Software tools for wildfire monitoring

Phenomena in ecosystems such as forest fires, oil spills, tornados, etc., are complex processes both in time and space. Understanding their dynamics in order to predict their future states is a challenging procedure involving the propagation of several events concerning, e.g. the transfer of energy or material. A common solution used to study such phenomena is the utilization of discrete event models and simulators. Among the phenomena studied by researchers so far, of particular interest and importance, is the forecasting of forest fire propagation since life on earth is greatly depended on healthy forests. In this paper, we investigate simulator models applicable in forecasting forest fire propagation. These simulator models appear to be very useful and user friendly, and except for the investigation of a fire, they could also be used for teaching in a university lab.