Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program

Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory

Research Accomplishments

2011 in Review

Rocky

 Mountain

 Research Station

Rocky

 Mountain

 Research Station
Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program

Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory

Rocky Mountain Research Station

USDA Forest Service

5775 US Highway 10 West

Missoula, Montana 59808-9361

http://www.firelab.org
Contents

50 Years of Wildland Fire Research....................................... ii

The Next 50 Years ....................................................................... iv

Understanding Wildland Fire and Its Effects ................... 1

Physical Fire Processes.................................................................... 1

Fuel Dynamics................................................................................ 2

Smoke Emissions and Dispersion................................................... 2

Fire Ecology ................................................................................... 3

Fire and Fuel Management Strategies............................................ 3

Science Synthesis and Delivery....................................................... 4

Research Facilities, Equipment, and Instrumentation ..... 5

Partnerships.................................................................................. 6

The Science of Fire ...................................................................... 8

Measuring the Chemical Components of Smoke......................... 10

Linking Foliar Chemistry, Moisture Content, and Combustion... 11

Measuring, Describing, and Mapping Wildland Fuels..... 12

Characterizing Wildland Fire Behavior........................................ 14

Validating Microscale Wind Models............................................ 15

Describing Sawgrass Fuels............................................................ 16

Behavior and Effects of Wildland Fire .............................. 17

Studying Insects, Fire, and Climate at the Stand Scale................. 18

Understanding Fire Behavior in Longleaf Pine ............................ 20

Slicing Through the Past............................................................... 21

Exploring Landscape Fire and Succession Models....................... 22

Communicating What Is Known ............................................. 24

Keeping Decision-Makers Informed ............................................ 25

Synthesizing Data on Fire and Eastern Invasive Plants................ 26

Updating BEHAVE ..................................................................... 28

Simulating Fire Weather............................................................... 29

Mapping the Potential for High-Severity Wildfires..................... 29

Classifying Fire Severity ............................................................... 30

Evaluating Burn-Severity Maps ................................................... 32

Looking to the Future ............................................................. 33

Modeling Effects of Climate Change on Whitebark Pine ........... 34

Assessing Effects of Increasing Fire Risk at the 

Wildland-Urban Interface........................................................ 36

Analyzing Smoke Pollution at the Wildland-Urban Interface ..... 37

Applying Fire Simulations to Assess Risk .................................... 38

Advancing Understanding of Firefighter Safety and Slope........... 39

Reevaluating the 1910 Fires.................................................... 40

Piecing Together the Past ...................................................... 42

A History of Wildland Fire Research........................................... 42

2011 Publications ................................................................. 43 

i
1960—Forest Service Chief Richard McArdle dedicates the Northern Forest 

Fire Laboratory September 12 in Missoula, Montana.

1966—William Beaufait, Charles (Mike) Hardy, and William (Bill) Fischer 

initiate one of the few large-scale controlled research projects at the 

5000-acre Miller Creek area in Montana on the effect of prescribed fire 

on air quality, vegetation development, conifer regeneration, water quality, 

erosion, and small animal populations.

1970—Robert Mutch and Forest Service Forester David Aldrich initiate a 

study of how to allow fire to assume its natural role in the National Forests, 

particularly those designated as wilderness.

1972 —Richard Rothermel publishes “A Mathematical Model for Predicting 

Fire Spread in Wildland Fuels,” a quantitative tool for predicting the spread 

and intensity of forest fires that forms the basis of fire behavior prediction 

and fire danger rating systems.

1972—John Deeming and others publish the National Fire-DangerRating System, implemented nationally to aid in planning and supervising 

fire control activities on a fire protection unit. The system, applying 

the Rothermel fire spread model as part of its basic platform, is now 

communicated on Smokey Bear and other signage nationwide.

1976—Frank Albini publishes his nomograms, visual calculating devices to 

help predict fire behavior in the field.

1979—Robert Burgan develops a pre-programmed chip to run on a TI-59 

hand-held calculator, allowing managers to use the Rothermel model to 

calculate fire spread in the field.

1984—BEHAVE fire behavior prediction system, developed by 

Pat Andrews, is implemented nationwide.

1985—Jim Brown, Bill Fischer, and Cameron (Cam) Johnston initiate the 

Fire Effects Information System (FEIS), a computer-based encyclopedia of 

effects of fire on plants and animals in North America.

1998—Mark Finney publishes FARSITE, a fire area simulator that 

integrates several fire models, improved visualization technology, and 

geographical information systems (GIS) data to calculate and visually display 

where a fire might grow and how quickly it might spread under changing 

terrain, fuels, and weather conditions.

2002—Satellite receiving station is added to the Fire Lab to download data 

on detected “hot spots” from two new NASA satellites, sometimes as often as 

12 times a day.

50 Years of 

Wildland Fire 

Research

1960 1970

ii
2007—Fire Lab Chemist Wei Min Hao, a member of the 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is awarded the Nobel 

Peace Prize for the Panel’s “efforts to build up and disseminate greater 

knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations 

for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.”

2010—Fire Sciences Laboratory celebrates fifty years of wildland fire 

research September 18.

1972 1984 2010

iii
September 2010 marked the 50th anniversary of wildland fire research 

at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory. This report celebrates 

the beginning of the next 50 years, highlighting the 2011 research 

accomplishments of the Fire, Fuel, and Smoke (FFS) Science Program. 

As reported in the following pages, FFS scientists, foresters, ecologists, 

engineers, mathematicians, skilled technicians, professional support staff, 

and partners from around the globe have all worked together to achieve 

the Program’s mission: to improve the safety and effectiveness of fire 

management through the creation and dissemination of basic fire science 

knowledge.

Looking ahead to the next 50 years, three critical research areas stand out 

where the FFS Program will continue to make significant contributions. 

The first two—combustion physics and wildland fuel science—are 

cornerstones of our core fire science portfolio. The third area integrates 

new discoveries from the first two and investigates and describes the 

relationships of wildland fire to climate change, ecosystem resilience, and 

the carbon cycle. These core fire science areas build on the foundation 

of the last 50 years, address the rapidly changing needs of wildland fire 

management, and adapt to changes in both the supply side (our work) and 

the demand side (the fire managers and organizations we serve) of fire 

science.

Investigating the Physics of Fire

For nearly 35 years, we’ve delivered fire spread and behavior algorithms 

based on assumptions of steady-state winds, homogenous fuel beds, and 

frontal combustion of surface fires. We now have novel and state-ofscience experimental technologies to take this research to the next level, 

and if the technology doesn’t exist, we can develop and fabricate it inhouse. In addition, new data acquisition and analysis capabilities provide 

several orders of magnitude greater computational power than even five 

years ago. For the first time, we can investigate post-frontal combustion, 

thresholds of combustion and propagation, energy transport and effects on 

the biota, and the role of convective energy versus the traditional reliance 

on the assumption that radiation dominates energy transfer.

As FFS researchers have demonstrated, more sophisticated 

instrumentation and measurement tools have allowed them to ask specific 

questions about the basic nature of wildland fire, including how and why 

fire burns and spreads under various conditions. This fundamental research, 

coupled with innovative field investigations, will lead to more precise 

models to predict fire behavior. Because wildland managers and firefighters 

alike rely on these models, this research can directly contribute to more 

cost-effective management decisions and healthier wildlands, and it may 

even save lives.

The Next 

50 Years

iv
Wildland Fuel Science: Spatial Variability, 

Measurement, and Classification

In a comprehensive effort to describe the variability of major fuel 

characteristics common to forest and rangeland ecosystem types in 

the northern Rocky Mountains, FFS scientists are developing novel 

sampling and analysis protocols. Results from these new approaches will 

have profound implications for fire management, illustrating that many 

conventional fuel products and analyses may be inappropriate for future 

mechanistic fire behavior simulations. Assessing wildland fuel is important 

to fire managers because, unlike weather, topography, and wind, it is the 

one factor that can be directly manipulated to achieve management goals, 

such as restoring ecosystems, lowering fire intensity, reducing fire spread, 

minimizing plant mortality, and reducing erosion. From the manager’s 

perspective, this comprehensive assessment of fuel characteristics will 

provide inputs critical to the fire behavior and effects models used to plan, 

prioritize, design, and implement important fuel treatments that could 

both save lives and property.

Understanding the Impact of Change

Our fundamental research on combustion physics and fuel science will 

provide a far greater understanding of the relationships of wildland fire to 

climate change, ecosystem resilience, and the carbon cycle. As ecosystems 

appear to shift in response to changed climate patterns, the fate of North 

American forests and other wildlands becomes increasingly uncertain. If 

the climate continues to change, the relationship between fire, species, and 

ecosystem resilience may also change. Managers will need new insights 

into the complex interactions of fire and ecosystems, as well as into how 

existing knowledge can be applied in different ways. Better understanding 

of negative impacts such as the mountain pine beetle infestations will also 

be required.

Much of our work, therefore, contributes to our ability to assess and 

monitor the movement of carbon, providing key insights into the 

factors affecting the planet’s changing environment. For example, tools 

developed by FFS research teams to inventory vegetation accurately can 

help managers assess the amount of carbon stored in trees and other 

plants, as well as the potential amount released as a result of wildland 

fires. Chemists and other FFS researchers working with fire emissions 

can track the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere as a result 

of fire. Understanding and accounting for the movement of carbon from 

wildlands to the atmosphere and back again in the form of new growth 

will become even more critical as scientists look for ways to counter the 

long-term effects of climate change.

The Future: An Imperative for New Science 

in Fire, Fuel, and Smoke

Although no one can predict what challenges land managers will face 

in the next 50 years, those challenges will no doubt become more 

numerous and more complex, particularly in relation to wildland fire. 

FFS researchers, together with the synthesis provided by the FEIS and 

technology transfer teams, contribute to a better understanding of the 

multiple and complex challenges land managers will face in the years 

ahead. Looking ahead to the next 50 years, researchers in the Fire, Fuel, 

and Smoke Science Program will continue to develop the fundamental 

knowledge and tools managers and others need to address these challenges 

and maintain healthy forests and other wildlands.

—Colin Hardy, Program Manager, 

Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program

v

1 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

The Fire, Fuel, and Smoke (FFS) Science Program of the Rocky Mountain 

Research Station focuses on fundamental and applied research relating to 

the process and effects of wildland fire. Located in Montana at the Missoula 

Fire Sciences Laboratory (“Fire Lab”), the scientists, engineers, technicians, 

and support staff in the FFS Program conduct international, cutting-edge 

work in wildland fire research and develop research and management tools 

and applications designed to improve both the safety and effectiveness of fire 

management.

Predicting fire behavior and fire effects—whether to manage ecosystems more 

effectively or to protect human lives and property—poses a constant challenge 

to wildland managers. The laboratory and field research conducted by FFS 

researchers and their research partners is, therefore, more critical than ever, as 

are the six primary focus areas researchers investigate: physical fire processes, 

fuel dynamics, smoke emissions and dispersion, fire ecology, fire and fuel 

management strategies, and science synthesis and delivery.

Physical Fire Processes

Using laboratory studies and theoretical physical modeling informed and 

validated by field observations, this focus area improves understanding of the 

fundamental, multi-scale, physical processes that govern fire behavior, including 

combustion processes, heat and energy transfer, atmospheric dynamics, and firefuel transitions from “well-behaved” to extreme events. Scientists analyze the 

Understanding Wildland 

Fire and Its Effects
2 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

combustion process and the factors that determine fire behavior with the goal of 

developing a comprehensive physics-based fire modeling system that includes the 

full range of combustion environments and fire events observed in wildland fuels. 

This new physics-based understanding will be incorporated into models suitable 

for use by fire and fuels managers both for characterizing fire danger and predicting 

fire behavior, as well as by scientists needing to model fire behavior for a wide 

range of purposes ranging from site-specific vegetation simulation to global carbon 

accounting to better anticipate the potential for loss of life and property.

