Project Leader Graham Mills, BOM

The impact of smoke from prescribed and fuel reduction burns and wildfires on community health is an area of growing public interest. Controlled burns must be planned in a way that minimises the impact of smoke on the community.

The system uses the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology’s operational high-resolution prediction models to provide forecast wind and temperature fields and the location and strength of the smoke plume. The product is delivered via a registered-user web-site, and includes capabilities for users to interactively specify the ignition sites.

The project will enhance product delivery to fire and land management agencies, integrate the guidance product with other meteorological information, and deliver products in an agency-compatible form. In later stages there will be an emphasis on source height specification, together with validation against field observations.

This research assists prediction of transport and dispersion of smoke from an urban or rural fire. It predicts concentrations of smoke particulates at locations affected by the smoke plume. Outcomes will help fire management planning, by modelling smoke transport from potential sites of controlled burns.