FOR 4984 (4514)
Spring 2011
Advanced Wildland Fire Ecology and Management
Syllabus
Description:
Advanced Wildland Fire Ecology and Management provides students with advanced
knowledge of the impacts fire has on forest environments; how the environment influences fire
behavior; how computer programs aid fire decision making; and how fire is used as a land and
vegetation management tool. Knowledge of the influences of weather on fire behavior is critical
to the use of fire as a management tool and for safe and efficient fire suppression. The course
will also provide students with the knowledge and training to qualify as an advanced wildland
firefighter (Squad Boss) (FFT1 - Red Card) and a Virginia Certified Prescribed Burn Manager.
Class Times and Locations:
Lecture: M/W 0800-0850, 220 Cheatham Hall (JCH)
Recitation/Lab: M 1325-1545, 220 JCH
Instructor: Dr. Shep Zedaker, 228 JCH, 231-4855, zedaker@vt.edu
Office Hours: Tue, Thu 7:00-9:00 a.m., or by appointment
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Learning Objectives:
1. Evaluate the impacts of wildland fire on soil, air, water, and vegetation resources using
advanced computer-based tools.
2. Learn advanced methods of evaluating the ways in which weather, topography, and fuel
independently and collectively influence fire behavior in sufficient detail to pass the NWCG
S-290 final examination.
3. Learn the basics of wildland fire suppression leadership and supervision in sufficient detail to
pass the NWCG S-131 final examination, and the IS-200, IS-700 and IS-800 FEMA courses.
4. Learn the use of ignition tools and techniques in sufficient detail to pass the S-234 final
examination.
5. Learn the techniques and constraints involved in the safe and efficient use of prescribed fire
as a land and vegetation management tool in sufficient detail to pass the Virginia Prescribed
Burn Managers Certification examination.
Background and Justification:
Fire is a natural and prevalent force shaping wildland ecosystems. Wildfires burn, on
average, over 5 million acres annually in the U.S. Wildfires and the damage they cause have
increased in intensity because: (1) past fire suppression policies have allowed the accumulation
of fuel in the form of fallen leaves, branches, and excessive plant overgrowth in forest and
wildland areas; (2) changing weather patterns across the U.S. have brought increasingly dry, hot
weather; and (3) increased residential development in the wildland/urban interface has led to
tremendous property losses. In 2007, 9.5 million acres burned in the U.S., an area roughly equal
to the Virginia Coastal Plain from I-95 to the Atlantic Ocean. People are the main cause of
wildland fire. For example, in 1995 there were 9,974 wildfires caused by lightning and 120,045
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wildfires caused by humans. Before European colonization of North America, indigenous
people started thousands of fires in Virginia each year and no one put them out. Extended dry
periods let fires burn for months and the burned area covered hundreds of thousands, or perhaps
even millions, of acres. This course provides CNRE students with advanced training in fire
ecology, behavior, use, and computer simulation.
Prerequisites: FOR 2514 or equivalent (NWCG Courses: S-190, S-130, L-180, I-100).
Texts and Special Teaching Aids:
NFES 2891. 2007. Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior, S-290.
NFES 2997. 2008. Advanced Wildland Fire Behavior Calculations, S-490
NFES 2791. 2004. Firefighter Type 1 Training, S-131
NFES 1608. 2009. Ignition Operations, S-234
Turck, F. 2009. Guide to Prescribed Burning in Virginia, VDOF, 140p.
Rocky Mountain Research Station. 2002-5, General Technical Report-42-2,4,5
BehavePlus 5.0.1 – the state-of-the-art fire behavior model
FARSITE - a GIS-based fire behavior and growth simulator
VSMOKE - (Lavdas 1996) and VSmoke-GIS smoke dispersion models.
FOFEM - a model for predicting tree mortality, fuel consumption, smoke production, and
soil heating caused by prescribed fire or wildfire.
CONSUME - a model that predicts fuel consumption and emissions by combustion phase.
Student Evaluations:
Three examinations (including all S- course finals and the Virginia Prescribed Burn
Managers Certification exam) totaling 50% of the course grade, a prescribed burn plan (20%),
and at least 6 fire modeling exercises (30%) will be used for the basis of student evaluations. In
addition, students must pass the FEMA online courses: IS-200, IS-700 and IS-800, necessary to
advance in wildland fire qualifications, to pass the course.
If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services, or other
accommodations to participate in this class, please contact Shep Zedaker, 228 Cheatham Hall,
231-4855, zedaker@vt.edu, during business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
to discuss accommodations.
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Lecture Topics
Topic
Proportion
15%
Fire Ecology:
Fire History in North America
Impacts on Plants and Plant Communities
Impacts on Soil
Atmospheric Impacts
Fire Behavior Factors:
Fire Environment
Topography
Fuels
Weather Processes
Temperature and Humidity
Atmospheric Stability
Wind Systems
Keeping Current with Weather
Observing Weather
Fuel Moisture
Extreme Fire Behavior
Fire Behavior and Fireline Decisions
Fire Suppression Leadership:
Reading(s)
RMRS-GTR-42-2,4,5
30%
NFES 2891
15%
NFES 2791
Ignition Operations:
Duties and Responsibilities
Ignition Devices
Ignition Techniques and Sequences
Fire Behavior
Evaluation of the Ignition Operation
Prescribed Fire Safety
Simulation
15%
NFES 1608
Incident Command System:
FEMA – IS 200
IS 700
IS 800
Prescribed Burning:
Objectives
Weather and Fuels Constraints
Firing Techniques
Smoke Management
Planning and Evaluation
10%
NFES 2439
On-line resources
15%
NFES 1608
Wade & Lunsford
Turck, 2009,, Guide to
Prescribed Burning
Fireline Reference Materials
Communications
Tactical Decision Making
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Recitation/Lab:
The recitation/lab periods will be used for a variety of exercises and presentations. As S290, S-234 and S-131, collectively, are designed/required by NWCG to be 28 (without FLAME)
+ 16 + 8 = 52 hrs. of instruction, and our lecture periods only meet 30 hours (15 weeks x
2/week), a considerable amount of time in recitation/lab will be spent on lecture materials.
However, many of the S-course exercises, like sand table simulations, take more than an hour to
finish and cannot easily be broken up. The main objectives of the recitation/lab are to become
much more familiar with BehavePlus 5.0, for wildfire and prescribed fire simulations, and
provide introductions to other important, and very useful, fire and fire effects simulation
programs: FARSITE, FOFEM, VSMOKE, and CONSUME. These programs form a family of
tools essential to Fire Behavior Analysts, Prescribed Burn Managers, Fire Management Officers
and other natural resource positions that are the eventual targets for employment of B.S.-level
college graduates in fire-related fields.
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