Fuel Dynamics

Research on fuel dynamics helps managers describe the vegetation that burns during 

wildland fires. FFS scientists investigate and develop consistent, accurate, and 

comprehensive methods for quantifying wildland fuels. Through laboratory and field 

studies, coupled with improved information about fuels such as three-dimensional 

characteristics and patterns of change over space and time, scientists are developing 

tools to predict seasonal and multi-year changes and to more accurately predict 

fire behavior and fire effects. Specific outcomes are: improved data for fire behavior 

modeling and fuel hazard assessment and improved fuel dynamics algorithms for 

incorporating into temporal models of fire behavior, fire danger, and fire effects—

critical additions for the next generation of fire models.

Smoke Emissions and Dispersion

Officials charged with supporting public health and safety need better tools to 

estimate the effects of wildland fire on smoke emission concentrations, visibility 

standards, and carbon budget applications and to anticipate the movement of 

smoke around the globe. FFS researchers are developing and testing methods for 

implementing a real-time emissions inventory coupled with dispersion modeling for 

smoke emissions from wildland fires. Researchers are integrating remote-sensing 

data with:

•	 field-validated models of emissions source-strength,

•	 plume rise,

•	 chemical transformation and dispersion,

•	 other field observations,
3 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

•	 satellite data, and

•	 models to describe smoke’s composition, movement within a fire’s heat plume, 

and movement through the layers of the atmosphere.

This work applies to issues relating to National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

under the Clean Air Act, regional haze issues, and continental and global climate 

change questions.

Fire Ecology

Managers require better understanding of the interaction of fire-adaptive traits of 

plant species with varying fire severities in order to predict post-fire succession. 

They also need improved understanding of treatments such as prescribed fire with 

and without harvest or mechanical treatment and their effects on fundamental 

ecosystem characteristics such as nutrient cycling, carbon storage, long-term fuel 

dynamics, and weed invasion. Understanding how treatments, such as silviculture 

and fire or herbicide and fire, interact is important as well. Field and laboratory 

studies address how fires and, more specifically, the associated heat transfer, fuel 

consumption, and fire duration affect plants and plant communities, how fires 

alter the flow of carbon and nutrients in ecosystems, and how fire affects weeds. 

Outcomes contribute to improved conservation, appropriate ecological use of fire, 

improved management strategies for ecosystem restoration and maintenance, and 

better, more defensible fuel management treatments.

Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

To improve predictive ability for future fire regimes, FFS scientists and their 

research partners simulate landscape-level interactions between changing 

climate, fire regimes, and vegetation under different management alternatives and 

conduct fire history research to understand the drivers of historic fire regimes. 

Researchers use case studies, modeling systems based on physical fire processes 

and fuel dynamics research, and understanding of ecology to develop fire and 

fuel management strategies to improve the predictability of fire’s impacts on the 

biota, the atmosphere, and human health and safety. This research will improve fire 

and fuel management policies and practices, which will result in increased forest 

resilience, maintenance of forest cover, increased carbon capture and storage, and 
4 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

mitigation of potential negative feedback loops between changing climate and 

altered fire regimes. Moreover, improved fire danger rating and fire behavior 

prediction systems will support fire and fuel management decision-making.

Science Synthesis and Delivery

Scientific publications form the foundation of science delivery, with cuttingedge research transferred to scientists, resource managers, and other decisionmakers. While FFS scientists and engineers focus on submitting their research 

to refereed scientific publications, science delivery also includes computer 

programs and mentoring to help land managers apply research; presentations, 

classes, photo guides, field tours, training materials, and children’s educational 

programs; handouts and articles printed in journals and trade magazines; 

and a comprehensive web-delivery program. Synthesis of current knowledge 

contributes to the transfer of new knowledge and applications, helping bridge 

the gap between research and end users in management offices and in the field. 

Conversely, working with end users helps researchers identify pressing problems 

in the field. This approach constitutes true knowledge exchange, rather than just 

technology transfer.
5 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Researchers in the FFS Program, housed in the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory 

(“Fire Lab”) in Missoula, Montana, have access to cutting-edge facilities, equipment, 

and instrumentation designed specifically to facilitate and enhance wildland fire 

research. For example, the Fire Lab includes two wind tunnels and a climatecontrolled burn chamber to conduct experiments under varying temperature, 

humidity, and wind conditions, while advanced computing facilities allow researchers 

to visualize and model fire spread, fire danger, and air quality. Research-quality 

thermal, infrared cameras contribute to these efforts, transforming the landscape into 

one big laboratory.

The Fire Lab’s satellite downlink provides direct access to NASA’s two satellite-borne 

MODIS sensors that transmit information about the Earth’s surface every one to 

two days, providing near real-time information on fire starts, progress, and smoke 

distribution around the globe, as well as helping researchers and managers assess 

effects after large or remote fires. Researchers investigating the chemistry and effects 

of smoke from wildland fires also have access to other state-of-the-science equipment 

such as a Fire Atmospheric Sampling System (FASS) that captures smoke samples 

for later analysis, and a Gas Chromatography Lab that can analyze collected smoke 

samples from both the lab and the field. Researchers also employ in-house designed, 

hand-held sun photometers and commercially available automatic meters to validate 

air quality projections in the field. A mobile instrument vehicle travels into the field to 

measure smoke and transport sophisticated monitoring equipment such as a mobile 

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instrument. A laboratory-based instrument 

using LASERS and high-speed detectors, called Particle Imaging Velocimeter (PIV), 

is capable of measuring turbulence and air flows around individual fuel particles to 

explore convective cooling and turbulence caused by chaotic flame structures.

Research Facilities, 

Equipment, and 

Instrumentation
6 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

FFS expert wildland fire researchers often partner with others around the 

country and world to create cross-disciplinary teams needed to address 

the growing number of increasingly complex questions related to wildland 

fire. In 2011, FFS researchers collaborated with personnel at colleges and 

universities in:

United States

Alaska Arizona California Colorado Florida

Hawaii Idaho Maryland Michigan Missouri

Montana Nevada New York Ohio Oregon

Pennsylvania Utah Washington Wisconsin Wyoming

Canada

British Columbia Calgary Manitoba

Kings University College Royal Roads Selkirk

Australia

Australian National University and Deakin and Wollongong universities

Portugal

University of Coimbra and Technical University of Lisbon

Austria

University of Innsbruck

Germany

University of Münster

England

University of Manchester

Mexico

University of Guadalajara and Universidad Nacional AutÓnoma de México

U.S. agencies and research program partnerships have included: 

•	 Bureau of Land Management;

•	 Joint Fire Science Program, the National Interagency Fuels 

Coordination Group;

•	 Los Alamos National Laboratory; 

•	 NASA Langley Research Center; 

•	 National Center for Atmospheric Research; 

•	 National Forest Genetics Laboratory; 

•	 National Institute of Standards; 

•	 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 

•	 National Park Service; 

Partnerships
7 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

•	 The Nature Conservancy; 

•	 Natural Resources Defense Council; 

•	 North Carolina Division of Forest Research; 

•	 Pacific Northwest Research Station and National Laboratories; 

•	 Pacific Southwest Research Station; 

•	 Pacific Wildlands Fire Sciences Laboratory; Priest River Experimental 

Forest; 

•	 Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research; 

•	 USDA Forest Service, Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6; 

•	 Deschutes, Eldorado, Olympic, Ochoco, and Umpqua National Forests; 

•	 U.S. Geological Service; 

•	 U.S. Air Force and the Naval Research Laboratory; 

•	 Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc.; 

•	 Canyonlands Consulting Services, LLC; 

•	 Central Oregon Fire Management Service; 

•	 National Science Foundation; 

•	 Sonoma Technology, Inc.; 

•	 Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation; and

•	 Woods Hole Research Center.

Other international cooperators and partners in 2011 were: 

•	 Center for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and 

Biological Sciences and National Forest Authority, Portugal; 

•	 Common Wealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization’s 

Bushfire Dynamics and Applications Group, Australia; 

•	 El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Mexico; the Environmental Research 

and Information Center of Lourizan, Spain; 

•	 National Institute of Agronomic Research, France; 

•	 Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation, British Columbia Forest 

Service, Natural Resources Canada, Parks Canada, and the Canadian 

Forest Service; and

•	 Sukachev Institute, Russia.
8 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Not long after the Fire Lab opened its doors in the early 1960s, 

scientists and engineers documented approximately 200 fires burned 

under controlled humidity, air velocity, and fuel moisture. This 

fundamental knowledge helped them develop a model to predict 

wildland fire spread. This and subsequent models proved extremely 

valuable, but to this day, scientists lack a coherent theory of fire spread.

They also have limited understanding of the very basic physics of fire 

and what leads to the series of ignition necessary for fire to spread.

Fifty years later, FFS researchers have returned to basic questions about 

the physics of fire and are working to develop new approaches and 

theoretical understanding of fire spread under various conditions. With 

support from the National Fire Decision Support Center, studies focus 

on the following fundamental questions:

(1) Why is radiation insufficient to heat fine fuel particles to ignition?

(2) What is the structure of turbulent flames at their edge, and how 

well do simple turbulence models characterize it?

(3) What is the critical mass loss rate for ignition of live and dead 

wildland fuels?

(4) What are the properties of live fuels that allow them to ignite, lose 

moisture, and burn?

The Science 

of Fire

To date, laboratory experiments suggest that the radiant intensities found 

in wildland fires are not sufficient to ignite fine fuel particles such as 

needles and grasses, but flame convection provides the critical heating of 

particles to ignition. Other experiments show that the edges of turbulent 

flames ignite fuel particles after subjecting them to intermittent heating 

and cooling over time scales of about 1/10 of a second.

Researchers also have discovered that, like other substances such as 

plastic, the ignition of wood depends on a critical rate of converting 

solid mass to combustible gas, and that ignition depends on heat flux 
9 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

and wind flow, providing an improved definition of ignition and 

flammability limits. Finally, research shows that live fuels such as 

conifer foliage can burn at moisture contents many times higher 

than dead fuels because they release moisture explosively compared 

to slow diffusion in dead fuels, and live fuels contain large amounts 

of non-structural carbohydrates.

Focus Area: Physical Fire Processes

Bottom Line: FFS researchers have returned to basic questions 

about the physics of fire and are working to develop new approaches 

and theoretical understanding of fire spread under various 

conditions. This research suggests a completely new approach to 

understanding and modeling fire spread based on experimentally 

supported theory, thus creating new opportunities to develop 

models directly relevant to fire management applications. Much of 

this work is defined as “discovery” and is fundamental work based 

on first-principles.

For more information, contact: Mark Finney at mfinney@fs.fed.us; 

Jack Cohen at jcohen@fs.fed.us; Sara McAllister at smcallister@

fs.fed.us; Bret Butler at bwbutler@fs.fed.us; Matt Jolly at mjolly@

fs.fed.us; or Jason Forthofer at jaforthofer@fs.fed.us.

For both fuel particles the incident 

radiation exposure and air condition were 

the same. (a) The 12 mm fuel particle 

pyrolyzing after 15 seconds of exposure. 

(b) The same 12 mm fuel particle pilot 

ignited after 26 seconds. (c) The 1 mm 

fuel particle did not ignite or significantly 

pyrolyze after 2 minutes.

a

b

c
10 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Measuring the Chemical Components 

of Smoke

Air pollution from wildland fires can impact human health, economic 

activity, scenic integrity, and ecosystem resiliency. Wildland fire pollutants 

are: fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon 

monoxide (CO), black carbon (BC), greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4), 

and a vast array of other gases, including non-methane organic compounds 

(NMOC). Photochemical reactions of NMOC and NOX contribute 

to ozone (O3) production and the secondary formation of PM2.5. With 

so many potential negative impacts, the production, transport, and 

transformation of smoke-related pollutants must be better understood to 

minimize and mitigate their effects.

Air quality regulators and land managers employ smoke modeling systems 

to predict, evaluate, and manage the impact of fire emissions on air 

quality. However, the current scientific understanding of smoke emissions 

and plume chemistry suffers from significant knowledge gaps that have 

hindered the development of reliable smoke modeling systems. FFS 

researchers participated in a multi-year, multi-institution smoke chemistry 

research project to address some of these gaps. Vegetation samples were 

collected from military bases in the U.S. Southeast and Southwest and 

were burned in the Fire Lab’s combustion facility.

