Rapid Deployment to Wildfires 2 (RaDFIRE2): Understanding Plume Dynamics and Fire Behavior Interactions

This presentation will provide an overview of the second Rapid Deployments to Wildfires (RaDFIRE2) experiment, proposed to operate during July-September 2019 out of Boise, ID. RaDFIRE2 is designed to advance understanding of the fire-atmosphere interactions contributing to rapid wildfire growth, with a focus on examining the poorly understood couplings amongst wildfire convective plumes, fire-induced winds, and fire behavior during rapidly expanding wildfires. These objectives will be accomplished by observing the co-evolution of fire and atmospheric processes using a combination of airborne and ground based radars, lidars, and thermal imaging systems. A rapid-response sampling strategy will be employed whereby access to fires will be facilitated by the research team's experience integrating with federal and state fire management teams. Sampling will span a range of fire behaviors and atmospheric conditions. These observations along with numerical simulations from WRF-SFIRE will be used to address the following scientific questions:

1. What are the links between ambient meteorology, fire behavior, and plume rise dynamics?
2. What controls the strength of fire-induced inflows and what affect do these inflows have on fire propagation and plume dynamics?
3. What determines the vertical extent of pyrocumulus, and what impact do these pyro-clouds have on fire behavior?
4. What physical processes govern entrainment and detrainment in wildfire convective plumes?