A device for identifying forest fires in an early stage has been developed during the course of this project. Attached to a drone, this prototype will provide a live-stream to a web server displaying a blended frame, made of a thermographic image showing thermal radiation and a regular photography with the visible light. The platform consists of a small single-boarded computer, a thermal camera sensor and a regular camera module. All powered by a power bank and fitted into a custom made 3D printed plastic case. At startup the computer automatically executes scripts written in Python, initializing its sensor components and processes the captured images which finally gets transmitted to a live-stream via a web server connection. Everything described above worked well, but originally the intent was for the web interface to provide a map with the current location coordinates of the drone. Since a module for mobile communication with support for GPS was not acquired, any implementation of such kind was impossible. However, several drone models already possess the feature to obtain such coordinates.

Les incendies de forêt sont l'un des phénomènes les plus complexes auxquels sont confrontées nos sociétés. Le Liban, faisant partie du Moyen-Orient, est en train de perdre dramatiquement ses forêts vertes principalement en raison de graves incendies. Cette thèse étudie le phénomène des incendies de forêt. Elle propose des nouveaux modèles et méthodologies pour remédier à la crise des incendies de forêts, en particulier au Liban et en Méditerranée. Elle est divisée en deux parties principales: nouvelles approches de la prévision des incendies de forêt et développement d'un nouveau modèle de diffusion du feu plus fidèle du cas réel. La première partie est subdivisée en 3 chapitres. Le premier chapitre présente une étude analytique des modèles métrologiques les plus utilisés qui permettent de prédire les incendies de forêt. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous appliquons cinq méthodes de techniques d’exploration de données: Réseaux de neurones, arbre de décision, floue logique, analyse discriminante linéaire et méthode SVM. Nous cherchons à trouver la technique la plus précise pour la prévision des incendies de forêt. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous utilisons différentes techniques d'analyse de données corrélatives (Régression, Pearson, Spearman et Kendall-tau) pour évaluer la corrélation entre l'occurrence d'incendie et les données météorologiques (température, point de rosée, température du sol, humidité, précipitation et vitesse du vent). Cela permet de trouver les paramètres les plus influents qui influencent l'occurrence de l’incendie, ce qui nous amène à développer un nouveau Indice Libanais de Risques d'Incendie (IL). L'indice proposé est ensuite validé à partir des données météorologiques pour les années 2015-2016. La deuxième partie est subdivisée en 3 chapitres. Le premier chapitre passe en revue les caractéristiques du comportement de feu et sa morphologie; il se concentre sur la validité des modèles mathématique et informatique de comportement de feu. Le deuxième chapitre montre l'importance des automates cellulaires, en expliquant les principaux types et examine certaines applications dans différents domaines. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous utilisons des automates cellulaires pour élaborer un nouveau modèle de comportement pour prédire la propagation de l’incendie, sur des bases elliptiques, dans des paysages homogènes et hétérogènes. La méthodologie proposée intègre les paramètres de la vitesse du vent, du carburant et de la topographie. Notre modèle développé est ensuite utilisé pour simuler les incendies de forêt qui ont balayé la forêt du village d'Aandqet, au nord du Liban. Les résultats de simulation obtenus sont comparés avec les résultats rapportés de l'incident réel et avec des simulations qu'on a iv effectuées sur le modèle de Karafyllidis et le modèle de Karafyllidis modifié par Gazmeh. Ces comparaisons ont prouvé l'ambiguë du modèle proposé. Dans cette thèse, la crise des feux de forêt a été étudiée et de nouveaux modèles ont été développés dans les deux phases: pré-feu et post-feu. Ces modèles peuvent être utilisés comme outils préventifs efficaces dans la gestion des incendies de forêt . / Wildland fires are one of the most complex phenomena facing our societies. Lebanon, a part of Middle East, is losing its green forests dramatically mainly due to severe fires. This dissertation studies the phenomenon of forest fires. It proposes new models and methodologies to tackle the crisis of forest fires particularly in Lebanon and Mediterranean. It is divided into two main parts: New Approaches in Forest Fire Prediction and Forest Fire modeling. The first part is sub-divided into 3 chapters. First chapter presents an analytical study of the most widely used metrological models that can predict forest fires. In the second chapter we apply five data mining techniques methods: Neural Networks, Decision Tree, Fuzzy Logic, Linear Discriminate Analysis and Support Vector Machine. We aim to find the most accurate technique in forecasting forest fires. In the third chapter, we use different correlative data analysis techniques (Regression, Pearson, Spearman and Kendall-tau) to evaluate the correlation between fire occurrence and meteorological data (Temperature, Dew point, Soil temperature, Humidity, Precipitation and Wind speed). This allows to find the most influential parameters that affect the occurrence of fire, which lead us to