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The rate of spread of crown fires advancing over level to gently undulating terrain was modeled through nonlinear regression analysis based on an experimental data set pertaining primarily to boreal forest fuel types. The data set covered a significant spectrum of fuel complex and fire behavior characteristics. Crown fire rate of spread was modeled separately for fires spreading in active and passive crown fire regimes. The active crown fire rate of spread model encompassing the effects of 10-m open wind speed, estimated fine fuel moisture content, and canopy bulk density explained 61% of the variability in the data set. Passive crown fire spread was modeled through a correction factor based on a criterion for active crowning related to canopy bulk density. The models were evaluated against independent data sets originating from experimental fires. The active crown fire rate of spread model predicted 42% of the independent experimental crown fire data with an error lower then 25% and a mean absolute percent error of 26%. While the models have some shortcomings and areas in need of improvement, they can be readily utilized in support of fire management decision making and other fire research studies.

Application of crown fire behavior models in fire management decision-making have been limited by the difficulty of quantitatively describing fuel complexes, specifically characteristics of the canopy fuel stratum. To estimate canopy fuel stratum characteristics of four broad fuel types found in the western United States and adjacent areas of Canada, namely Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and lodgepole pine forest stands, data from the USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database were analysed and linked with tree-level foliage dry weight equations. Models to predict canopy base height (CBH), canopy fuel load (CFL) and canopy bulk density (CBD) were developed through linear regression analysis and using common stand descriptors (e.g. stand density, basal area, stand height) as explanatory variables. The models developed were fuel type specific and coefficients of determination ranged from 0.90 to 0.95 for CFL, between 0.84 and 0.92 for CBD and from 0.64 to 0.88 for CBH. Although not formally evaluated, the models seem to give a reasonable characterization of the canopy fuel stratum for use in fire management applications.

A shrubland fire behaviour dataset was assembled using data from experimental studies in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South Africa. The dataset covers a wide range of heathlands and shrubland species associations and vegetation structures. Three models for rate of spread are developed using 2-m wind speed, a wind reduction factor, elevated dead fuel moisture content and either vegetation height (with or without live fuel moisture content) or bulk density. The models are tested against independent data from prescribed fires and wildfires and found to predict fire spread rate within acceptable limits (mean absolute errors varying between 3.5 and 9.1 m min À1 ). A simple model to predict dead fuel moisture content is evaluated, and an ignition line length correction is proposed. Although the model can be expected to provide robust predictions of rate of spread in a broad range of shrublands, the effects of slope steepness and variation in fuel quantity and composition are yet to be quantified. The model does not predict threshold conditions for continuous fire spread, and future work should focus on identifying fuel and weather factors that control transitions in fire behaviour.

To control and use wildland fires safely and effectively depends on creditable assessments of fire potential, including the propensity for crowning in conifer forests. Simulation studies that use certain fire modelling systems (i.e. NEXUS, FlamMap, FARSITE, FFE-FVS (Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator), Fuel Management Analyst (FMAPlus®), BehavePlus) based on separate implementations or direct integration of Rothermel’s surface and crown rate of fire spread models with Van Wagner’s crown fire transition and propagation models are shown to have a significant underprediction bias when used in assessing potential crown fire behaviour in conifer forests of western North America. The principal sources of this underprediction bias are shown to include: (i) incompatible model linkages; (ii) use of surface and crown fire rate of spread models that have an inherent underprediction bias; and (iii) reduction in crown fire rate of spread based on the use of unsubstantiated crown fraction burned functions. The use of uncalibrated custom fuel models to represent surface fuelbeds is a fourth potential source of bias. These sources are described and documented in detail based on comparisons with experimental fire and wildfire observations and on separate analyses of model components. The manner in which the two primary canopy fuel inputs influencing crown fire initiation (i.e. foliar moisture content and canopy base height) is handled in these simulation studies and the meaning of Scott and Reinhardt’s two crown fire hazard indices are also critically examined.

This paper reports on the behaviour of 10 experimental crown fires conducted between 1997 and 2000 during the International Crown Fire Modelling Experiment (ICFME) in Canada's Northwest Territories. The primary goal of ICFME was a replicated series of high-intensity crown fires designed to validate and improve existing theoretical and empirical models of crown fire behaviour. Fire behaviour characteristics were typical for fully developed boreal forest crown fires, with fires advancing at 15-70 m/min, consuming significant quantities of fuel (2.8-5.5 kg/m 2 ) and releasing vast amounts of thermal heat energy. The resulting flame fronts commonly extended 25-40 m above the ground with head fire intensities up to 90 000 kW/m. Depth of burn ranged from 1.4-3.6 cm, representing a 25%-65% reduction in the thickness of the forest floor layer. Most of the smaller diameter (<3.0 cm) woody surface fuels were consumed, along with a significant proportion of the larger downed woody material. A high degree of fuel consumption occurred in the understory and overstory canopy with very little material less than 1.0 cm in diameter remaining. The documentation of fire behaviour, fire danger, and fire weather conditions carried out during ICFME permitted the evaluation of several empirically based North American fire behaviour prediction systems and models.Résumé : Cet article traite du comportement de 10 feux de cime expérimentaux provoqués entre 1997 et 2000 dans le cadre de l'Expérience internationale de modélisation des feux de cimes (EIMFC) dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest au Canada. Le principal objectif de cette expérience consistait à reproduire une série de feux de cime de forte intensité conçus pour valider et améliorer les modèles théoriques et empiriques existants de comportement des feux de cime. Les caractéristiques du comportement des feux de cime étaient typiques des feux de cime en forêt boréale mature, où les feux progressent à 15 à 70 m/min, en consumant d'importantes quantités de combustibles (2,8 à 5,5 kg/m 2 ) et génèrent de fortes quantités d'énergie thermique sous forme de chaleur. Les fronts de flamme qui en résultent s'élevaient géné-ralement à 25 à 40 m au-dessus du sol avec des intensités à la tête du feu allant jusqu'à 90 000 kW/m. La profondeur de brûlage variait de 1,4 à 3,6 cm, ce qui représentait une réduction de 25 % à 65 % de l'épaisseur de la couverture morte. La plupart des combustibles de surface de plus petit diamètre (<3,0 cm) ont été consumés de même qu'une importante proportion du plus gros matériel ligneux au sol. Il y a eu une forte consommation de combustibles dans le couvert des étages inférieur et supérieur où il restait très peu de matériaux d'un diamètre inférieur à 1,0 cm. La documentation du comportement du feu, le danger de feu et les conditions météorologiques propices aux incendies forestiers ont permis d'évaluer plusieurs systèmes et modèles empiriques nord-américains de prédiction du comportement des feux.[Traduit par la Rédaction] Stocks et al. 1560

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