Quantitative analysis of forest fire extinction efficiency

Abstract

Aim of study: Evaluate the economic extinction efficiency of forest fires, based on the study of fire combat undertaken by aerial and terrestrial means.Area of study, materials and methods: Approximately 112,000 hectares in Chile. Records of 5,876 forest fires that occurred between 1998 and 2009 were analyzed. The area further provides a validation sector for results, by incorporating databases for the years 2010 and 2012. The criteria used for measuring extinction efficiency were economic value of forestry resources, Contraction Factor analysis and definition of the extinction costs function.Main results: It is possible to establish a relationship between burnt area, extinction costs and economic losses. The method proposed may be used and adapted to other fire situations, requiring unit costs for aerial and terrestrial operations, economic value of the property to be protected and speed attributes of fire spread in free advance.Research highlights: The determination of extinction efficiency in containment works of forest fires and potential projection of losses, different types of plant fuel and local conditions favoring the spread of fire broaden the admissible ranges of a, φ and Ce considerably.

Calculating minimum safety distance against wildfires at the wildland-urban interface in Chile and Spain

“…The resistance to control was established by each KITRAL fuel model according to fireline production rates ( Castillo, 2013 ). Lastly, tangible assets, environmental services, and landscape goods were incorporated into the potential damage component ( Castillo and Rodríguez y Silva, 2015a , Castillo and Rodríguez y Silva, 2015b ). The Commune of San José de Maipo constitutes an area of high value for its environmental services and landscape goods, as well as the existence of valuable infrastructures.…”

Developing an Integrated Capitals Approach to Understanding Wildfire Vulnerability: Preliminary Considerations from a Literature Review

“…• fire risk by integrating spatial dataset of burnt areas and socioeconomic vulnerabilities of communities such as gender, sex, income, living conditions differences (Grala et al, 2017;Álvarez-Díaz et al, 2015;Barreal et al, 2012;Mallini et al, 2019;Andersen & Sugg, 2019); • fire hazard carried out through fire simulation controlling for human, biophysical, meteorological and socioeconomic variables (Guillaume et al, 2019;Molina et al, 2019b;172-Castillo et al, 2016;Molina et al, 2019c;Castillo-Soto & Rodriguez y Silva, 2015; Rodriguez y Silva & Gonzalez-Caban, 2010; Rodriguez y Silva, 2013); • vulnerability as a damage function of socio-economic values (Chuvieco et al 2010;2014;Parente et al, 2016), resilience of vegetational types to fire intensity (Molina et al, 2018;Rodriguez y Silva, 2013;Rodriguez y Silva & Gonzalez-Caban, 2010;Chuvieco et al, 2014) and human adaptation (Oliveira et al, 2018;Oliveira et al, 2020). Institutional aspects of coping capacity such as strengthening firefighters' activities are well reported and included in vulnerability frameworks (Oliveira et al, 2018) as well as the role of evacuation time and distance of wildfire from fire station (Oliveira et al, 2020;Oliveira et al, 2021).…”

Prescripciones Técnicas para Viviendas e Infraestructuras Críticas en Interfaz Urbano-Forestal frente a Incendios: El Caso de San José de Maipo, Chile

“…Este análisis multicriterio se compone de tres variables generales: Riesgo (probabilidad de iniciación de incendios); Peligro (conflictividad de los eventuales incendios que se originen); y Daño Potencial (pérdidas e impactos que podrían generarse con la propagación del fuego) (Castillo et al, 2015a(Castillo et al, , 2015b. A su vez, para cada variable general es necesario identificar las variables y subvariables específicas que la componen, las que deben definirse por su relevancia o influencia en el riesgo, peligro o daño potencial presente.…”