Description

This paper describes results of FROSTFIRE, a forest fire experiment carried out in July 1999 and also surveys results of the Donnelly Flats forest fire in June 1999 from the point of view of forest fire behavior. An investigation of the Donnelly Flats forest fire site found that the main burned matter were branches with needles of black spruce and mosses and lichen which cover the ground. On the basis of these results, a vegetation investigation was carried out before the FROSTFIRE experiment. The following items were measured to obtain fuel information: weight of branches with needles of two black spruce trees and the thickness of mosses which covered the surface around the trees. Annual ring of two black spruce trees is also analyzed. Several thermocouples were placed on a tree to measure temperatures during the fire. Thunderstorm observations by video camera from the Poker Flat mountaintop recorded multiple lightning strikes. After the storm, three plumes from forest fires were observed in different directions and the probability of ignition of forest fires by the lightning is discussed. A map of lightning location is used to clear characteristics of lightning. The combustion calculations using mean tree densities of black spruce and mean thickness of mosses estimate the quantity of CO2 released in forest fires in Alaska.