With measurements of emissions in a controlled environment, researchers 

then used gas- and particle-phase instruments installed on Forest Service 

Region 4 Twin Otter aircraft to sample fresh emissions from 14 prescribed 

fires at or near where the lab-experiment fuels had been collected. In 

one fire, researchers measured post-emission chemical changes in the 

downwind smoke plume by sampling the aged smoke plume up to 

60 km from the source. The aged-smoke plume experiment measured 

rapid production of ozone (O3) and substantial formation of peroxy-acetylnitrate (PAN). PAN can be transported long-distances and thermally 

decomposed to release NOX, leading to O3 formation.

Focus Area: Smoke Emissions and Dispersion

Bottom Line: FFS researchers participated in a multi-year, multiinstitution smoke chemistry research project to address some of the 

knowledge gaps that have hindered the development of reliable smoke 

modeling systems. Measurements taken can help scientists estimate the 

quantity of pollutants emitted by fires, improve popular smoke modeling 

tools, and update the EPA AP-42 for air quality planning, regulation, and 

forecasting. This research will also help managers predict the air quality 

impact of wildland fires and facilitate the development of strategies 

ranging in scale of application from local air shed management to global 

impacts and climate change.

For more information, contact: Wei Min Hao at whao@fs.fed.us or Shawn 

Urbanski at surbanski@fs.fed.us.

Williams prescribed fire in central California. The smoke plume downwind of 

the fire was sampled to characterize the complex chemistry of the plume as it 

aged and mixed with ambient air.
11 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Gas and particle measurement instruments and flight scientists on the 

U.S. Forest Service Region 4 Twin Otter aircraft.

Linking Foliar Chemistry, Moisture 

Content, and Combustion

Living plants form a large component of the wildland fuel complex, 

resulting in fires that can burn erratically and intensely. Yet, little is known 

about how or why living plants burn. Live plants generally have moisture 

contents ten times higher than comparable dead fuels, but they still 

burn readily during a typical fire season. Scientists believe that chemical 

characteristics of plants may influence significantly how plants burn but 

most of the studies comparing chemistry and combustion characteristics 

have been inconclusive. Moreover, both moisture content and chemistry 

are known to vary seasonally but few studies have compared these 

seasonal changes to the ignition potential of live fuels.

To better understand how and why living plants burn, and under what 

conditions, Fire Lab researchers are examining how the time-to-ignition 

of live foliage changes as a function of both moisture content and leaf 

chemical make-up. Historically, scientists have attributed foliar moisture 

changes to the drying of the vegetation, but research to date indicates that 

leaf chemistry is a strong driver of the apparent changes in measured live 

fuel moisture. Indeed, FFS researchers have demonstrated that seasonal 

live fuel moisture changes are primarily driven by sugar and fat content 

of the foliage and have little to do with changes in the actual amount of 

water in the fuels.

Focus Area: Fuel Dynamics

Bottom Line: To better understand how and why living plants burn, 

and under what conditions, Fire Lab researchers are examining how the 

time-to-ignition of live foliage changes as a function of both moisture 

content and leaf chemical make-up. Studying this link has helped 

researchers understand live fuel combustion and will be incorporated into 

fire behavior models to more effectively predict fire spread and intensity 

characteristics across a landscape. Resource managers are applying this 

new information to guide live fuel sampling strategies used to monitor 

live fuel conditions across the United States. New algorithms are being 

developed for use in fire danger rating that eliminate several subjective 

inputs.

For more information, contact: Matt Jolly at mjolly@fs.fed.us.

While at the Fire Lab in August 2011, the Discovery Channel of Canada filmed the 

fuel moisture tests conducted by Matt Jolly as Jack Cohen looks on.
12 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

To understand and anticipate wildland fire behavior and effects for 

planning purposes, researchers with the FFS Program gather critical data 

not only in the laboratory but also in the field. A new field study of Rocky 

Mountain wildland fuels has profound implications for fire management 

and may render many conventional fuel products and analyses inadequate 

for future fire behavior simulations.

Wildland fuel is important to fire managers because it is the one factor 

that can be directly manipulated to achieve management goals, such as 

restoring ecosystems, lowering fire intensity, minimizing plant mortality, 

and reducing erosion. However, managers often find it difficult to measure, 

describe, and map wildland fuels because of the great variability in the 

characteristics of fuel bed components. Thus, few have attempted to 

quantify this variability in order to understand its effect on fire spread, 

burning intensity, and ecological effects.

FFS researchers investigated a number of fuel characteristics across 

major surface and canopy fuel components that comprise northern 

Rocky Mountain forest and range fuel beds. They found that most fuel 

components have high variability that increases with fuel particle size. 

Investigations also showed that surface and canopy fuel components vary 

across different scales, with components that have smaller fuel particles 

varying over 1- m scales, large logs varying over 100-m scales, and canopy 

fuel attributes varying over 400-m scales.

This high spatial variability across different fuel components may mean 

that conventional fuel products and analyses will be ineffective for future 

fire behavior simulations. Results of this study can be used to more 

accurately map fuel characteristics, such as loading, at finer scales to 

accommodate the next generation of three-dimensional fire behavior 

prediction models. New fuel classifications can also be developed to 

describe the variability of fuel across the different sizes and types of fuels 

in the fuel bed.

Focus Area: Fuel Dynamics

Bottom Line: FFS researchers investigated a number of fuel 

characteristics across major surface and canopy fuel components that 

comprise northern Rocky Mountain forest and range fuel beds. Results 

from this field research can be used to more accurately describe, quantify, 

classify, and map fuel characteristics at much finer scales in order to 

accommodate the next generation of three-dimensional fire behavior 

prediction models. New fuel classifications can also be developed to 

describe the variability of fuel across size and type.

For more information, contact: Bob Keane at rkeane@fs.fed.us.

Measuring, 

Describing, 

and Mapping 

Wildland Fuels
13 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

The sample grid installed in the center of each study area with 

the four areas that received additional sampling to intensify the 

grid. A set of nested plots were installed at each of the sample 

points shown.

The six sites selected for this study are: (1) Lubrecht Forest, Montana; (2) Tenderfoot Forest, 

Montana; (3) Ninemile, Montana; (4) Bighole Valley, Montana; (5) Silver Mountain, Utah; and 

(6) Colville Forest, Washington.
14 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Characterizing Wildland Fire Behavior

Wildland fire researchers recognize that in situ measurements of fire 

intensity and behavior are critical components for improving fire decision 

support models. Past measurements consisted primarily of observations 

of rate of spread, gas temperatures, and fuel consumption, which 

provided useful data and observations. However, with the advent of 

modern numerical computers, the complexity of wildland fire models has 

increased, and researchers now have the ability to investigate fire physics. 

This requires additional measurements, including the basic heat and 

chemical processes occurring in fire.

Scientists have attempted to quantify energy exchange from fires in 

both field and laboratory experiments. In the field, however, quantitative 

measurements of energy and mass transport in wildland fires have been 

relatively sparse because of the risk to humans and equipment, as well as 

the high degree of uncertainty in weather and fuel conditions. Moreover, 

only recently has the technology become available at a cost that allows 

scientists to capture the desired measurements over the range of possible 

conditions.

To capture these measurements, FFS researchers have developed a robust, 

relatively inexpensive system to characterize wildland fire that consists of 

two enclosures. In the first, a sensor/data logger combination measures 

and records convective/radiant energy released by the fire. In the second, 

a digital video camera housed in a fireproof enclosure records visual 

images of fire behavior.

One of the challenges associated with characterizing physical processes 

in fire is the spatial heterogeneity introduced by variations in vegetation, 

terrain and weather. These new sensors record energy and mass transport 

at a very small scale relative to that of wildland fires. By deploying as 

many of these sensors as possible, as well as collecting video footage of 

fire as it burns over the sensors, researchers are better able to understand 

how fire spreads and how the energy from fire is transferred to plants 

and soil. This new knowledge can be used in fire modeling, fire effects 

modeling, and development of smoke emission models.

Focus Area: Physical Fire Processes

Bottom Line: Researchers have developed a remote system to measure, 

record, and photograph wildland fire behavior. This new knowledge 

allows them to describe the physics of how fire spreads and how the 

energy from fire transfers to plants and to the soil. It will also lead to 

better fire, fire effects, and smoke emission models.

For more information, contact: Bret Butler at bwbutler@fs.fed.us.

A fire-behavior package mounted on a tripod gathers data as a wildland fire burns 

around it.
15 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Validating Microscale Wind Models

Spatial wind variability influences wildland fire behavior, but the accuracy 

of short-range fire behavior predictions has been limited by the lack of 

spatially resolved surface wind flow information. To address this need, 

FFS researchers have developed and tested a wind simulation tool, 

WindNinja, with the ability to resolve wind flow over mountainous 

terrain at a scale of 100 to 300 ft.

To test the accuracy of microscale wind models, researchers need 

to compare simulations against measured wind data. Unfortunately, 

not enough appropriate data sets are available, so FFS scientists are 

working to obtain and document weather data through intensive 

instrumentation campaigns at several field locations. Using over 50 cup 

and vane anemometers, sodar and radar profilers, weather balloons, sonic 

anemometers, and National Weather Service weather stations, researchers 

are collecting weather data to validate and improve the models. 

Preliminary findings suggest that, as expected, terrain has a significant 

impact on wind speed and direction. The resulting data will be organized 

into an online database that will be accessible to other researchers and 

wind model developers for validation purposes.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS researchers have developed and tested a wind 

simulation tool, WindNinja, with the ability to resolve wind flow over 

mountainous terrain at a scale of 100 to 300 ft. The data obtained from 

the wind simulation tool will not only improve the accuracy of widely 

used wind simulation tools, but will also be made available online to 

other researchers to improve other management models and simulations.

For more information, contact: Bret Butler at bwbutler@fs.fed.us or Jason 

Forthofer at jaforthofer@fs.fed.us.

Cup and vane anemometer being installed on Big Southern Butte, Idaho.

Wind flow simulation for 

Big Southern Butte.
16 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Describing Sawgrass Fuels

Sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense) grows in the flooded marshes and glades of 

southern Florida and can quickly dominate a landscape. This fire-adapted 

species forms dense 6-12-ft stands that can burn in any month, regardless 

of water depth, but it is slowly disappearing as native bushes, exotic 

species, and human-changed water tables alter its native range.

While it is known that frequent fire eliminates competitors, helping 

to keep sawgrass on the landscape, only one National Fire Danger 

Rating System fuel model exists to describe the fire behavior and fuel 

characteristics of sawgrass. But that model does not include the live fuel 

component that can dominate this fuel type. For that reason, managers 

struggle to make current models match conditions on the ground when 

trying to maintain sawgrass habitat through prescribed fires or when 

attempting to anticipate wildland fire behavior.

Using sensors developed by Fire Lab investigators, researchers tracked 

radiant and convective heat flux, rate of spread, and fuel loadings 

throughout prescribed fire units, as well as detailed measurements of 

wind flow around the burn units. Researchers will use this information to 

evaluate existing and future fire models and to describe fire intensity and 

rate of spread across the range of expected vegetation loadings.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: New sensors developed by Fire Lab investigators have 

allowed researchers to collect field data that will improve fire models 

and subsequent management guidelines for use in maintaining sawgrass 

habitat.

For more information, contact Matt Jolly: at mjolly@fs.fed.us, Bret Butler 

at bwbutler@fs.fed.us, or Russ Parsons at rparsons@fs.fed.us.

Prescribed fire in Florida sawgrass with 

specialized sensors created by 

FFS researchers.
17 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Investigations into the physics, chemistry, and other components 

contributing to wildland fire contributes only part of the knowledge fire 

managers require to make informed decisions in the field. Managers 

also need to understand how weather, topography, insect infestations, 

forest type, management practices, and other environmental and humancaused changes contribute to how a wildfire might burn under differing 

conditions.

For example, single-age stand conditions and warm climate patterns 

have led to a large-scale outbreak of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus 

ponderosae) throughout the Rocky Mountain West. Once infested, 

trees die and their needles turn red. FFS researchers have investigated 

the moisture content of beetle-killed foliage prior to needle loss and 

have found that red needles have 10 times less moisture than healthy 

foliage, and that red needles ignite 4 times faster than green needles. 

Consequently, forests with a large number of beetle-killed trees are at a 

significantly higher risk of surface fires igniting the crown. Such low fuel 

moistures could also result in beetle-killed trees spotting ahead of the fire. 

