Linking Prescribed Fire Ignition Patterns to Plume Dynamics Using QUIC-Fire

A key piece of prescribed fire is manipulating fire behavior. Part of this manipulation is achieved through the choice of weather and fuel conditions under which the burn will be conducted. Another means of manipulating fire behavior is through the choice of ignition pattern. Spatial ignition patterns can be used by burn bosses to increase or decrease the spread rate, flame length, and flame residence time for a prescribed fire to help accomplish the desired objectives for the burn. While these patterns are influencing fire behavior, they are also affecting the development of the burn’s smoke plume through variations in spatial patterns of heat release and emissions. Unfortunately, current smoke modeling tools largely neglect the potential role these patterns play in influencing smoke dispersion. To examine the linkage between ignition patterns, fire behavior, and smoke dispersion, we use the QUIC-Fire coupled fire atmosphere model to explore how a range of ignition patterns influence the development of multiple updraft cores,