Modelling for Forest Fire Evolution Based on the Energy Accumulation and Release

Forest fire evolution plays an important role in the decision-making of controlling the forest fire. This paper aims to simulate the dynamics of the forest fire spread using a cellular automaton approach. Having analyzed the characteristics and evolution of forest fires, a simulation model for the forest fire evolution based on the energy accumulation and release is proposed. And, taking Australia's catastrophic forest fire in 2009 as an example, the fire’s evolution closely to the reality is simulated. The results of the experiments are shown that if forest energy is released in a small scale before or during the fire, the fire would be better controlled even if it does not occur. Improving the efficiency of the fire extinguishing procedures and reducing the speed of the fire spread are also effective for controlling the forest fire. Keywords—forest fire evolution; energy accumulation and release; cellular automaton (CA); simulation