Forest Fires: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues)

"Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Forest Fires III" includes selected papers presented at the Third International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Forest Fires, held in May 2012. The Conference is the third in a series of biennial conferences organized by the Wessex Institute of Technology on the application of computer techniques to the difficult field of forest fire prevention, management, and mitigation. The latest conference was sponsored by the International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning and the International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering. Forest Fires are very complex phenomena which, under the right physical conditions, can rapidly devastate large areas. Approaches to controlling fires strongly depend on the physical characteristics of the surrounding region, so that those suitable for rural areas differ from those applicable in urban environments. Fire control approaches also vary depending on weather conditions, regional activities, and forest type, as well as social and economic factors. At present insufficient knowledge of the behavior of fires and how they propagate makes these phenomena very difficult to control and is one of the most important obstacles to the development of a reliable decision support system. Public concern regarding this topic is increasing as uncontrolled fires may lead to major ecological disasters, and usually result in negative economic and health implications for an entire region. Forest fire analysis and mitigation requires the development of computer codes that can take into consideration a large number of different parameters. Papers in this book discuss the latest research and applications of available tools to analyze and predict the spread of forest fires both to prevent or reduce major loss of life and property and to avoid damage to the environment.