Research Burn to Improve Smoke Modeling
Submitted by The Nature Conservancy
In terms of size, it wasn't a huge burn. In terms of difficulty, it wasn't a particularly difficult burn. But, the controlled burn at The Nature Conservancy's Calloway Forest Preserve this spring could someday have a big impact on future burns across the country.
Researchers from the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Wildland Fire Sciences Laboratory, Washington State University and the University of California at Santa Cruz were on site to study how smoke from small controlled burns behaves.
The Forest Service's Blue Sky tool can successfully predict smoke behavior from large wildfires. But, Blue Sky isn’t refined enough to predict how smoke from small controlled burns will behave. As more land managers recognize the need to use controlled burns to restore ecosystems and protect communities from large wildfires, this kind of information is vital.
Researchers arrived in the winter, dotting the 89-acre burn unit with two 75-foot towers and a 100 footer, which were festooned with a variety of sensors. A number of smaller tripods outfitted with sensors were set up around the proper. All were designed to provide data about the intensity, speed, heat and direction of smoke.
Forest Service smoke expert Tara Strand, who is lead researcher on the project, says the research is important. "There are lots of unknowns around smoke"Strand says. "This burn is designed to fill in some of those gaps."
Mickler, who led ignition on the burn, agrees that the research will improve controlled burning. "This is going to make Blue Sky smarter," he says.