This research provides insights into potential fuel treatments in beetlekilled forests, increases firefighter awareness of dangerous situations, and 

assists managers in identifying areas at high risk for ignition and extreme 

fire behavior. It also has contributed to the development of a new model 

that will eventually help firefighters anticipate fire behavior in wildlands 

where forest canopies have turned from green to red beetle kill.

Behavior and 

Effects of 

Wildland Fire

Researchers ignited this red-needle lodgepole pine tree at a single point source on its 

lowest branches. Flames quickly consumed the entire tree.
18 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Researchers also know that beetle-killed trees lose their needles over time, 

and once all the needles have dropped, crown fire danger largely disappears. 

However, it is unclear how long that process takes after infestation, and 

therefore, how long the trees remain at risk for crown fire initiation and 

spread. Moreover, these red-needled trees have lower foliar moisture 

contents than green trees, leading to increased crown fire potential. Initial 

findings indicate that some needles stay on trees for up to four years after 

a beetle attack. To better understand and quantify crown fuel changes over 

time, FFS investigators are working with managers to identify beetleinfested stands and to track how long they remain a crown-fire hazard.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS scientists’ ongoing research will better inform 

managers on how to assess impacts such as mountain pine beetles and 

improve tools to assess risks to wildlands and to fire fighters.

For more information, contact: Matt Jolly at mjolly@fs.fed.us or Russ 

Parsons at rparsons@fs.fed.us.

Studying Insects, Fire, and Climate at the 

Stand Scale

While the study of tree rings (dendrochronology) can be used to generate 

century-scale disturbance histories and climatic patterns, it is very difficult 

to understand the impacts and magnitude of any individual disturbance. 

For example, western spruce budworm outbreaks are often decades long 

in the Interior West, but it is difficult to separate their impacts on a stand 

from the impacts of other disturbances such as fire or drought because the 

effects are specific to each stand and highly dependent on stand structure.

Trees in Colorado show the tell-tale signs of a mountain 

pine beetle attack (Kenny Regan photograph).
19 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

To better understand the effects of different disturbances, FFS scientists, 

collaborating with researchers at the University of Oregon, are testing 

the use of FireBGC, a stand-level, climate-based, tree growth model, 

to analyze how different disturbances, alone and in combination, affect 

successional pathways. In particular, scientists want to better understand 

how western spruce budworm outbreaks affect fire behavior and if 

outbreaks change the susceptibility of a stand to wildland fire.

FireBGC generates an entire digital canopy based on climatic growing 

conditions. The resulting stand structure can be modified by singular or 

multiple disturbances of spruce budworm and fire. To maintain the stand 

structure, a three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics model 

(Fire Dynamic Simulator) is being used to test multiple wildfire scenarios 

at each stand stage.

Focus Area: Fire Ecology

Bottom Line: To better understand the effects of individual disturbances 

on a stand, FFS scientists, in collaboration with researchers at the 

University of Oregon, are testing the use of FireBGC, a stand-level, 

climate-based, tree growth model, to analyze how different disturbances, 

alone and in combination, affect successional pathways.

For more information, contact: Russ Parsons at rparsons@fs.fed.us.

Oregon trees affected by western spruce 

budworm (William M. Ciesla Forest Health 

Management International photograph, 

Bugwood.org).
20 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Understanding Fire Behavior in 

Longleaf Pine

Longleaf pine forests once covered 30 to 60 million acres of the 

southeastern United States, taking 100 to 150 years to grow to full size. 

Longleaf pine grows most commonly in flatwoods, sandhill, and upland 

hardwood ecosystems, thriving when exposed to periodic low-intensity 

fires. Longleaf pine can live for up to 300 or more years. However, 200 

years of logging and clearing for agriculture have eliminated much of the 

species’ habitat, impacting many plant and animal species, such as squirrels 

turkey, quail, and nuthatches that rely on longleaf pine seeds for food. 

Red-cockaded woodpecker (Forest Service photograph by 

James Hanula).

Fire burning through longleaf pine/turkey oak forest.

Loss of longleaf pine habitat also threatens gopher tortoises, red-cockaded 

woodpeckers and indigo snakes.

Fire managers at the Eglin Air Force base in northwestern Florida 

have worked to restore longleaf pine across their management area 

but were unsure which management approaches promoted longleaf 

pines and prevented or suppressed competing plants. In February 2011, 

FFS researchers teamed with Eglin fire managers to explore methods 

for characterizing fire behavior as a function of ecological treatment 
21 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

approaches in large research prescribed fires targeted at characterizing fire 

behavior in longleaf pine habitats.

Sensors and video cameras housed in fireproof boxes measured total and 

radiant energy released by the fire as well as air temperature and velocity, 

providing quantitative measures of fire intensity over time and across 

space. One key observation was that grasses in the longleaf pine habitat 

are highly flammable, even shortly after exposure to rain. In addition, lowintensity fire appears to be critical to regeneration of wire grass on the 

longleaf pine forest, and fire intensity appears to depend on fuel loading, 

with a significant component of the fuel array being the wire grass and 

turkey oak litter. Investigators are analyzing results to better understand 

the spatial distribution of energy release from fires in this fuel type and 

how energy is partitioned between radiant and convective heating.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS researchers teamed with Eglin Air Force Base 

fire managers to conduct large research prescribed fires targeted at 

characterizing fire behavior in longleaf pine habitats. Key observations 

were made that will inform future research focused on fire behavior in 

longleaf pine habitats. Ultimately, results will contribute to more accurate 

fire models.

For more information, contact: Bret Butler at bwbutler@fs.fed.us.

Slicing Through the Past

Central Oregon contains extensive fire-adapted forests, yet managers and 

other decision-makers lack the information they need to assess current 

forest departure from historical conditions and to understand the effects 

of climate variation on past fires in order to anticipate the possible effects 

of future climate change. FFS researchers are filling these data gaps by 

reconstructing fire and forest histories from tree rings. In cooperation with 

the Central Oregon Fire Management Service, the Nature Conservancy, 

and a dendroecologist from the University of Arizona, FFS researchers 

collected field data and wood samples in central Oregon during the 

summers of 2009 through 2011. Seven gridded sites were sampled, 

Researchers use tree rings to date 

a tree’s age, growth patterns, and 

exposure to fire and other stresses 

over several centuries.
22 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

covering a range of forest types (mixed conifer, lodgepole pine, and 

western juniper) to reconstruct spatial variation in historical fire regimes 

and forest conditions, and seven frequent-fire sites in ponderosa pine 

forests were sampled to reconstruct the influence of climate on regionalfire years.

Researchers are crossdating the more than 6000 wood samples collected in 

central Oregon to identify the historical range of variation in historical fire 

regimes and forest condition across the region as well as the climate drivers 

of past regional-fire years. Researchers are also documenting modern 

regional fires using archival records. Ultimately, researchers will use this 

data in a FFS landscape fire, vegetation, and climate change simulation 

model (such as FireBGCv2) to help managers anticipate and plan for 

possible fire and vegetation dynamics in the future.

Focus Area: Fire Ecology

Bottom Line: In cooperation with the Central Oregon Fire Management 

Service (Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests and Prineville BLM), 

The Nature Conservancy, and a dendroecologist from the University of 

Arizona, FFS researchers collected field data and wood samples in central 

Oregon during the summers of 2009 through 2011 to fill data gaps by 

reconstructing fire and forest histories from tree rings. This research 

will improve understanding of the drivers and impacts of fire and will 

help managers and others better plan for future climate change and 

disturbances.

For more information, contact: Emily Heyerdahl at eheyerdahl@fs.fed.us.

Exploring Landscape Fire and Succession 

Models

In coming years, wildland fire management will face increasingly difficult 

challenges such as climate change, fire exclusion impacts, and wildlandurban development that will require new, innovative means to address 

them. Field studies, while preferable and reliable, will be problematic 

because of the large time and space scales involved. Therefore, landscape 

simulation modeling will have more of a role in future wildland fire 

management as field studies become untenable. To meet this need, FFS 

researchers have developed a new spatially explicit landscape fire and 

vegetation research tool to explore landscape and ecosystem responses to 

climate change.

This new model, called FireBGCv2, simulates the effects of a wide range 

of management activities designed to create resilient and sustainable 

landscapes and incorporates several types of stand dynamics models into 

a landscape simulation platform. For example, FireBGCv2 can be used 

to determine the most effective fuel reduction or ecosystem restoration 

strategy. Novel treatments can be simulated to determine short- and longterm effects on a diverse array of ecosystem elements, and fire hazard and 

risk can be simulated to prioritize areas for treatment and to design the 

most effective treatment prescriptions. FireBGCv2 can also be used to 

approximate historical or future landscape conditions that can then be 

referenced for ecologically based landscape prioritization and planning and 

to update broad-scale digital maps and inform future sampling strategies 

for assessing change.

Focus Area: Fire Ecology

Bottom Line: FFS researchers have developed a new spatially explicit 

landscape fire and vegetation research tool to explore landscape and 

ecosystem responses to climate change. As field studies become 

problematic because of the large time and space scales involved, 

FireBGCv2 can be used to explore fire, climate, and vegetation 

interactions; quantify spatial and temporal dynamics of fire regimes; 

and describe potential fire dynamics under future climates and land 

management strategies to provide critical information that can help 

managers mitigate potential adverse effects. Researchers can also use 

FireBGCv2 to identify areas of possible research and to prioritize possible 

research directions. 
23 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Stand composition in forest- or shrub- and grass-land (upper), mean values for stand 

carbon for simulation years 100 and 500 (middle), and change in stand carbon from 

simulation years 100 to 500 (lower), McDonald watershed, Glacier National Park, 

USA.

General illustration of the important processes and ecosystem components represented in a 

FireBGCv2 simulation.

The five organizational scales built into the design 

of FireBGCv2: landscape, site, stand, species, and 

tree.
24 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

For more information, contact: Bob Keane at rkeane@fs.fed.us.

Forest Service policy and Federal mandates, such as the National 

Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, National 

Forest Management Act, and Healthy Forests Restoration Act, require 

ecological monitoring of controlled burns and other wildland treatments. 

Unfortunately, monitoring data are typically not collected due to lack of 

resources, such as funding, time, and monitoring expertise. When data are 

collected, they are often stored in hard copy form or other formats that 

limit widespread access. Even when collected electronically, the resulting 

spreadsheets can be hard to maintain across numerous sample visits 

and can be difficult to analyze. Finally, some database formats restrict 

the ability to share data, while others do not allow storage of important 

monitoring attributes or comprehensive data analysis.

To help managers collect and store monitoring data in a consistent 

and accessible format, FFS researchers, as part of an interagency team 

that included land managers, combined two widely used fire effects 

applications: the National Park Service-supported Fire Effects Assessment 

Tool (FEAT) and the Fire Effects Monitoring System (FIREMON), 

sponsored by the Joint Fire Science Program. The resulting ecological 

monitoring utility, FEAT/FIREMON Integrated (FFI), integrates these 

two applications, and benefits from the development investment in those 

two systems.

The resulting FFI application provides data entry and storage for a 

set of “standard” protocols delivered with software, summary reports, 

analysis tools, and GIS and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) support. 

The Protocol Manager allows managers to customize their sampling, 

making the FFI database capable of storing data in the standard protocols 

as well as any protocol designed by the user. Thus, in one application, 

land managers can enter, update, store, display, summarize, and analyze 

monitoring data specific to their needs. Many managers have found FFI to 

be an important, useful part of their adaptive management program.

Since its initial FFI in 2007, the development team has converted almost 

250 FEAT and FIREMON databases and spreadsheets into the FFI 

database format. They also conducted 15 classroom-training sessions, 

Communicating 

What Is Known

Students discuss field sampling techniques with their instructor during the FFI 

field training session at the Southern Area Advanced Fire and Aviation Academy 

in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in June 2011.
25 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

teaching more than 300 students from Federal and local Government 

and non-Government entities how to incorporate FFI into their 

monitoring programs. On-line training classes have also been developed 

to introduce managers to FFI and its applications through one- to twohour presentations. User guides, software, training materials, and technical 

support information are available at http://frames.gov/ffi.