develop a new Lebanese fire danger Index (LI). The proposed index is then validated using meteorological data for the years 2015-2016. The second part is sub-divided into 3 chapters. The first chapter reviews the fire behavior characteristics and its morphology; and focuses on the validity of mathematical and computer fire behavior models. The second chapter manifests the importance of cellular automata, explains the main types of cellular automata and reviews some applications in various domains. In the third chapter, we use cellular automata to develop a new behavior model for predicting the spread of fire, on elliptical basis, in both homogeneous and heterogeneous landscapes .The proposed methodology incorporates the parameters of wind speed, fuel and topography. The developed model is then used to simulate the wildfire that swept through the forest of Aandqet village, North Lebanon. Obtained simulation results are compared with reported results of the real incident and with simulations done on Karafyllidis model and Gazmeh-Modified Karafyllidis model. These comparisons have proven the outperformance of the proposed model. In this dissertation, the crisis of forest fires has been studied and new models have been developed in both phases: pre-fire and post-fire. These models can be used as efficient preventive tools in forest fire management.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2005-09-06Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:12:50Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 galharim_r_me_botfca.pdf: 975548 bytes, checksum: c443da11900d1ce6b8be8fb03c1cb0e5 (MD5) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / Banca: Elias Taylor Durgante Severo / Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar os incêndios florestais ocorridos na Fazenda Monte Alegre localizada no município de Agudos/SP e de propriedade da Duratex S/A, no período de janeiro 1997 a dezembro 2003, diagnosticando as principais características desses incêndios e de seu combate. Trata-se de unidade de produção florestal de 13.581,79 hectares cuja atividade principal é o reflorestamento em Pinus spp. Foram utilizados dados constantes dos relatórios de incêndios florestais da empresa, bem como aqueles relativos à meteorologia, como precipitação pluviométrica e umidade relativa do ar as 13:00 horas, coletados na estação meteorológica localizada junto à portaria principal da fazenda. Foi verificado que a unidade mantém um sistema de prevenção e combate a incêndios florestais que atua em sua área e também em propriedades adjacentes, cujos incêndios possam colocar em risco suas florestas, como é o caso da Rodovia SP 300. No período estudado ocorreram 74 incêndios, com as seguintes características. 65,0% foram na Fazenda Monte Alegre, 31,0% as margens da Rodovia SP 300 e 4% em outras propriedades. Quanto à área queimada, 96,3% pertencem à fazenda, 3,4% à Rodovia SP 300 e 0,3% a outros proprietários. Quanto ao tipo de vegetação queimada, 89,0% é de pinus, 6,0% de vegetação nativa e 5,0% de vegetação rasteira. Em 48,0% dos dias o grau de perigo, calculado através da Fórmula de Monte Alegre, esteve classificado como alto ou muito alto e nesta faixa é que se localizaram 77,0% dos incêndios. 5,4% foram provocados por raios, 82,4% causas antrópicas e 12,2% não foram possíveis apurar. 73,0% dos incêndios ocorreram entre 07:00 e 18:00 horas. O combate apresentou as características que seguem. Em 75,7% dos casos o alarme foi dado pelas torres de vigia. Em 97,0% dos casos o combate se iniciou em até 60 minutos e em 65,0% tivemos a extinção... / This work had as objective to study the forest fires that have taken place at Farm Monte Alegre which is located in the city of Agudos/SP and is property of Duratex S/A, from January 1997 to December 2003, diagnosing the main characteristics of these fires and of the fighting against them. It is made up of an unit of forest production of 13,581.79 hectares and its main activity is the reforestation with Pinus spp. Data from forest fires reports from the company were used as well as the meteorological reports with rainy precipitation and relative humidity of the air at 1:00 PM from the station located beside the Farm main entrance. It was verified that the unit keeps a forest fires fighting and prevention system that works not only in its own area but also in neighboring areas whose fires bring dangers to its own forests, such as SP 300 Road. 74 fires occurred in the studied time period with the following characteristics. 65,0% inside the Farm Monte Alegre, 31,0% around SP 300 Road banks, and 4% in other properties. As for the burned area, 96,3% belong to the Farm, 3,4% to SP 300 Road, and 0,3% to other owners.As for the kind of burned vegetation, 89,0% was Pinus, 6,0% native vegetation and 5,0% trailing vegetation. In 48% of the days the fire danger rate, calculated through Monte Alegre formula, was high or very high and in this range are 77% of fires. 5,4% were caused by lightning, 82,4% by man made reasons, and 12,2% were impossible to establish. 73,0% of fires occurred between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM. The fighting presented the following characteristics. In 75,7% the alarm was given by the watch tower. In 97,0% the fighting started in 60 minutes. In 65,0% the fighting was finished in 60 minutes. 169:17 hours were spent in the fighting, 24:13 hours in SP 300 Road, and 1:25 hours in other properties. As for the cost of the fighting, 92,0% were applied inside the Farmland...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

