FERIC Connection to New Zealand’s Forest and Rural Fire Research Programme

New Zealand’s Forest and Rural Fire Research Programme

Indirectly Benefits Both Albertans and Canadians

It might surprise you to know that two current members of FERIC’s Wildland Fire Operations Research Group have spent time in the past working in fire research “down under” in New Zealand[1]. As it turns out, many of the publications produced by New Zealand fire research have some relevancy or application to Canadian fire management in one way or another. For example, a grassland fire behavior pocket card[2] jointly developed by Senior Researcher Dr. Marty Alexander with the FERIC Wildland Fire Operations Research Group and former New Zealand fire researcher scientist Liam Fogarty has proved to be an immensely popular decision aid in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and in other regions of Canada. Several of the New Zealand fire research publications are also used in the two national fire behavior training courses sponsored by the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), namely Advanced Wildland Fire Behavior and Wildland Fire Behavior Specialist.

The “in-house” publications produced by New Zealand fire research includes bulletins and fire technology transfer notes. The main purpose of the fire technology transfer notes is to communicate knowledge or information to fire fighters and fire managers so that they can increase their operational and/or planning efficiency (Fogarty 1993), whereas the bulletins haa been used to publish several detailed wildfire case studies and other larger research reports (Fogarty 1996; Pearce and Baxter 2000). These publications are available for downloading from the New Zealand Forest Research fire research programme website once you’ve registered as a user which can be done at no charge:

http://www.forestresearch.co.nz/topic.asp?navlevel=2&topic=Fire%20Risk%20Research&contenttype=summary&docid=570&title=Fire%20Risk%20Research&cat1=Research&cat2=Forest%20Protection

A brief overview of the New Zealand fire research effort and a listing of bulletins and fire technology transfer notes is given below.

New Zealand’s Forest Research Current “Fire Risk Research”

The forest and rural fire research programme in the New Zealand Forest Research organization currently consists of two full-time researchers, together with seasonal and technical assistance as and when required. The programme is funded by the New Zealand government through the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST), and a "fire industry collaborative" made up of the NZ Fire Service, and the National Rural Fire Authority together with the NZ Forest Owners’ Association, Department of Conservation, NZ Defence Force and local government. The programme has two broad objectives: (i) to reduce the number and consequences of wildfires and (ii) to promote the effective use of fire as a management tool. The major aim of the programme is to adapt and apply the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) to New Zealand conditions by developing a New Zealand Fire Danger Rating System (NZFDRS). This is one of the principal reasons that so many of the New Zealand fire research publications are relevant to Canadian fire managers.

Fire Research Bulletins

Six bulletins have been published todate:

· Two Rural/Urban Interface Fires in the Wellington Suburb of Karori: Assessment of Associated Burning Conditions and Fire Control Strategies

· A Case Study of Grassland Fire Behaviour and Suppression: the Tikokino Fire of 31 January 1991

· Fire Behaviour, Suppression and Lessons from the Berwick Forest Fire of 26 February 1995

· Fire Behaviour and Firefighter Safety Implications Associated with the Bucklands Crossing Fire Burnover of 24 March 1998

· Fire Behaviour as a Factor in Forest and Rural Fire Suppression

· A Flammability Guide for Some Common New Zealand Native Tree and Shrub Species

The fifth bulletin in the series – “Fire Behaviour as a Factor in Forest and Rural Fire Suppression” (Alexander 2000) – constitutes a republishing of the keynote address presented at the 1992 Annual FRFANZ Conference and has been regarded as “… instrumental in reshaping rural fire management in New Zealand” (Pearce and Baxter 2000). Topics covered in the report include fire behaviour characteristics, fire suppression effectiveness and resource productivity, revelations concerning elapsed time since ignition, and offers some suggestions for forest and rural fire managers.

Abstract from Alexander (2000) -

Fire Behaviour as a Factor in Forest and Rural Fire Suppression:

This paper provides an overview on the fundamental characteristics associated with the behaviour of free-burning fires as it influences fire control operations, based primarily on a review of the overseas literature and current developments in the field of wildland fire management. Particular emphasis is placed on the critical importance of fast, aggressive initial attack in relation to elapsed time since ignition as the severity of burning conditions increases in order to avert the potential for large, costly fires in forest and rural areas. The threat of wildfires can probably never be entirely eliminated, but hopefully a larger percentage of future occurrences can be suppressed at much smaller sizes than at present by more fully incorporating considerations of fire behaviour into training, planning and operations that is currently the case in New Zealand fire protection.

Fire Technology Transfer Notes

Nearly 30 fire technology transfer notes have been published in past 10 years or so. Marty Alexander has co-authored several of these including descriptions and use of the grassland fire behavior pocket card” (Fogarty and Alexander 1999; Alexander and Fogarty 2002), and a wildfire case study (Pearce et al. 1994). In addition, a conference paper by Pearce and Alexander (1994) dealing with a comparison of wildfire occurrences in exotic pine plantations with the forest fire danger class criteria is included as a supplement to the note by Fogarty (1994). Here’s a list of the other fire technology transfer notes:

· A Close Call in Otago – Some Lessons to be Learned (Review of Bucklands Crossing Fire Burnover Report – No. 4)

· The Miners Road Fire of 2 February 2003

· Impressions of Fire Management, Research and Training in Canada

· Wildfire Documentation: The Need for Case Studies Illustrated with the Example of "The Atawhai Fire of 7 May 2002: A Case Study" by S.A.J. Anderson

