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Fuel management references and literature

Last updated on November 22, 2024

Learn about research into fire and fuel management.

Fire and fuel management research presentations

  • University of British Columbia and the Bulkley Valley Research Centre Presentations - Recorded on April 19, 2022. The University of British Columbia and the Bulkley Valley Research Centre provide updates on their work on fire regimes, contemporary fire effects and forest recovery, and proactive fire management and efficacy of fuel treatments.
  • Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions Wildfire and Carbon Project - Recorded on April 19, 2022. Dr. Werner Kurz and Dr. Carly Phillips provide an update on the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions Wildfire and Carbon project. The project aims to incorporate future wildfire impacts into forest management practices to help develop strategies to reduce emissions from wildfires, enhance forest carbon (C) sinks, and assess bioeconomy opportunities for forest fibre.
  • BC Wildfire Service Overview of Predictive Service Products - Recorded on April 21, 2022. Dana Hicks (BCWS fire management specialist) and Neal McLoughlin (BCWS superintendent of Predictive Services) provide an overview of predictive service products developed by a multi-disciplinary Agile team. They highlight upcoming priorities of the Agile team, introduce other technologies the Predictive Services unit will be pursuing, and highlight some updates to BCWS’s Wildfire One project (a transformation project focused on modernizing BCWS information systems).
  • FPInnovations Research - Recorded on April 21, 2022. Mike Benson, Steve Hvenegaard, and Greg Baxter of FPInnovations’ Wildfire Operations group provide an update on research in the wildland urban interface, case studies to evaluate fuel treatment efficacy, evaluating partial cut harvest as a wildfire risk reduction strategy, and FP Innovation’s experimental burn program.
  • Thompson Rivers University & University of Alberta Research - Recorded on April 21, 2022. Dr. Mike Flannigan, Kris Beattie, and Nikki Manwaring comment on Dr. Flannigan’s recent appointment as the BC Research Chair in Predictive Services, Emergency Management and Fire Science at TRU. They present overviews of research projects focused on using CanFIRE to develop a B.C. specific fuel treatment efficacy model and on simulated wildfire risk in Banff, Kootenay and Yoho National Parks.
  • Canadian Forest Service Conifer Pyrometrics System - Recorded on April 21, 2022. Dr. Dan Perrakis provides an overview of the Conifer Pyrometrics system and how it can be used to design fuel treatments to prevent crown fires. He provides an update on the development of the Next Generation Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System, with a focus on fuels aspects.

Case Studies

  • Assessing fuel treatment effectiveness: A case study of the White Rock Lake wildfire encroachment on the community of Westshore Estates (PDF, 2.4MB)

    • On July 13, 2021, the White Rock Lake wildfire (K61884) was detected 55 km west of Vernon, British Columbia. The fire grew over the next three weeks, with a major spread event on August 5, pushing the fire northward. The fire jumped Highway 97 and destroyed several homes and other values in Monte Lake. On August 6, wind pushed the fire toward the community of Westshore Estates, approximately 15 km west of Vernon. The high-intensity fire spread downslope toward a fuel treatment area south of the community. As the fire moved through the fuel treatment area, fire behaviour was moderated to such an extent that no structures were lost as the fire approached the community. At the time of the fire’s encroachment on the fuel treatment area, few resources were available. The fire’s approach toward Westshore Estates was mostly unimpeded by suppression interventions. This case study illustrates how high-intensity fire spread can be moderated in fuel-reduced forest stands.

  • Logan Lake Case Study - Wildfire/fuel treatment encounters: Assessing fuel treatment effectiveness. (PDF, 2MB)

    • ​On August 14, 2021, the Tremont Creek wildfire threatened the community of Logan Lake, British Columbia, when the high-intensity wildfire approached from the north. A wind shift mid-afternoon on August 14 pushed the fire head toward the east with flanking fire spreading toward Logan Lake. Late in the afternoon, extensive aerial suppression operations were conducted to reinforce forest fuel reduction treatment areas on three sides of the community. Later in the evening, suppression crews incorporated fuel treatments in a successful burnout operation to reinforce a control line that had been created by heavy equipment and hand crews. This case study presents the fire chronology with fuel, weather, and topographic conditions that impacted fire behaviour. A key objective of this case study is to examine how fuel treatments modified fire behaviour or were strategically used to support and enhance suppression operations.

  • The Test - A documentary about community wildfire resilience in the town of Logan Lake, B.C.
  • The Test is a 2024 documentary by filmmaker, Vesta Giles, which examines wildfire risk reduction efforts taken by the community of Logan Lake, and how they worked when the 2021 Tremont Creek wildfire burned through the area. Through a series of interviews with the community’s citizens, elected officials, staff, and firefighters, as well as representatives from BC Wildfire Service and other agencies, the film explores the years of work the community undertook, and the response effort in the days leading up to and during the fire.
  • Assessing fuel treatment effectiveness: A case study from the Lytton Creek wildfire encroachment on the First Nation community of Nicomen 
    • On June 30, 2021, the Lytton Creek wildfire ignited and quickly spread towards the Village of Lytton. After consuming large portions of the Village of Lytton, Lytton First Nations and adjacent communities, the fire continued to spread along the Thompson River valley. By the morning of July 19, the Lytton Creek wildfire was positioned along the ridge line west of the First Nation community of Nicomen. Nicomen Indian Band has adopted a pro-active forest fuel reduction treatment program as part of a wildfire risk reduction strategy. This case study forms a component of a larger research initiative to assess the effectiveness of fuel treatments in moderating fire behaviour and/or improving the potential for successful suppression operations. 

Reports

Resources

Literature

Learn more about fire behaviour

  • Alexander Martin E. and Cruz Miguel G.. Evaluating the 3-m tree crown spacing guideline for the prevention of crowning wildfires in lodgepole pine forests, Alberta. The Forestry Chronicle. 96(02): 165-173. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2020-021
  • Cruz Miguel G., Alexander Martin E. (2010) Assessing crown fire potential in coniferous forests of western North America: a critique of current approaches and recent simulation studies. International Journal of Wildland Fire 19, 377-398. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF08132
  • Koo Eunmo, Pagni Patrick J., Weise David R., Woycheese John P. (2010) Firebrands and spotting ignition in large-scale fires. International Journal of Wildland Fire 19, 818-843. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF07119
  • Lydersen, J.M., Collins, B.M., Brooks, M.L., Matchett, J.R., Shive, K.L., Povak, N.A., Kane, V.R. and Smith, D.F. (2017), Evidence of fuels management and fire weather influencing fire severity in an extreme fire event. Ecol Appl, 27: 2013-2030. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1586

Learn more about fire management

  • Pyke, D.A., Brooks, M.L. and D'Antonio, C. (2010), Fire as a Restoration Tool: A Decision Framework for Predicting the Control or Enhancement of Plants Using Fire. Restoration Ecology, 18: 274-284. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2010.00658.x

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