This study focuses on soil hydrological parameters that are expected to be related to burn severity in forests; infiltration rate, soil moisture, grain size distribution and carbon content along a burn severity gradient in Västmanland Sweden, where a major fire occurred in 2014. Hälleskogsbrännan was divided into two burn severities: a moderate severity and a high severity, and a control area. Ten soil samples were taken for laboratory analyses at each severity level. Soil moisture and infiltration rate was measured in situ. Infiltration rates and soil moisture were highest in the most severely affected site, whereas fire effects on soil texture were insignificant. Soil organic carbon content was highest at the low fire severity site, followed by control and high severity fire sites. Inorganic carbon content followed the opposite trend. These results had clear trends but were insignificant, this call for more comprehensive sampling to separate possible confounding site effects.

Harrisburg, Chernobyl and Fukushima have changed the world’s view of the probability that a nuclear disaster can happen. But they are also a reminder of how necessary a working crises management is in the times a disaster appears. This paper is a systematic review about accidents and disasters, and the communication in this time. The purpose of the study is to analyse the use of communication in these cases, but also how organizations and media are communicating, and which dimensions they use. The conclusion of this study shows that risk and crisis communication needs to improve in all cases. The best communication was with Sweden’s fire in Västmanland 2014 and the Tsunami 2004. Hurricanes and nuclear power needs better strategic in the whole process.

Besides the unsustainable exploitation, farming activities and economic development activities, forest fire is considered as one of the major threats to biodiversity and deforestation in Vietnam. In forest ecosystems, any changes in insect communities can affect species composition, nutrient cycling and numerous other ecological processes. The impact of forest fires, however, is not equal to different insect groups. In this paper, we study the impact of forest fires to hymenopteran insects at Copia species-use forest, Son La Province. This is the first time this kind of study has been taken place in Vietnam. / Bên cạnh việc khai thác không bền vững, tập quán canh tác và các hoạt động phát triển kinh tế, cháy rừng được xem là một trong những mối đe dọa chính ảnh hưởng tiêu cực tới đa dạng sinh học và mất rừng ở Việt Nam. Trong các hệ sinh thái rừng, những thay đổi trong cấu trúc của quần xã côn trùng có ảnh hưởng tới thành phần loài, chu trình dinh dưỡng và rất nhiều quá trình sinh thái khác. Tuy nhiên mức độ ảnh hưởng của cháy rừng tới các nhóm côn trùng khác nhau là khác nhau. Trong bài báo này, chúng tôi nghiên cứu tác động của cháy rừng tới nhóm côn trùng cánh màng tại khu rừng đặc dụng Copia, tỉnh Sơn La. Đây cũng là lần đầu tiên tác động của cháy rừng tới nhóm côn trùng cánh màng được thực hiện ở Việt Nam.