Focus Area: Science Synthesis and Delivery

Bottom Line: To improve ecological data accessibility, FFS researchers, 

as part of an interagency team, combined two widely used fire effects 

applications—FEAT and FIREMON—into the FFI application that 

provides data entry and storage for a set of “standard” protocols delivered 

with software, summary reports, analysis tools, and GIS and PDA support.

For more information, contact: Duncan Lutes at dlutes@fs.fed.us.

Keeping Decision-Makers Informed

Mountain pine beetle outbreaks throughout the Rocky Mountain West 

pose serious problems to land managers, particularly as managers try 

to assess the risk of wildland fires. In Montana, beetles have attacked 

approximately 4 million acres, leaving a patchwork of red trees across 

the landscape. In Colorado and Wyoming, 4 million more acres have 

been affected. While managers assume these infestations put forests at 

higher risk of wildland fire, little is known about how fire behaves in these 

conditions. For example, does the initial outbreak (when the needles turn 

red) pose a serious fire risk as opposed to later stages (when the needles 

turn gray)? Another question is how should firefighters prepare to fight 

fires in mixed stands of healthy and infected trees?

FFS scientists have initiated a fundamental research program to better 

understand the moisture content and flammability of beetle-killed trees, 

Beetle-killed trees in Glacier National Park (William M. Ciesla, Forest Health Management International, Bugwood.org photograph).
26 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

with the ultimate goal of producing a model to help fire fighters and 

managers better predict how hot and fast a wildland fire will burn. In the 

meantime, however, land managers must assess the potential fire danger 

faced by millions of acres of beetle-killed trees.

In the fall of 2011, FFS researchers conducted a national webinar to share 

research with managers nationwide, while also meeting with regional 

managers, answering questions, and sharing recent discoveries. This 

outreach effort ensures managers have access to research results in real 

time, even before the scientists have published their final results.

Focus Area: Science Synthesis and Delivery

Bottom Line: FFS scientists have initiated a fundamental research 

program to better understand the moisture content and flammability of 

beetle-killed trees, with the ultimate goal of producing a model to help fire 

fighters and managers better predict how hot and fast a wildland fire will 

burn. In the meantime, researchers are also conducting outreach programs 

to keep managers informed, helping them make better decisions in the 

field.

For more information, contact Matt Jolly: at mjolly@fs.fed.us or Russ 

Parsons at rparsons@fs.fed.us.

Synthesizing Data on Fire and Eastern 

Invasive Plants

In January 2011, FFS researchers completed a two-year project funded 

by the Joint Fire Science Program to double the information available in 

Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) on invasive plants in the eastern 

United States. Since 1986, FEIS has been known as a “go-to place” 

for knowledge about fire effects, where information is synthesized into 

literature reviews that cover more than 1100 U.S. species. Knowledge 

syntheses create new understanding by bringing the results of all studies 

on a topic together in one location, summarizing them, comparing results, 

and analyzing differences.

Prior to this project, FEIS contained 52 species reviews of eastern 

invasives, covering 69 taxa. FEIS now contains 56 new species reviews 

and 5 updated species reviews of eastern invasive plants, covering 78 taxa. 

The process of gathering and synthesizing available information from the 

scientific literature created new insights, especially regarding:

•	 how non-native invasive plant species might respond to fire and thus 

influence native plant communities;

•	 how fire suppression activities and fire exclusion policy might influence 

plant invasions and site invasibility;

•	 how invasives may alter fuel and fire regime characteristics; and

•	 how fire may increase invasions and invasibility or may be used to 

reduce invasions.

The project also included a quantitative analysis of knowledge gaps in the 

scientific literature, demonstrating that information on fire and eastern 

invasives is often lacking. Fire-related topics such as immediate fire 

effects, vegetative post-fire responses, and influences on fire regimes were 

covered by field observations or experiments in fewer than half of the 61 

species reviews completed in this project; 9 of those reviews contained 

no observation-based information on any fire topic. The project delivered 

information to managers through the FEIS website, presentations, poster 

displays, and training sessions in the eastern United States and at national 

venues.

Focus Area: Science Synthesis and Delivery

Bottom Line: In January 2011, FFS researchers completed a twoyear project funded by the Joint Fire Science Program to double the 

information available in FEIS on invasive plants in the eastern United 

States. By synthesizing information on fire and invasive plant species for 

the eastern states and compiling information on knowledge gaps, this 

project helps improve the quality, efficiency, and cost effectiveness of fire 

and invasive species management.

For more information, contact: Jane Smith at jsmith09@fs.fed.us.
27 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Water yam (Dioscorea alata) climbing slash or pond pine (Pinus elliottii or P. serotina) south of Tallahassee, Florida (photo © Chris Evans, River to River CWMA, 

Bugwood.org).
28 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Updating BEHAVE

The BehavePlus fire modeling system produces tables, graphs, and 

simple diagrams of modeled fire behavior, effects, and environment and 

has become an established tool for many fire and fuels management 

applications, including wildfire prediction, prescribed fire planning, and 

fuel hazard assessment, as well as communication, education, and training. 

Recent surveys conducted by independent researchers indicated that 

BehavePlus is among the most widely used computerized fire modeling 

systems in the United States.

And the system continues to evolve. For example, Fire Lab 

researchers have developed a supplemental computer program to 

create fire characteristics charts that present primary fire behavior 

characteristics (rate of spread, flame length, and heat per unit area), 

aiding in communication and interpretation of fire behavior, both 

modeled and observed, and creating charts that are much easier to 

use and interpret.

BehavePlus needs an update to facilitate integration of multiple fire 

behavior, effects, and danger rating systems. Researchers are looking 

at ways to generate basic fire modeling building blocks in the form 

of computer code. With a goal of resolving internal differences 

among existing systems, the resulting library of modular building 

blocks will improve incorporation of new research results and will 

aid development of both online and desktop applications.

Focus Area: Science Synthesis and Delivery

Bottom Line: BehavePlus is among the most popular and effective 

computerized fire system in the United States. Managers will 

benefit from, and no doubt welcome, plans for an update with a 

consistent modeling foundation, user interface, and graph and report 

generators.

For more information, contact: Pat Andrews at pandrews@fs.fed.us or 

Faith Ann Heinsch at faheinsch@fs.fed.us.
29 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Simulating Fire Weather

Fire Program Analysis (FPA) uses different weather scenario 

streams for each Fire Planning Unit. Each stream is spatially 

independent of the others, so there is no sense of coherence 

among the various locations. And yet, the regional coincidence 

of high or low fire danger can create difficulties in strategic 

planning and resource allocation. To capture the regional nature 

of weather and fire danger, FFS researchers are working on a 

simulation method that reflects the spatial correlation observed 

in nature. The method will be incorporated into FPA once 

testing and validation occur.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS researchers are working on a simulation 

method for FPA that reflects the spatial correlation observed 

in nature, providing managers with tools better aligned with 

conditions in their region.

For more information, contact: Isaac Grenfell at icgrenfell@

fs.fed.us.

Mapping the Potential for HighSeverity Wildfires

While tools exist to assess the severity and ecological effects 

of wildfires after they burn, land managers also need new 

tools that easily and quickly forecast the potential severity of 

future fires. Researchers understand much about how climate, 

fuels, and topography influence fire extent, but their effects 

on burn severity are little understood. To meet this need, FFS 

investigators are developing a set of 98-ft (30-m) resolution, 

wall-to-wall continuous maps for the conterminous western 

United States that will document the potential for high-severity 

fire under different climate and weather scenarios.

A demonstration of three simulated days of energy release component (ERC) with the 

seasonal traces at each location, as indicated on the grids. Above are the grids for June 20, 

August 20, and October 20 of the simulated season.
30 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Utilizing combined burn severity observations from more than 7000 

past fires with spatial data on topography, climate, and vegetation to 

build statistical models, researchers are now extrapolating across entire 

landscapes to predict the potential for high-severity fires. Based upon 

their analyses of wildfires in the southwestern and northwestern parts 

of United States, FFS researchers have found that while climate greatly 

affects an area burned in wildfires, local topography and fuels appear to 

be relatively more important to the ecological effects of those fires. That 

said, weather and climate still play an important role in burn severity. 

For example, topography and fuels may have less influence on burn 

severity when conditions are especially hot, dry, and windy (i.e., fire 

burns more indiscriminately under more extreme conditions), a pattern 

that researchers expect to document in their final predictive maps.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS investigators are developing a set of 98-ft (30-m) 

resolution, wall-to-wall continuous maps for the conterminous western 

United States that will document the potential for high-severity 

fire under different climate and weather scenarios. This research will 

improve predictive tools for managers and others assessing fire risk in 

the American West.

For more information, contact: Greg Dillon at gdillon@fs.fed.us.

Classifying Fire Severity

Fire severity classifications have been used extensively in fire 

management over the last 30 years to address specific environmental 

or ecological impacts of fire on fuels, vegetation, wildlife, and soils in 

recently burned areas. Most of these classifications are comprised of 

highly subjective, simplistic classes tailored to meet specific problems 

or needs that reduce severity to subjective classes of “low,” “moderate,” 

or “high.” FFS researchers used computer simulation burning on 

over 115,200 fuel beds to formulate a method of classifying burn 

severity that would quantitatively relate the physical properties of fire 

(intensity) to first-order fire effects (for example, depth of burn, biomass 

The geographic extent of mapping the potential for high-severity fire. The colored areas are 

the 15 mapping regions being used to build predictive models and maps.
31 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

consumption, and temperature reached at depth) under different 

moisture scenarios.

Using synthetic fuel beds comprised of a wide range of compositions 

and burned under 10 moisture scenarios, researchers found that 9 

classes of fire severity could easily describe the fire effects obtained 

from simulation burns. The classes had unique ranges in biomass 

consumption, fire residence time (i.e., from “flashy” to long-burning 

fires), fire intensities, and burn depth and temperature. The nine classes 

were verified with an actual field dataset and discriminant analysis.

Focus Area: Fire Ecology

Bottom Line: FFS researchers used computer simulation burning on over 

115,200 fuel beds to formulate a method of classifying burn severity that 

would quantitatively relate fire intensity to first-order fire effects under 

different moisture scenarios. This classification process is a first step toward 

a more quantitative, objective, scalable approach to predicting fire severity 

from surface fuels, which is critical to evaluating fire effects in prescribed 

fire or fuel reductions plans.

For more information, contact: Pamela Sikkink at psikkink@fs.fed.us.
32 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Evaluating Burn-Severity Maps

Although burn-severity maps derived from satellite imagery provide 

a landscape view of fire impacts, fire effects simulation models can 

provide spatial fire severity estimates and add a biotic context in 

which to interpret severity. In this project, FFS researchers evaluated 

two methods of mapping burn severity in the context of rapid 

post-fire assessment for four wildfires in western Montana: (1) an 

image-based burn-severity mapping approach using the Differenced 

Normalized Burn Ratio, and (2) a fire effects simulation approach 

using the Fire Hazard and Risk Model (FIREHARM). Sixtyfour plots were used as field reference. The image-based approach 

was moderately correlated with percentage tree mortality but had 

no relationship with percentage fuel consumption, whereas the 

simulation approach was moderately correlated with percentage fuel 

consumption and weakly correlated with percentage tree mortality. 

Burn-severity maps produced by the two approaches had mixed 

results among the four sampled wildfires. Both approaches had 

the same overall map agreement when compared with a sampled 

composite burn index but the approaches generated different 

severity maps.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS researchers evaluated two methods of mapping 

burn severity in the context of rapid post-fire assessment for four 

wildfires in western Montana: (1) an image-based burn-severity 

mapping approach using the Differenced Normalized Burn Ratio, 

and (2) a fire effects simulation approach using the FIREHARM 

model. These techniques have the potential to be used synergistically 

to improve burn severity mapping capabilities of land managers, as 

well as quickly and effectively meet rehabilitation objectives.

For more information, contact: Eva Karau at ekarau@fs.fed.us.

