Optimal planning of the amount and type of resources needed for extinguishing a forest fire is a task that has been addressed in the literature, using models obtained from operational research. In this study, a general integer linear programming model is proposed, which addresses the allocation of resources in different time periods during the planning period for extinguishing a fire, and with the goal of meeting Spanish regulations for the non-negligence of fronts and periods of rest for pilots and brigades. A computer program and interface were developed using the R language. By means of an example using historical data, we illustrate the model at work and its exact resolution. Then, we carry out a simulation study to analyze the obtained objective functions and resolution times. Our simulation study shows that an exact solution can be obtained very quickly without requiring heuristic algorithms, provided that the planning period does not exceed five hours.
Resource assignment and scheduling models provides an automatic and fast decision support system for wildfire suppression logistics. However, this process generates challenging optimization problems in many real-world cases, and the computational time becomes a critical issue, especially in realistic-size instances. Thus, to overcome that limitation, this work studies and applies a set of decomposition techniques such as augmented Lagrangian, branch and price, and Benders decomposition’s to a wildfire suppression model. Moreover, a reformulation strategy, inspired by Benders’ decomposition, is also introduced and demonstrated. Finally, a numerical study comparing the behavior of the proposals using different problem sizes is conducted.
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