International Crown Fire Modeling Experiment (ICFME)

The International Crown Fire Modeling Experiment (ICFME) was a cooperative international experiment that brought together fire modeling experts from Canada, the United States, and Russia, to address the prediction of high-intensity fire behavior. The goal of the ICFME was to conduct a replicated series of highly instrumented crown fires to quantify parameters essential to modeling the initiation and spread of crowning fires.

The study site was located near Fort Providence, Northwest Territories, in a dense, approximately 80-year old jack pine stand. Aerial, surface, and forest floor fuels were sampled in ten burn plots. Firelines approximately 50 m wide were established around each plot, which involved cutting and removing standing trees, and bulldozing to mineral soil to facilitate access and control. Some fuel manipulation (pruning trees and/or removing surface fuel) was carried out on portions of some plots, but most of the area remained undisturbed. The ICFME project was carried out between 1995 and 2001.

 

Contacts

Mike Wotton
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service
Mike.Wotton@nrcan.gc.ca

Martin E. Alexander
Wild Rose Fire Behaviour
mea2@telus.net
curriculum vitae (pdf)