- Extreme Wildfire
Home | Research Programmes | Extreme Wildfire | Improving wildfire prediction in the rural-urban interface
As the climate warms there will be increasing risk of wildfire in many parts of New Zealand.
As well as better understanding how to predict wildfire occurrence on urban fringes, we want to improve New Zealand’s legislative frameworks around planning and preparedness. This research area is led by the University of Canterbury.
- integrated modelling of turbulence and fire spread at the rural-urban interface
- coupling an atmospheric (PALM) and fine scale wildfire (WFDS) model to better understand how fire moves between houses and vegetation
- testing flammability of gorse
- improving the legislative frameworks around planning and preparedness
- developing a systems flow map to identify the legislative framework for planning decisions
- running workshops for relevant professionals – e.g. planners, council staff, architects
- case studies of wildfire risk planning in communities where the rural-urban interface has been growing (Whangarei and Rolleston).
Explore the Extreme Wildfire Research Programme workstreams:
Extreme Wildfire News

Building for a wildfire future
As part of Scion’s five-year Extreme Wildfire research programme, social scientists are investigating how decisions throughout planning, design and construction lead to homes being built

New slash sensor operational
A sensor which monitors temperature in slash piles has had extensive testing in forest environments to make it more robust and reliable. The sensor delivers

Experimental burns a world-first
Two new series of extreme wildfire burns was completed near Twizel in autumn 2023, as part of Scion’s Extreme Fire research programme. The burns follow