· Draft Field Guides for Determining Fuel Loads and Biomass in New Zealand Vegetation Types

· The Bucklands Crossing Fire Burnover

· Aerial Fire Suppression Workshop

· The Influence of Wind Speed on the Effectiveness of Aerial Fire Suppression

· Reducing the Influence of Helicopter Rotor Wash on Fire Behaviour

· Comparison of the Cost-effectiveness of Some Aircraft Used for Fire Suppression - Part 2

· Fire Growth, Fire Behaviour and Firefighter Safety - A Review of the Lessons from "A Case Study of Grassland Fire Behaviour and Suppression: the Tikokino Fire of 31 January 1991" by J.H. Rasmussen and L.G. Fogarty

· Firebombing Effectiveness - Interim Recommended Foam Consistencies and Aerial Attack Guidelines

· Guidelines for Determining Aerial Drop Patterns in Open Areas

· Firebombing Effectiveness - Where to From Here?

· An Initial Assessment of Fire Danger in New Zealand's Climatic Regions

· Comparison of the Cost-effectiveness of Some Aircraft used for Fire Suppression

· A Summary of the Status of the "Proposed Revision of Fire Danger Class Criteria of Forest and Rural Fire Areas in New Zealand" by Martin Alexander

· Forest and Rural Fire Research in New Zealand

· Applications of Rate of Spread Information to Fire Suppression Planning

· Fire Problem, What Fire Problem? - A Review of "Fire Danger Ratings Associated with New Zealand's Major Pine Plantation Wildfires" by H.G. Pearce and M.E. Alexander

· Fire Management in Canada - Lessons for New Zealand

References

Alexander, M.E. 1992-93. Forest and rural fire research in New Zealand resumed. Fire Management Notes 53-54(1): 19.

Alexander, M.E. 2000. Fire behaviour as a factor in forest and rural fire suppression. Forest Research, Rotorua, in association with the New Zealand Fire Service Commission and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington. Forest Research Bulletin No. 197, Forest and Rural Fire Scientific and Technical Series, Report No. 5. 28 pp.

Alexander, M.E.; Fogarty, L.G. 2002. A pocket card for predicting fire behaviour in grasslands under severe burning conditions. Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Ottawa, Ont. Fire Technology Transfer Note 25. 8 pp.

Fogarty, L. 1993. Introducing the forest and rural Fire Technology Transfer Note. New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand. Fire Technology Transfer Note 1. 2 pp.

Fogarty, L. 1994. Fire problem, what fire problem? - a review of "Fire danger ratings associated with New Zealand's major pine plantation wildfires" by H.G. Pearce and M.E. Alexander. New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand. Fire Technology Transfer Note 3. 12 pp.

Fogarty, L. 1996. Introducing the forest and rural fire scientific and technical series. New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand. Fire Technology Transfer Note 9. 2 pp.

Fogarty, L.G.; Alexander, M.E. 1999. A field guide for predicting grassland fire potential: derivation and use. Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Ottawa, Ont. Fire Technology Transfer Note 20. 10 pp.

Pearce, H.G.; Alexander, M.E. 1994. Fire danger ratings associated with New Zealand's major pine plantation wildfires. Pages 534-543 in Proceedings of 12^th Conference on Fire and Forest Meteorology (October 26-28, 1993, Jekyll Island, Ga.). Society of American Foresters, Bethesda, Md. SAF Publication 94-02.

Pearce, G.; Baxter, G. 2000. New publications produced with the support of the NZ Fire Service Commission’s Contestable Research Fund. Forest Research, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand. Fire Technology Transfer Note 23. 4 pp.

Pearce, H.G.; Morgan, R.; Alexander, M.E. 1994. Wildfire behaviour case study of the 1986 Awarua wetlands fire. New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand. Fire Technology Transfer Note 5. 6 pp.

[1]Senior Researcher Dr. Marty Alexander spent a year in Rotorua as a Visiting Fire Research Scientist with the New Zealand Forest Research Institute (NZFRI) while on a 1-year secondment (April 1992-March 1993) from the Canadian Forest Service. During that time he was responsible for reinitiating the NZFRI fire research programme after a 15-year hiatus, including the mentoring of a resident fire research scientist (Alexander 1992-93). As a result of his efforts, Marty was made the first Honorary Member of the Forest and Rural Fire Association of New Zealand (FRFANZ). He has continued to serve as an advisor and collaborator. For example, he just recently reviewed a proposed manual entitled “Field Guide to Fire Behaviour in New Zealand Fuel Types” prepared by fire researchers with New Zealand’s Forest Research organization (formerly NZFRI). Researcher Greg Baxter spent some two and a half years in New Zealand working in the NZFRI fire research programme prior the joining the FERIC Wildland Fire Operations Research Group. This included stints in Rotorua (September 1998-January 2000) and then Christchurch (January-November 2000) following the relocation of the fire research group from the NZFRI campus to their offices at the University of Canterbury on the South Island. Greg was involved in both fire research and technology transfer activities while in New Zealand.

[2]Alexander, M.E.; Fogarty, L.G. 1997. A simple guide for estimating the behaviour and suppression requirements of fires driven by wind coming from a constant direction, in open, fully cured grasslands at low fuel moisture. New Zealand Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, and National Rural Fire Authority, Wellington, New Zealand. Pocket Card (with text).