Research Database
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3
Disaster risk management tipping points: impacts of extreme wildfire events and the resulting need for layered disaster risk management solutions
Year: 2025
Wildfire regimes are changing globally with an increase in global burned area and changes in fire characteristics. Recent research shows that the number of extreme fire events is increasing exponentially and events such as the most recent fires in Los Angeles in the U.S. (2025), the Hawaii fires (2023), Canada’s record-breaking fires (2023), the largest recorded fires in Greece-Europe (2023) and the 2025 European fire season underpin this observation.Extreme wildfire events (EWEs) thereby pose new challenges and limits to managing disaster risk. This refers not only to response operations but…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Global Synthesis of Quantification of Fire Behaviour Characteristics in Forests and Shrublands: Recent Progress
Year: 2025
Purpose of ReviewThe behaviour of wildland fires, namely their free spreading nature, destructive energy fluxes and hazardous environment, make it a phenomenon difficult to study. Field experimental studies and occasional wildfire observations underpin our understanding of fire behaviour. We aim to present a global synthesis of field-based studies in forest and shrublands fuel types published since 2003 with a focus on the most commonly measured fire behaviour attributes, namely rate of fire spread, ignition and spread sustainability, flame characteristics, fuel consumption…
Publication Type: Journal Article
Impact of Thinning Strategy, Surface Fuel Loading and Burning Conditions on Fuel Treatment Efficacy in Ponderosa Pine Dominated Forests of the Southern Rocky Mountains
Year: 2025
Managers across the western US seek effective fuel treatment strategies to mitigate hazardous fuel loads and risks of high severity fire in dry conifer forests. Conventional fuel hazard reduction treatments emphasis reducing canopy fuel continuity and surface fuel loading using an even spaced, thin-from-below approach, with pile or broadcast burning of residual surface fuels. Such treatments often result in forest structures that differ from the historical conditions. Ecological restoration treatments emphasize enhancing structural heterogeneity but may produce less fire-resistant stands…
Publication Type: Journal Article