In Flagstaff we caught up with Linda Wadleigh a fire ecologist from the US Forest Service who introduced us to Wesley Hall who works on fuels for the Coconino National Forest. Wes told us about how live fuel moisture sampling is conducted in the forest at permanent sites to guide timing for prescribed burning. The fuel moisture readings indicate when fuels are ready to burn in a controlled manner, as well as assisting in calculating how much fuel will be consumed during prescribed burning for emissions reporting. Fuel moistures can also be used predict wildfire behaviour.
Moisture in the 1000 hour fuel category (larger than 3 inches) is measured by placing sticks or small poles on the permanent sites. The sticks are allowed to acclimatise, then are cored every 15 days, with the sawdust being dried in a Computrac moisture analyzer. The moisture analyzer is a device from Arizona Instruments that was developed for measuring moisture in compounds such as chemicals and concrete and has been applied to measuring live fuel moisture. The fuels data collected by the US Forest Service is routinely contributed to the National Fuels Moisture Database.
Moisture in the 1000 hour fuel category (larger than 3 inches) is measured by placing sticks or small poles on the permanent sites. The sticks are allowed to acclimatise, then are cored every 15 days, with the sawdust being dried in a Computrac moisture analyzer. The moisture analyzer is a device from Arizona Instruments that was developed for measuring moisture in compounds such as chemicals and concrete and has been applied to measuring live fuel moisture. The fuels data collected by the US Forest Service is routinely contributed to the National Fuels Moisture Database.
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| me, Wes and Linda check out the fuels monitoring |
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| 1000 hour fuels - cored regularly to measure moisture |
Wes and Linda took us out to check out the Remote Area Weather Station (RAWS) in the Coconino National Forest just outside Flagstaff. Aside from collecting the usual weather data, the RAWS monitors the moisture of 10 hour fuels (1/4 -1 inch in diameter) remotely using a probe. RAWS units collect, store and forward data to a computer system at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, via a satellite. The data is automatically forwarded to several other computer systems including the Weather Information Management System (WIMS) and the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nevada.
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| RAWS |
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| 10 hour fuels moisture collected by the RAWS |
Linda showed us the Wildland Fire Decision Support System or WFDSS (pronounced “wiffdus”); a software tool available to fire managers in this country. WFDSS is a set of modules that assist fire managers to predict fire behaviour as well as helping to guide tactical and strategic decisions, track and document decisions and evaluate the cost of a decision. It seems like a great online, one stop shop for fire managers.
Other fuels monitoring that is collected in the Coconino NF are ‘stand exams’ where Brown’s transects are used to quantify downed woody fuels.
Thanks Linda and Wes!
Thanks Linda and Wes!