Satellite-derived and model-simulated maps of burn severity for the four fire areas—arranged in rows 

from first to last: Cooney Ridge, Mineral Primm, Gash Creek and I90 Complex. Column 1: Differenced 

Normalized Burn Ratio, classed as Low, Moderate, and High burn severity. Column 2: FIREHARM 

burn severity, classed as Low, Moderate, and High burn severity. Column 3: Difference map showing 

discrepancy and agreement between DNBR and FIREHARM burn severity maps. Red means DNBR 

severity was lower than FIREHARM severity; blue means the maps are in agreement; and yellow 

means DNBR severity was higher than FIREHARM severity.
33 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Wildland fire affects native fishes in the Rocky Mountain West by 

removing riparian vegetation, increasing solar radiation to the stream, and 

leading to warmer summer water temperatures. Many native fish such as 

bull trout and cutthroat trout evolved with fire, and their populations are 

resilient to fire’s effects if their habitat is otherwise unaffected. In many 

watersheds, however, stream habitat fragmentation and degradation and 

the invasion of non-native fishes such as brook trout and brown trout that 

tolerate warmer water temperatures have reduced native trout resiliency. 

Climate change may further threaten native trout by directly increasing 

water temperatures and by changing the influence of fire. Thus, forecasting 

the persistence of native trout requires an understanding of fire dynamics—

including size, distribution, frequency, severity, and the influence of fuels 

management—and the responses of non-native fish species.

Working with the University of Montana and co-investigators Michael 

Young and Dan Isaak of the Air, Water, and Aquatic Environments 

Program, FFS researchers are linking the landscape fire succession 

simulation model FireBGCv2 with a stream temperature model and 

trout growth models to predict changes in trout species distributions and 

productivity in Montana’s East Fork Bitterroot River basin. This basin 

has a history of large, stand-replacing fires, yet still supports native fish 

populations in many tributaries. Using model predictions, researchers 

can evaluate potential thresholds in fire risk, such as those related to the 

persistence of Federally listed bull trout and the scales at which to expect 

recovery under various climate and fire regimes.

Looking to 

the Future

Male bull trout in the East Fork Bitterroot River basin. Photo by Aubree Benson.

Looking at historical climate with fire exclusion, and both warm and 

wet or hot and dry future climates along with fire exclusion or with fuels 

management, researchers are producing time series on stream temperature 

and fire disturbance characteristics to estimate the amount and suitability 

of habitat for native and non-native trout.

Focus Area: Fire Ecology

Bottom Line: Working with the University of Montana, FFS researchers 

are linking the landscape fire succession simulation model FireBGCv2 with 

a stream temperature model and trout growth models to predict changes 

in trout species distributions and productivity in Montana’s East Fork 

Bitterroot River basin. The results of this study will improve understanding 

of which fire and landscape characteristics pose higher risks for native trout 

species under climate change, and which factors, such as air temperature 

increases, fire severity, fire size, vegetation, and fuels result in large-scale, 

long-term changes in fish communities. This will help managers identify 

tributaries to focus bull trout conservation efforts in the future.

For more information, contact: Lisa Holsinger at lholsinger@fs.fed.us.
34 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Modeling Effects of Climate Change on 

Whitebark Pine

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), an important high-elevation fiveneedle pine that is both a keystone and foundation species, is particularly 

sensitive to a complex set of interacting disturbances: climatic change, 

anthropogenic fire exclusion, white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), 

and mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae). Whitebark pine 

forests once covered a major portion (approximately 10 to 15%) of the 

northern Rocky Mountain forested landscape, and trees produce seeds 

that provide an important food source for over 110 animal species, 

including the endangered grizzly bear (Ursus arctos). Loss of whitebark 

pine communities may have important ecological implications such as 

reduced snowpack accumulation and retention, changes in the timing 

and amount of surface water runoff, shifts in wildlife habitat suitability 

and food availability, and major changes in forest structure in subalpine 

environments in the northern Rocky Mountains.

Scientists expect climate changes to have a major influence on landscape 

patterns and biotic community compositions, either directly through 

increased species mortality and shifts in species distributions, or indirectly 

from factors such as increased wildfire activity and extent, shifting fire 

regimes, and pathogenesis. High-elevation landscapes have been shown 

to be particularly sensitive to climatic changes and are likely to experience 

significant impacts under projected future climates.

As part of a study on the effects of projected climate changes, wildfires, 

and varying levels of genetic resistance to white pine blister rust on 

whitebark pine communities, FFS researchers used the ecosystem process 

model FireBGCv2 to study the McDonald watershed in Glacier National 

Park in Montana. Researchers modeled the effects of rust resistance levels 

of 5%, 20%, and 50% and three climate scenarios (current climate, future 

Left: Effects of projected climate changes on whitebark pine communities in McDonald watershed, Glacier National Park, Montana, where 

rr50cur = 50% rust resistance with current climate scenario, rr50a2 = 50% rust resistance with hot-dry climate scenario, and rr50b2 = 50% rust 

resistance with warm-wet climate scenario. Right: rr5cur = 5% rust resistance with current climate scenario, rr20cur = 20% rust resistance with 

current climate scenario, and rr50cur = 50% rust resistance with current climate scenario.
35 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

warm-wet and hot-dry climates) on whitebark pine abundance and 

persistence, assuming a 50% level of fire suppression.

Their research demonstrated that projected climate changes will negatively 

impact whitebark pine communities in the study landscape, even at the 

highest (50%) simulated level of rust resistance. For example, under a 

hot-dry future climate, the area dominated by whitebark pine dropped 

from about 3500 hectares to just a few hundred hectares within the first 

100 years of the simulation, as the result of interacting effects of higher 

temperatures, increased wildfire frequency and extent, and competition 

from lower-elevation tree species. Even in high-elevation sites favorable for 

whitebark pine, warming temperatures exceeded the optimal temperature 

range for the species, yet proved suitable for establishment of lowerelevation species better adapted to frequent fire regimes. On the other 

hand, under current climate conditions, higher levels of rust resistance 

resulted in greater abundance of whitebark pine on the landscape, 

indicating that selective breeding and outplanting of rust-resistant stock 

are viable management strategies for today’s climate and could facilitate 

the restoration of these pines to at least a portion of their historical range. 

Restored whitebark pine forests will likely fare better under changing 

climate conditions, if they can establish on the landscape under the current 

climate. While managers cannot predict future climate conditions in the 

northern Rocky Mountains, it is very likely that climate, and therefore 

vegetation and fire patterns, will be different than they are today.

Focus Area: Fire Ecology

Bottom Line: FFS researchers used the ecosystem process model 

FireBGCv2 to study the McDonald watershed in Glacier National Park 

in Montana. Their research demonstrates that a restoration program that 

selects for high levels (20% and above) of rust resistance in whitebark pine 

will likely increase these keystone species on the McDonald watershed and 

in similar northern Rocky Mountain landscapes. As climate conditions 

change, continued research may highlight additional opportunities for 

restoration under future environments.

For more information, contact: Rachel Loehman at raloehman@fs.fed.us.

Grizzly bear in Glacier National Park (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

photo by Erwin and Peggy Bauer). Whitebark pine, a high-elevatioin keystone and foundation tree species (U.S. Forest Service photo by 

Richard Sniezko, 2005).
36 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Assessing Effects of Increasing Fire Risk at 

the Wildland-Urban Interface

Future changes in climate and land use have the potential to increase 

the risk of wildfire in the wildland-urban interface. Understanding how 

management activities affect wildfire risk is key to planning for this 

uncertain future. With support from the National Science Foundation 

and in partnership with researchers at the University of Missouri, 

Deakin University in Australia, USGS, and others, FFS researchers used 

FireBGCv2, a fully integrated GIS-based, mechanistic ecological modeling 

system, to model future wildfire risk in Flathead County, Montana. Land 

managers from multiple ownership types (Federal, state, private, non-profit, 

Taking plot measurements in Flathead County.

Vegetation assignments based on generalization of LANDFIRE data used in 

FireBGCv2 model.
37 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

tribal) participated in stakeholder panels to advise on setting up the model 

and participated in the decision-making on setting model parameters. 

This initial stakeholder involvement promoted a better understanding 

of the modeling effort by all concerned and increased the likelihood of 

stakeholders using the results in future management decisions.

The FireBGCv2 model simulated vegetation, fuel, and wildland fire 

dynamics over a 50-year study period. Incorporating Forest Inventory 

and Analysis data, LANDFIRE data, and supplemental field plots as 

parameters for the model, researchers used the model outputs to generate 

future burn probabilities at 10-year intervals. They then incorporated 

these burn probabilities into an economic risk analysis model to estimate 

residential property damage from wildfire. The results of this study 

demonstrate the challenges facing wildland managers and urban planners 

in the face of climate change and provide a framework for adaptively 

managing future wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS researchers, in collaboration with universities, other 

agencies, and land managers from the local community, used FireBGCv2, to 

model future wildfire risk in Flathead County, Montana. Using simulation 

results from complex ecological models, managers are able to make wildfirerelated decisions under alternative climate change and economic growth 

futures. This project will provide insights into how future residential 

development and land use policy are likely to influence wildfire risk.

For more information, contact: Bob Keane at rkeane@fs.fed.us.

Analyzing Smoke Pollution at the WildlandUrban Interface

During the daytime, atmospheric pollutants, including aerosols, 

accumulate in the lowest part of the Earth’s atmosphere known as the 

Planetary Boundary Layer. The pollutant levels are highly variable but are 

often high in urban environments, where they can influence human health 

and affect a number of atmospheric phenomena, such as visibility, air 

quality, cloud formation, radiation balance, photochemical processes, and 

regional climate.

During the last decade, large wildfires have resulted in significantly high 

concentrations of fire-related aerosols in California, exacerbating problems 

of human health and air quality. To understand and solve this critical 

environmental issue, researchers first need to understand the detailed 

Boundary Layer structure and the temporal changes of its height. In 

particular, to understand the distribution and dispersion of the pollutants 

near the ground, FFS researchers needed to quantify the diurnal variation 

of the boundary layer height.

While ground-based remote sensing LIDAR (Light Detection And 

Ranging) is the most appropriate instrument to study Boundary Layer 

dynamics, detached atmospheric layers on the upper levels of the Boundary 

Layer significantly complicate LIDAR monitoring. FFS researchers have 

developed a methodology for investigating the dynamics of smoke plumes 

in the vicinity of wildfires using a mobile scanning LIDAR, but the multiangle scanning method developed for wildfire applications cannot be used 

in urban conditions due to safety concerns.

FFS researchers participated in an international, multi-agency field 

campaign (CalNex-LA) in the Los Angeles area of California, area 

to study pollution sources as well as their levels and dynamics in the 

wildland-urban interface. Researchers modified their data retrieval 

technique for measurements in urban conditions. In particular, they 

developed a method for monitoring temporal variations of the heights of 

aerosol layering that can be used with the conventional, one-directional, 

vertically pointed LIDAR to measure the different layers at the top of the 

Boundary Layer. Researchers tested this methodology for more than two 

weeks during the CalNex-LA experiment and found it to be simple and 

reliable. Researchers also demonstrated that atmospheric circulation that 

leads to an aerosol layering can also be monitored by LIDAR.

Focus Area: Smoke Emissions and Dispersion

Bottom Line: FFS researchers developed a method for monitoring 

temporal variations of the aerosol layering heights that can be used with 

the conventional, one-directional, vertically pointed LIDAR to measure 

the different layers at the top of the Boundary Layer. This research 
38 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

developed important technology applications to improve understanding of 

both the Boundary Layer structure and the temporal changes of its height. 

These new insights will help multi-disciplinary teams understand and 

address the critical environmental and health issues of fire-related aerosols 

in wildland-urban interface areas.

For more information, contact: Wei Min Hao at whao@fs.fed.us or 

Vladimir Kovalev at vkovalev@fs.fed.us.

Applying Fire Simulations to Assess Risk

For Federal land management agencies, a national-scale assessment of 

wildfire risk offers a consistent means of understanding and comparing 

threats to wildland and cultural resources and predicting and prioritizing 

investments in management activities to mitigate those risks. FFS 

scientists have developed a simulation system designed to estimate the 

probabilistic components of wildfire risk for Fire Planning Units across 

the conterminous United States and have evaluated its performance 

against historical records. Scientists found that simulated burn 

probabilities were comparable to observed patterns across the country. 

Combining the probability outputs with resource values and responses 

to fire, researchers have created a national-scale geospatial wildfire risk 

assessment tool.

