FuelGraph – not just FBPS anymore!

Update:

After working with this a whole bunch and some good discussions with Marty and Miguel, we came to the conclusion that it isn’t appropriate to equate FFMC-derived fine fuel moisture content (mc) with mc from Rothermel’s FBO tables. So I’ve deleted this version of FuelGraph. Combining a reanalyzed crown fire initiation model with a surface fire model and crown fire spread model (from CFIS), this is turning into a much larger project named Conifer Pyrometrics, gradually turning (I think) into a component of the Next Generation FBP System.

I haven’t deleted the post for posterity sake, but have deleted the FuelGraph version that included both. It turned out to be a bit intellectually dishonest, and I certainly wouldn’t want any fire behaviour forecasts or projections to be blown because of this.

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I’ve made a major overhaul of the FBP Graph tool, and have added the new(er) Cruz, Alexander, and Wakimoto CFIS spread rate equations – crown fire occurrence (so-called passive and active) and ROS. Since the new stuff takes us beyond the realm of FBP, a name change was in order; thus, FuelGraph! See Graph 3 for the new stuff; only available with WS/FFMC (not ISI). This is a beta version, so if you find errors or weirdness, please let me know. The rest of the FBPS-fuel type-based functionality still exists in Graphs 1 and 2.

I envision this as a helpful tool for Canadian agency fire behaviour specialists or fuel management specialists who are playing with non-standard fuel types or planning fuel treatment scenarios. The CFIS equations include some options for showing crowning threshold confidence intervals as well as options for toggling between a couple of different input options.

For the final version (v.4.0) I may add a another feature or two, but at this point I’m pretty content with this thing. Let me know what you think. Anyone who wants to look under the hood can unhide the calculation sheets and unprotect the graphs – send a note if you’d like to do that and I could send the password.

FuelGraph 3.99

Nice example of a thin-pine burn fuel treatment in a Ponderosa pine stand (photo courtesy of BC’s First Nations Emergency Services Society)