This webinar will go through some of the new and exciting fundamental research being conducted by the Forest Service at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory. About half of the Forest Service budget is spent on fire suppression, yet we still can’t explain exactly how wildland fires spread. In order to make more informed decisions and improve fire fighter safety, a new research program at the Missoula Fire Lab is going back to the basics. The discussion will start by addressing the current state of knowledge, available tools, and holes in our understanding. This will be followed by overviews of specific research topics. This includes the balance between radiation and convection, the role of buoyancy in fire spread, the convective ignition process, flammability of live fuels, the burning rate of fuel beds, a one-dimensional research spread model, and future research topics.
The webinar will be presented by Sara McAllister and feature her work as well as that of her colleagues: Mark Finney, Jason Forthofer, and Torben Grumstrup.