Räddningstjänsters behov av frivilliga värn för att bekämpa skogsbränder undersöktes och en enkät skickades ut till skogsägare i Småland för att undersöka deras vilja och förmåga att bidra till skogsbrandvärn. Räddningstjänsterna ansåg att de hade ett behov av värn vid sidan av sin ordinarie personal och beskrev förutom ett antal kriterier för att värnet skulle fungera bra också ett antal kompetenser samt maskiner som kunde komma till användning vid bekämpning av skogsbränder. Resultaten visar att 42 % av skogsägarna var villiga att ingå i lokala skogsbrandvärn samt 89 % kunde se en styrka i att skogsägare gick samman för att stötta varandra och avlasta räddningstjänsten vid skogsbränder eller andra större händelser i närområdet. 91% utav skogsägarna hade någon av de fordon, maskiner eller redskap som räddningstjänsterna såg som användbara. Vidare så uppgav 70 % utav dessa att de skulle vara villiga att använda de här fordonen, maskinerna eller redskapen vid insatser med skogsbrandvärnen.

The extent and effect of forest fires on ancient remains and cultural heritage in the boreal forest of Sweden is relatively unknown and scarcely researched. The aim of this study is to examine how a forest fire affects the archaeological record, partly in terms of damage degree and partly in what ways a fire can change the conditions for field surveying in a forest landscape. The purpose is also to discuss work strategies for heritage protection in a future with an increased numbers of days with risk for fire. Analysis of field reports from nine different areas affected by forest fire in Sweden, together with a minor interview study indicate how the severity of the fire can be both harmful to the remains and heritage, but also helpful with the field surveying. If a fire intensity is high, it can cause direct thermal action and frost action (weathering) but it can also induce risk of mass wasting (erosion). However, the most recurring phenomena that endangers the archaeological record by covering and concealing the remains and heritage is forestry. This can cause great damage when the reforestation takes place, as scarification is notoriously harmful to the archaeological record. At the same time, a burnt forest landscape where no trees nor ground cover is left, heightens the possibility of finding new and previously unknown remains and heritage.

Tätortsnära naturreservat med vandringsleder och stigar bidrar till mycket mänsklig aktivitet. Denna aktivitet kan mynna ut i skogsbränder och naturvårdsbränningar som påverkar mark, träd och annan vegetation och bidrar tillhögre naturvärden och gynnar de få arter som är beroende av brand. Syftet med studien var att inventera brandfält i naturreservat som uppkommit spontant eller av antropogena aktiviteter. Studien innefattade att utvärdera hur träden reagerat på brand och om branden lett till en förändrad biologisk mångfald.Tolv talldominerade brandfält i fyra naturreservat inventerades. Ett brandfält är efter en kontrollerad naturvårdsbränning medan orsaken till de andra är okända. Resultaten visar på lågt antal skadade och stående döda träd samt en låg andel föryngring i flera brandfält. Dessa bränder påverkar biodiversiteten genom att de har gett en förändrad struktur och livsmiljö i jämförelse med obrända miljöer.

Wildland fire research has been extensive and on going since before 1950. The motivation behind this research is to prevent loss of property and lives. In spite of this research, the heat transfer of fuel ignition and flame spread is not well understood. This dissertation seeks to fill gaps in this understanding through modeling and also by experimentation. The effect of water vapor on the transmission of thermal radiation from the flame to the fuel was investigated. The Spectral Line Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases approach was adopted for treating the spectral nature of the radiation. The study reveals that water vapor has only a moderate effect even at 100 percent humidity. Experiments were conducted wherein wood shavings and Ponderosa pine needles in quiescent air were subjected to an imposed radiant heat flux. The internal temperature of these particles was measured and compared to steady-state model predictions. Excellent agreement was observed between the model predictions and the experimental data. Exercise of the model led to the conclusion that ignition of the fuel element by radiation heating alone is unlikely. Time-resolved radiation and convection heat flux were measured in a series of experimental laboratory fires designed to explore heat transfer behavior during combustion of discontinuous fuel beds. Convection heat flux was shown to fluctuate between positive and negative values during flame engulfment, indicating the presence of alternating packets of hot combustion gas and cool ambient air within the flame. Rapid temporal fluctuations were observed in both radiation and convection. Spectral analysis revealed content at frequencies as high as 150 to 200 Hz. Time-resolved radiation and convection heat flux histories were also collected on fourteen controlled burns and wildfires. The data reveal significant temporal fluctuations in both radiation and convection heat flux. Spectral analysis using a Fast Fourier Trans-form (FFT) revealed content as high as 100 Hz using data sets that were sampled at 500 Hz. The role of the higher frequency convective content in fuel thermal response was explored using a one-dimensional transient conduction model with a convective boundary condition. It was shown that high-frequency (i.e., short-duration) convective pulses can lead to fine fuel ignition.