Welcome

Welcome to the website for the Extreme Fire Behavior Science Review and Synthesis Project. Funded by the Joint Fire Science Program, the goal of this project was to look at wildland fire extreme fire behavior (EFB) scientifically. There are many anecdotes and casual references in the research literature that use the phrase, but prior to this project there had been no deliberate effort to document the scientific basis for events or behaviors considered “extreme.”

Volume 1 of the Extreme Fire Behavior (EFB) Science Review and Synthesis, the short version for Fire Managers, is complete and has been submitted to the JFSP. Hard copies have been printed by the US Forest Service and are being distributed by JFSP. It can be downloaded as a pdf file from the Forest Service here.Volume 2, a longer version for Fire Behavior Specialists, fire researchers and meteorologists, is in the process of being drafted and peer reviewed and will be available in digital format later this year.

Authors compiled historical and current literature referring to extreme fire behavior. Both summarize existing EFB knowledge in a way that connects the weather, fuel, and topographic factors that contribute to development of EFB. Volume 1 contains some references to fuels, but Volume 2 will have an entire chapter devoted to the topic. Both volumes clearly delineate the known, the unknown, and areas of research with the greatest potential impact on firefighter protection.

You can read a more detailed description of the project here.