Anderson 13 fuel model

Description

The Anderson 13 fuel model, also known as the Albini 13, is a widely recognized system used in wildfire modeling to categorize vegetation types based on their burning characteristics. Developed by Hal Anderson in the 1980s [1], these models classify surface fuels into 13 groups based on parameters such as fuel load, moisture content, and expected fire behavior. Each fuel model provides an idealized description of vegetation structure, from fine grasses and brush to timber and logging slash, enabling prediction of flame length, fire spread rate, and intensity under given environmental conditions.

Firebench dataset content

Variable name in dataset Unit Standard Variable Name type Source
fcwh m fuel_wind_height float64 [2]
fcz0 m fuel_roughness_height float64 [2]
ffw - fuel_fraction_consumed_flame_zone float64  [2]
fgi kg m-2 fuel_load_dry_total float64 [1]
fuel_name     object [1]
fueldens lb ft-3 fuel_density float64 [2]
fueldepthm m fuel_height float64 [1]
fuelmce % fuel_moisture_extinction float64 [1]
ichap - fuel_chaparral_flag int32 [2]
k_tc W m-1 K-1 fuel_thermal_conductivity float64 [2]
savr ft-1 fuel_surface_area_volume_ratio float64 [2]
se - fuel_mineral_content_effective float64 [2]
st - fuel_mineral_content_total float64 [2]
weight - fuel_sfireburnup_consumption_cst float64 [2]
windrf - fuel_wind_reduction_factor float64 [3]

Usage

Import the Anderson fuel model data using FireBench with:

import firebench.tools as ft
fuel_data = ft.read_fuel_data_file("Anderson13")

The data is stored in the dictionnary fuel_data. The keys are the standard variable names and the values are numpy array associated with pint unit.

Block Anderson

Compatibility with fire models

Compatibility levels:

  • Full: The data contained in the fuel model covers all the fuel input needed by the fire model
  • Partial: The data contained in the fuel model covers some of the fuel input needed by the fire model
  • None: The data contained in the fuel model covers none of the fuel input needed by the fire model
Fire model Category Compatibility level
Rothermel_SFIRE ROS vegetation Full
Balbi_2022_fixed_SFIRE ROS vegetation Full
Hamada_1 ROS urban None
Hamada_2 ROS urban None

References

[1] Anderson, H. E. (1982). Aids to determining fuel models for estimating fire behavior. USDA Forest Service google schola, 2, 3820-3824.

[2] WRF-SFIRE version W4.4-S0.1

[3] Baughman, R. G., & Albini, F. A. (1980, April). Estimating midflame windspeeds. In Proceedings, Sixth Conference on Fire and Forest Meteorology, Seattle, WA (pp. 88-92).