This research demonstrates a practical approach to using fire simulations 

at very broad scales for operational planning and ecological research. 

The risk assessment tool helps managers monitor trends in wildfire risk 

over time and prioritize fuel treatments and mitigation measures. FPA 

is using the MyFireCommunity.net collaboration site and a series of 

webinars to present the data to the wildland fire community and other 

stakeholders.

Focus Area: Fire and Fuel Management Strategies

Bottom Line: FFS scientists have developed a simulation system 

designed to estimate the probabilistic components of wildfire risk for 

Fire Planning Units across the conterminous United States and have 

evaluated its performance against historical records. These findings are 

being used in national wildfire decision-support applications such as 

FPA and the Forest Service and Department of Interior Hazardous Fuel 

Prioritization and Allocation System. Researchers are also using these 

tools to create national maps of wildfire potential.

For more information, contact: Mark Finney at mfinney@fs.fed.us or 

Karen Short at kcshort@fs.fed.us.

LIDAR vehicle in Pasadena, CA, during the CalNex-LA experiment.
39 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Advancing Understanding of Firefighter 

Safety and Slope

All wildland firefighters must define safety zones to which they can 

evacuate in an emergency. As one of the last lines of defense for a 

firefighter, safety zones can save lives, but terrain and fuels make it difficult 

to predict how large the area must be to properly protect personnel. At 

present, safety zone design considers only radiative heat. Convective heat 

is more difficult to model because it is highly dynamic in time and space. 

And yet, the large convective flow of warm air up slope in front of a fire 

can promote rapid fire spread on steep slopes. New FFS research uses an 

advanced fluid dynamics fire behavior model called “FDS” to quantify 

convective heat exposure on slopes and with winds. Research has identified 

thresholds for weather, slope, and fuel conditions that keep convective 

columns close to the slope surface, helping researchers better define areas 

considered safe for fire fighters.

Focus Area: Physical Fire Processes

Bottom Line: New FFS research uses an advanced fluid dynamics fire 

behavior model to quantify convective heat exposure on slopes and with 

winds. The results of this research will help define standards for firefighter 

safety zones and help firefighters assess hazardous conditions. These 

guidelines will be included in both the Incident Response Pocket Guide, 

carried by all fireline workers, and the Fireline Handbook. This research 

will improve understanding of fire behavior and help save lives.

For more information, contact: Bret Butler at bwbutler@fs.fed.us or Russ 

Parsons at rparsons@fs.fed.us.

Burn probability map for the conterminous United States generated for risk assessment and 

other applications.
40 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

The 1910 fires in western Montana and northern Idaho received much 

publicity, particularly for the August 19-21 spread event (or “big blowup”) 

and the experiences on those days. To better understand the conditions 

contributing to these fires, FFS researchers examined available wind and 

weather data from regional stations, reconstructed drought indices, and 

examined ignition records.

Reconstructed measures of drought illustrate the onset of acute drought 

after an otherwise wet winter. However, drought in the northern Rockies 

in 1910 was a short-term event (no multi-year build up), with the region 

experiencing a sudden onset of above-average temperatures (March-July) 

and below-average precipitation ( June-September). That said, indices of 

drought (e.g., Palmer Drought Severity Index) for the month of August 

1910 were less severe when compared to later notable fire seasons (e.g., 

1919, 1934, 1988, 2000, and 2003). Researchers also estimated the fire 

danger rating index Energy Release Component, finding more extreme 

values for 1910 only from May to mid-July compared to more recent years.

While lightning contributed to ignitions across the northern Rockies in 

1910, ignition sources associated with the two largest fires along the Idaho 

Divide were primarily human caused, started mainly from the presence of 

the newly opened railroads. This was in stark contrast to ignitions in the 

Nez Perce, Selway, Clearwater, and Bitterroot National Forests that lacked 

railroads and established trails. Fires in these forests were dominated by 

lightning ignitions.

Many eyewitness accounts described the winds during August 19-21 

as “hurricane” or “cyclonic in nature.” However, researchers found that 

available hourly wind data recorded at Weather Bureau Offices operating 

in the region at the time indicated that peak recorded wind speeds during 

this period ranged from 20-26 mph, the exception being Lewiston, Idaho, 

which recorded peak wind speeds on these dates ranging from 38-42 mph. 

It is highly likely, however, that winds near the fires were much higher as a 

result of fire-induced down drafts, fire whirls, and mass fire interactions.

Focus Area: Science Synthesis and Delivery

Bottom Line: To clarify some of the mythology of the 1910 fires, FFS 

researchers examined available wind and weather data from regional 

Reevaluating 

The 1910

Fires
41 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

As part of the 100-year commemoration of the 1910 fires in Idaho and Montana, researchers 

used current analytical techniques and weather data to piece together a much more accurate 

assessment of conditions on the ground.

stations, reconstructed drought indices, and examined ignition records 

combined with up-to-date knowledge of fire behavior, weather, and 

climatology. This same approach may also be valuable when investigating 

other large wildland fires from the past.

For more information, contact: Charles W. McHugh at cmchugh@fs.fed.

us, Larry Bradshaw at lbradshaw@fs.fed.us, or Mark Finney at mfinney@

fs.fed.us.

In August 2011, Fire Lab staff and associates won a blue ribbon at the 

Missoula County Fair for their quilt celebrating 50 years of wildland fire 

research. Looking forward to the next 50 years, Fire, Fuel, and Smoke 

research conducted at the Fire Lab will be much like this quilt: a team 

effort made possible by the dedicated contributions of talented researchers 

and staff, with results even greater than the sum of its parts.
42 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

A History of Wildland Fire Research

In 1960, the USDA Forest Service established the Northern Forest Fire 

Laboratory (now the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory) to find scientific 

solutions for better managing the nation’s wildland resources and to 

research ways to improve forest fire prevention and suppression. This new, 

state-of-the-art research facility did not emerge from a vacuum, however. 

This report explores early Forest Service research programs, including firerelated research at the Priest River Experimental Forest, and how these 

programs and other key events such as the Mann Gulch fire contributed to 

the establishment of the Fire Lab in Missoula, Montana.

Fire Lab burn chamber in the early 1960s.

Piecing Together 

the Past
43 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Additional 2011 Publications*

Andrews, Patricia L. In press. Modeling wind adjustment factor and 

midflame wind speed for Rothermel’s surface fire spread model. Gen. 

Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-266. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 39 p.

Andrews, P.L.; Heinsch, F.A.; Schelvan, L. 2011. How to generate and 

interpret fire characteristics charts for surface and crown fire behavior. 

Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-253. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 40 p.

AvaFalk, D.A.; Heyerdahl, E.K.; Brown, P.M.; Farris, C.; Fulé, P.Z.; 

McKenzie, D.; Swetnam, T.W.; Taylor, A.H.; Van Horne, M.L. 2011. 

Multi-scale controls of historical forest-fire regimes: new insights 

from fire-scar networks. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 

doi:10.1890/100052.

Burling, I.R.; Yokelson, R.J.; Akagi, S.K.; Urbanski, S.P.; Wold, C.E.; 

Griffith, D.W.T.; Johnson, T.J.; Reardon, J.; Weise, D.R. 2011. 

Airborne and ground-based measurements of the trace gases and 

particles emitted by prescribed fires in the United States. Atmospheric 

Chemistry and Physics Discussions. 11: 18677-18727.

Burling, I.R.; Yokelson, R.J.; Akagi, S.K.; Urbanski, S.P.; Wold, C.E.; 

Griffith, D.W.T.; Johnson, T.J.; Reardon, J.; Weise, D.R. 2011. 

Airborne and ground-based measurements of the trace gases and 

particles emitted by prescribed fires in the United States. Atmospheric 

Chemistry and Physics. 11: 12197–12216, 2011.

Campbell, Elizabeth M.; Keane, Robert E.; Larson, Evan R.; Murray, 

Michael P.; Schoettle, Anna W.; Wong, Carmen. 2011. Disturbance 

ecology of high-elevation five-needle pine ecosystems in western North 

America. In: Keane, Robert E.; Tomback, Diana F.; Murray, Michael 

P.; Smith, Cyndi M., eds. The future of high-elevation, five-needle 

white pines in Western North America: Proceedings of the High Five 

Symposium. 28-30 June 2010; Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-63. Fort 

Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Research Station: 154-163.

Caribbean Fire Invasives Learning Network. 2011. Management 

project summary: fire effects on 3 subtropical invasive plants—natal 

grass, common bamboo, and white leadtree. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

2011 

Publications
44 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Chang-Graham, A.L.; Profeta, L.T.M.; Johnson, T.J.; Yokelson, 

R.J.; Laskin, A.; Laskin, J. 2011. Case study of water-soluble 

metal containing organic constituents of biomass burning aerosol. 

Environmental Science and Technology. 45(4): 1257-1263.

Chong, Geneva; David Barnett; Benjamin Chemel; Roy Renkin; 

Pamela Sikkink. In press. Vegetation monitoring to detect and predict 

vegetation change: connecting historical and future shrub/steppe data in 

Yellowstone National Park. In: Proceedings of the Yellowstone National 

Park 10th Biennial Conference; 11-13 October 2010; Mammoth 

Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, WY. Yellowstone Center 

for Resources and University of Wyoming, William D. Ruckelshaus 

Institute of the Environment and Natural Resources.

Contreras, Marco A.; Parsons, Russell A.; Chung, Woodam. In press. 

Modeling tree-level fuel connectivity to evaluate the effectiveness of 

thinning treatments for reducing crown fire potential. Forest Ecology 

and Management. 264: 134-149.

Cruz, M.G.; Butler, B.W.; Viegas, D.X.; Palheiro, P. 2011. 

Characterization of flame radiosity in shrubland fire. Combustion and 

Flame. 158: 1970-1976.

Dillon, G.K.; Holden, Z.A.; Morgan, P.; Crimmins, M.A.; Heyerdahl, 

E.K.; Luce, C.H. 2011. Both topography and climate affected forest and 

woodland burn severity in two regions of the western US, 1984 to 2006. 

Ecosphere. 2(12): 130. doi: 10.1890/ES11-00271.1.

Dillon, G.; Morgan, P.; Holden, Z. 2011. Mapping the potential for high 

severity wildfire in the western United States. Fire Management Today. 

71(2): 25-28.

Drury, S.A.; Herynk, J.M. 2011. The national tree-list layer. Gen. Tech. 

Rep. RMRS-GTR-254. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 26 p.

Falk, D.A.; Heyerdahl, E.K.; Brown, P.M.; Farris, C.; Fulé, P.Z.; 

McKenzie, D.; Swetnam, T.W.; Taylor, A.H.; Van Horne, M.L. 2011. 

Multi-scale controls of historical forest-fire regimes: new insights 

from fire-scar networks. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 

doi:10.1890/100052.

Finney, M.A.; McAllister, S.S. 2011. A review of fire interactions and mass 

fires. Journal of Combustion. 2011: 14 p. doi:10.1155/2011/548328. 

Available online: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jc/2011/548328/.

Finney, M.A.; McHugh, C.W.; Grenfell, I.C.; Riley, K.L.; Short, K.C. 

2011. A simulation of probabilistic wildfire risk components for the 

continental United States. Stochastic Environmental Research Risk 

Assessment. 25: 973-1000.

Forthofer, J. M.; Goodrick, S.L. 2011. Review of vortices in wildland fire. 

Journal of Combustion. 14 p. doi:10.1155/2011/984363.

Forthofer, Jason M.; Butler, Bret W. 2011. In review. A comparison of two 

approaches for simulating fine scale winds in support of wildland fire 

management. Environmental Modeling and Software. 50 p.

French, N.H.; de Groot, W.J.; Jenkins, L.J.; [and others]. 2011. Model 

comparisons for estimating carbon emissions from North American 

wildland fire. Journal of Geophysical Research. 116:1-21.

Fryer, J.L. 2011. Alnus incana. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, 

Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://www.fs.fed.

us/database/feis.

Fryer, J.L. 2011. Amorpha canescens. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Fryer, J.L. 2011. (Revised from Matthews, Robin F. 1993.) Antennaria 

parvifolia. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects 

Information System. Available online: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/

feis.

