wildfires. |
| Fire Weather Metrics - part 1 | Read the websites discussing the effects of moisture, wind, slope and lightning. See fb12.
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Explain how the following variables affect wildfires: temperature, moisture (relative humidity, rain, snow), wind (speed, direction, angle relative to slope), and lightning. [Although tailored for the US Fire Danger system, the US National Park Service has an excellent overview of most of these factors.] Very short video of fire/smoke in Banff Park with upslope anabatic winds (0:15). |
| Weather Briefing | Short (10 minute) weather briefing on Vancouver weather by a student team. Utilize the weather-briefing "cookbook" to select which images and movies to show. | Give a well structured weather briefing using appropriate maps and graphs, and finishing within the alotted time. Gain experience in public speaking and working as a team. Strengthen your understanding of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics. Strengthen your ability to form a 3-D picture of the weather in your mind. Utilize appropriate terminology and jargon. |
| Fire Weather Metrics - part 2 | Read the websites discussing the effects of insolation, shading, clouds & smoke. See fb13. | Explain how wildfires are affected by insolation, and how insolation varies by hour of day, day of year, and shading by terrain, clouds, and smoke. Define the role of a diffusion flame. (See J. Coen, 2003: Wildfire Weather, p2586-2596, part 1 and part 2 , in Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences. Access via UBC library.) |
| Fuel Characteristics | Read the websites listed at right, discussing various aspects of fuel characteristics. See fb06. | Explain why fuel (e.g., tree) type, amount, availability, arrangement, quantity, spacing, diameter, and moisture are important in classifying potential fire behavior. Consider additional aspects of forest structure. [You can skip this link on modeling details NWCG web page on fuels]. See how fuel errors cause errors in fire spread. |
| Moisture Content of Fuels | Read the websites listed at right, discussing how fuel moisture is quantified and measured. What affect does fuel moisture have on wildfires. See fb08 | Explain the meaning of fuel moisture content, what range of values it can have, how it responds to atmospheric relative humidity** and other weather variables, and what critical value is needed for combustion. BC Wildfire measurement of fuel moisture. |
