NOVA Online | Fire Wars | Wildfire Simulator

NOVA Online | Fire Wars | Wildfire Simulator | PBS

Go to "Wildfire Simulator"

Shockwave required

Wildfire Simulator
by Rick Groleau

When is it acceptable to set a fire that could rage out of control? In the real world, the answer, of course, is never. But if you're in the virtual world of a computer model, starting such a fire is not only acceptable but potentially beneficial.

Not surprisingly, Mark Finney of the U.S. Forest Service's Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory and the creator of FARSITE, a fire-growth computer program, sees the value of simulations, as do others in the forestry community. These men and women use computer models not only to simulate real and potential wildland fires and the methods of controlling these fires, but as a tool to help manage forests that will someday burn.

NOVA Online has developed its own version of a fire-growth computer simulation. Its purpose is to show how conditions such as wind speed and direction can affect a fire's spread and to show how firefighters use firelines and backfires to control a wildland fire.

Wildfire Simulator (218K)
Requires Shockwave
Description of Fire Simulator
Non-Shockwave version. Includes textual information presented in Shockwave version.

Shockwave is a plug-in that allows for increased interactivity. If you can see the animated boxes at left, the plugin is already installed. If you do not see the boxes, you can install the Shockwave plugin.

Rick Groleau is managing editor of NOVA Online.

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