Fryer, J.L. 2011. Celastrus orbiculatus. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Fryer, J.L. 2011. Microstegium vimineum. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Gucker, C.L. 2011. Bothriochloa barbinodis. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.
45 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Gucker, C.L. 2011. Celtis occidentalis. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Gucker, C.L. 2011. Elaeagnus pungens. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Gucker, C.L. 2011. Quercus macrocarpa. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Gucker, C.L. 2011. Schefflera actinophylla. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Gucker, C.L.; Bunting, S.C. 2011. Canyon grassland vegetation changes 

following fire in northern Idaho. Western North American Naturalist. 

71(1).

Gucker, C.; Bunting, S. 2011. Research project summary: changes 

in grassland vegetation following fire in northern Idaho. In: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 

Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. 

Available online: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Hao, W.M.; Urbanski, S.P.; Nordgren, B.; Petkov, A. 2011. Daily fire 

occurrence in Ukraine from 2002 to 2008. In: Kogan, F.; [and others], 

eds. Use of satellite and in-situ data to improve sustainability. North 

Atlantic Treaty Organization, Science for Peace and Security Series C: 

Environmental Security. Springer: The Netherlands. 1: 49-60.

Hennigan, C.J.; Miracolo, M.A.; Engelhart, G.J.; [and others]. 

2011. Chemical and physical transformations of organic aerosol 

from the photo-oxidation of open biomass burning emissions in 

an environmental chamber. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11: 7669-7686. 

doi:10.5194/acp-11-7669-2011.

Heyerdahl, Emily K.; Brown, Peter M.; Kitchen, Stanley G.; Weber, 

Marc H. 2011. Multicentury fire and forest histories at 19 sites in Utah 

and eastern Nevada. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-261WWW. Fort 

Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky 

Mountain Research Station. 192 p.

Heyerdahl, E.K.; Lertzman, K.; Wong, C.M. In press. Mixed-severity fire 

regimes in dry forests of southern interior British Columbia, Canada. 

Canadian Journal of Forest Research.

Holden, Zachary A.; Jolly, W. Matt. 2011. Modeling topographic 

influences on fuel moisture and fire danger in complex terrain to 

improve wildland fire management decision support. Forest Ecology 

and Management. 262: 2133-2141.

Hollingsworth, L.T.; Kurth, L.L.; Parresol, B.R.; [and others]. 2011. A 

comparison of geospatially modeled fire behavior and fire management 

utility of three data sources in the southeastern United States. Forest 

Ecol. Manage. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.05.020.

Holsinger, L.; Keane, R. 2011. Fire and fish dynamics in a changing 

climate. Fire Management Today. 71(2): 19-23.

Innes, R.J. 2011. Lysimachia nummularia. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Innes, R.J. 2011. Oreamnos americanus. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Innes, R.J. 2011. Tussilago farfara. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Keane, R.E. 2011. Foreword. In: McKenzie, D.; Miller, C.; Falk, D. 

Landscape ecology of fire. Ecological Studies 213. Springer, New York: 

vii-viii.
46 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Keane, Robert E. 2011. Restoration of whitebark pine forests in the 

northern Rocky Mountains, USA. In: Keane, Robert E.; Tomback, 

Diana F.; Murray, Michael P.; Smith, Cyndi M., eds. The future of 

high-elevation, five-needle white pines in Western North America: 

Proceedings of the High Five Symposium. 28-30 June 2010; Missoula, 

MT. Proc. RMRS-P-63. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 

338-347.

Keane, R.E.; Cary, G.J.; Flannigan, M.D. 2011. Challenges and needs 

in fire management: a landscape simulation modeling perspective. 

In: Li, C.; Lafortezza, R.; Chen, J., eds. Landscape Ecology in Forest 

Management and Conservation: Challenges and Solutions for Global 

Change. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer: Chapter 4.

Keane, R.E.; Holsinger, L.; Parsons, R. 2011. Evaluating indices that 

measure departure of current landscape composition from historical 

conditions. Res. Pap. RMRS-RP-83. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 

Station. 19 p.

Keane, R.E.; Loehman, R.A.; Holsinger, L.M. 2011. The FireBGCv2 

landscape fire succession model: a research simulation platform for 

exploring fire and vegetation dynamics. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRSGTR-255. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest 

Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.137 p.

Keane, Robert; Reeves, Matt. In press. Use of expert knowledge to develop 

fuel maps for wildland fire management. In: Perera, Ajith H.; Drew, C. 

Ashton; Johnson, Chris J., eds. Expert Knowledge and its Application 

in Landscape Ecology. Springer: New York.

Keane, Robert E.; Schoettle, Anna W. 2011. Strategies, tools, and 

challenges for sustaining and restoring high elevation five-needle white 

pine forests in western North America. In: Keane, Robert E.; Tomback, 

Diana F.; Murray, Michael P.; and Smith, Cyndi M., eds. 2011. The 

future of high-elevation, five-needle white pines in Western North 

America: proceedings of the High Five Symposium. 28-30 June 2010; 

Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-63. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 

376 p.

Kovalev, V.A.; Petkov, A.; Wold, C.; Hao, W.M. 2011. Lidar monitoring of 

regions of intense backscatter with poorly defined boundaries. Applied 

Optics. 50(1): 103-109.

Kovalev, V.A.; Petkov, A.; Wold, C.; Urbanski, S.; Hao, W.M. 2011. 

Essentials of multiangle data-processing methodology for smoke 

polluted atmospheres. Romanian Journal of Physics. 56 (3-4): 520-529.

Kovalev, V.; Wold, C.; Petkov, A.; Hao, W.M. 2011. Modified technique 

for processing multiangle lidar data measured in clear and moderately 

polluted atmospheres. Applied Optics. 50(25): 4957-4966.

Leirfallom, Signe B.; Keane, Robert E. 2011. Six-year post-fire mortality 

and health of relict ponderosa pines in the Bob Marshall Wilderness 

Area, Montana. Res. Note RMRS-RN-42. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research 

Station. 5 p.

Liu, Shuguang; Bond-Lamberty, Ben; Hicke, Jeffery A.; [and others]. 

2011. Simulating the impacts of disturbances on forest carbon cycling 

in North America: Processes, data, models, and challenges. Journal of 

Geophysical Research. 116: 1-22.

Loehman, Rachel A.; Clark, Jason, A.; Keane, Robert E. 2011. Modeling 

effects of climate change and fire management on western white pine 

(Pinus monticola) in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. Forests. 2: 

832-860.

Loehman, Rachel A.; Corrow, Allissa; Keane, Robert E. 2011. Modeling 

climate changes and wildfire interactions: effects on whitebark pine 

(Pinus albicaulis) and implications for restoration, Glacier National Park, 

Montana, USA. In: Keane, Robert E.; Tomback, Diana F.; Murray, 

Michael P.; Smith, Cyndi M., eds. The future of high-elevation, fiveneedle white pines in Western North America: proceedings of the High 

Five Symposium. 28-30 June 2010; Missoula, MT. Proc. RMRS-P-63. 

Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Rocky Mountain Research Station: 176-189.

McAllister, S.; Chen, J-Y.; Fernandez-Pello, A.C. 2011. Fundamentals of 

Combustion Processes. Springer: New York. 302 p.
47 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

McAllister, S.; Finney, M.; Cohen, J. 2011. Critical mass flux for flaming 

ignition of wood as a function of external radiant heat flux and moisture 

content. In: 7th US National Technical Meeting of the Combustion 

Institute; 20-23 March 2011; Atlanta, GA. The Combustion Institute, 

PA. New York: Curran Associates, Inc. 1: 1698-1704.

Meyer, R. 2011. Bonasa umbellus. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Meyer, R. 2011. Schinus terebinthifolius. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Meyer, R. 2011. Triadica sebifera. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: http://

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Parsons, R.A.; Mell, W.E.; McCauley, P. 2011. Linking 3D spatial models 

of fuels and fire: effects of spatial heterogeneity on fire behavior. 

Ecological Modelling. 222(3): 679-691.

Reardon, J.; Curcio, G. 2011. Estimated smoldering probability: a new tool 

for predicting ground fire in the organic soils on the North Carolina 

Coastal Plain. Fire Management Today. 71(3): 24-30.

Sikkink, Pamela G. 2011. The Yellowstone sage belts 1958 to 2088: 50 

years of change in the big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities 

of Yellowstone National Park. In: Monaco, Thomas A; Schupp, Eugene 

W.; Pendleton, Rosemary L.; Kitchen, Stanley G.; Palacios, Patsy K. 

comps. 2011. Proceedings—Threats to shrubland ecosystem integrity; 

18-20 May 2010; Logan, UT. Natural Resources and Environmental 

Issues, volume XVII. S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Natural Resources 

Research Library. Logan, UT: 145-159.

Simpson, I.J.; Akagi, S.K.; Barletta, B.; [and others]. 2011. Boreal forest 

fire emissions in fresh Canadian smoke plumes: C1-C10 volatile 

organic compounds (VOCs), CO2, CO, NO2, NO, HCN and 

CH3CN. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 11: 6445-6463. doi:10.5194/acp-11-

6445-2011.

Smith, Diane M. 2012. The Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory: A 50-

year dedication to understanding wildlands and fire. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

RMRS-GTR-270. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 62 p.

Smith, J.K., comp. 2011. Research project summary: use of prescribed fire 

to manage hawthorn and speckled alder in a Pennsylvania floodplain. 

In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain 

Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information 

System. Available online: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Smith, J.K.; Smith, D.; Hardy, C. 2011. 50 years of service: The Missoula 

Fire Sciences Lab. Fire Management Today. 71(3): 24-30.

Stone, K.R. 2011. Hieracium caespitosum. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

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Stone, K.R. 2011. Hieracium piloselloides. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Stone, K.R. 2011. Panicum repens. In: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences 

Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. 32 p. Available online: 

www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Urbanski, S.P.; Hao, W.M.; Nordgren, B. 2011. The wildland fire emission 

inventory: western United States emission estimates and an evaluation 

of uncertainty. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, vol. 11: 12973-

13000. SRef-ID: 1680-7324/acp/2011-11-12973

Vogelmann, J.E.; Kost, J.R.; Tolk, B.;Howard, S.; Short, K.; Chen, X.; 

Huang, C.; Pabst, K.; Rollins, M.G. 2011. Monitoring landscape 

change for LANDFIRE using multi-temporal satellite imagery and 

ancillary data. Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations 

& Remote Sensing. 4(2): 252-264.

Waggy, M.A. 2011. Miscanthus sinensis. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.
48 Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory—Research Accomplishments 2011

Warneke, C.; Roberts, J.M.; Veres, P.; Gilman, J.; Kuster, W.C.; Burling, 

I.; Yokelson, R.; de Gouw J.A. 2011. VOC identification and intercomparison from laboratory biomass burning using PTR-MS and PITMS. International Journal of Mass Spectrmetry. 303: 6-14.

Yokelson, R.J.; Burling, I.R.; Urbanski, S.P.; Atlas, E.L.; Adachi, K.; 

Buseck, P.R.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Akagi, S.K.; Toohey, D.W.; Wold, C.E. 

2011. Trace gas and particle emission measurements from open biomass 

burning in Mexico. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 

11: 6787-6808.

Yokelson, R.J.; Burling, I.R.; Urbanski, S.P.; Atlas, E.L.; Adachi, K.; 

Buseck, P.R.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Akagi, S.K.; Toohey, D.W.; Wold, C.E. 

2011. Trace gas and particle emissions from open biomass burning in 

Mexico. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions. 

11: 7321-7374.

Zhao, M.; Running, S.; Heinsch, F.A.; Nemani, R. 2011. MODIS-derived 

terrestrial primary production. In: Ramachandran, B.; Justice, C.O.; 

Abrams, M.J., eds. Land Remote Sensing and Global Environmental 

Change, Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing. Springer: 

NewYork. 11(1): Chapter 28.

Zouhar, K. 2011. Muhlenbergia glomerata. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Zouhar, K. 2011. Muhlenbergia racemosa. In: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. Available online: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis.

Zouhar, K. 2011. Rhamnus cathartica, R. davurica. In: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire 

Sciences Laboratory, Fire Effects Information System. 85 p.

For more information, contact: Diane Smith at dianemsmith@fs.fed.us.
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