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SPOTS Theory  
   
While fuel reduction treatments have proven effective in changing fire behavior and effects at the individual stand level (Cumming 1965; Deeming 1990; Graves and Neuenschwander 1999; Pollet and Omi 2002), the more complex issue of changing landscape-scale fire behavior, fire effects, and suppression costs may also be addressed through fuel treatments if they are applied in a deliberate, strategic pattern at meaningful scales. Evidence of fuel treatment patches altering the progression of an extreme fire event was observed and documented during the Rodeo-Chediski fire in Arizona in 2002 (Finney et al 2005). Areas treated by prescribed fire before the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire not only altered severity and fire effects within their area, but also reduced fire severity on downwind acres.

Researchers have sought the optimum spatial pattern for disrupting large fire spread in the modeling environment. Various treatment patterns of the same landscape proportion (20%) were tested using FARSITE to determine their effects on over-all fire size (Finney 2001). This research revealed that the ultimate size and severity of an unplanned ignition may be greatly reduced if treatment units are placed in a staggered, overlapping pattern that is perpendicular to the prevailing wind and treatment prescriptions are sufficient to reduce expected rate of spread and flame length.

Effects of Treatments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The effects of various fuel treatment patterns on fire size (Finney 2001).

 
 
SPOTS Theory, continued

 

Cumming, J.A. 1964. Effectiveness of prescribed burning in reducing wildfire damage during periods of abnormally high fire danger. Journal of Forestry

Deeming, J.E. 1990. Effects of prescribed fire on wildfire occurrence and severity. P 95-104 in Natural and prescribed fire in Pacific Northwest forests. Walstad, J.D. et al. (eds). Oregon State Univ. Press, Corvallis, OR.

Graves, D.A.; Neuenschwander, L.F. 1999. The effects of thinning and similar stand treatments on fire behavior in western forests. In: Proceedings of the conference on crossing the millennium: integrating spatial technologies and ecological principals for a new age in fire management, Volume II. pp: 162-166.

Pollet, J.; Omi, P.N . 2002. Effect of thinning and prescribed burning on crown fire severity in ponderosa pine forests. International Journal of Wildland Fire 11:1-10.

Finney, M.A. 2001 Design of Regular Landscape Fuel Treatment Patterns for Modifying Fire Growth and Behavior Forest Science 47(2). p 219-228

Finney, M.A.; McHugh, C.W.; Grenfell, I.C. 2005. Stand and landscape effects of prescribed burning on two Arizona wildfires. Canadian Journal of Forest Resources 35. pp 1714-1722

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