Brief communication: The Lahaina Fire disaster – how models can be used to understand and predict wildfires
Timothy W. Juliano, Fernando Szasdi-Bardales, Neil P. Lareau, Kasra Shamsaei, Branko Kosović, Negar Elhami Khorasani, Eric James, Hamed Ebrahimian
Abstract
Abstract. Following the destructive Lahaina Fire in Hawaii, our team has modeled the wind and fire spread processes to understand the drivers of this devastating event. The results are in good agreement with observations recorded during the event. Extreme winds with high variability, a fire ignition close to the community, and construction characteristics led to continued fire spread in multiple directions. Our results suggest that available modeling capabilities can provide vital information to guide decision-making and emergency response management during wildfire events.
Topics & Concepts
Environmental scienceWildfire suppressionEvent (particle physics)MeteorologyEmergency managementEnvironmental resource managementEmergency responseComputer scienceClimatologyFirefightingGeographyGeologyCartographyMedical emergencyPolitical scienceQuantum mechanicsPhysicsMedicineLawFire effects on ecosystemsEvacuation and Crowd DynamicsFire dynamics and safety research