Integrating an urban fire model into an operational wildland fire model to simulate one dimensional wildland–urban interface fires: a parametric study

Dwi M. J. Purnomo; Yiren Qin; Maria Theodori; Maryam Zamanialaei; Chris Lautenberger; Arnaud Trouvé; Michael J. Gollner

doi:10.1071/WF24102

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Integrating an urban fire model into an operational wildland fire model to simulate one dimensional wildland–urban interface fires: a parametric study

Dwi M. J. Purnomo ^A , Yiren Qin

^B , Maria Theodori ^A , Maryam Zamanialaei ^A , Chris Lautenberger ^C , Arnaud Trouvé ^B and Michael J. Gollner

^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

^B Department of Fire Protection Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.

^C CloudFire Inc., 985 Lincoln Way, Suite 207, Auburn, CA 95603, USA.

^* Correspondence to: mgollner@berkeley.edu

International Journal of Wildland Fire 33, WF24102 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF24102

Submitted: 4 December 2023 Accepted: 28 September 2024 Published: 18 October 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of IAWF. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

Wildland fires that occur near communities, in the wildland–urban interface (WUI), can inflict significant damage to urban structures. Although computational models are vital in wildfires, they often focus solely on wildland landscapes.

Aim

We conducted a computational study to investigate WUI fire spread, encompassing both urban and wildland landscapes.

Methods

We developed a 1D landscape-scale semi-physical model by integrating a semi-physical urban fire spread model into an Eulerian level set model of wildfire. The model includes ignition and spread through radiation, direct flame contact and ember deposition.

Key results

Through a parametric study, we compare the relative change of spread rate from various structural properties and landscape layouts represented by model parameters, highlighting the significant impact of fire-resistant structure materials over surface treatments. Layout configurations play a pivotal role in fire spread, with isolated islands of combustibles effective in reducing spread rate, aligning with existing mitigation strategies.

Conclusion

Despite using a 1D domain and limitations on spatial and temporal variability, our model provides insights into underlying phenomena observed in WUI fires and their mitigation. It offers early-stage development of strategies for managing structure materials and landscape layouts.

Implications

Our model and findings provide insights into WUI fire dynamics, paving the way for advanced mitigation strategies.

Keywords: community layout, community resilience, fire, modelling, structure properties, urban, wildfires, wildland–urban interface, WUI.

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