- Extreme Wildfire
Research to validate a new global convection fire spread theory is being undertaken with an interdisciplinary international team.
Research is underpinned by a series of highly instrumented experimental burns in the Canterbury Region, managed by the Scion Extreme Wildfire team.
- to develop globally applicable knowledge embedding the new convection fire spread theory into practice by validating the theory for crown fires and understanding how convection is coupled with atmospheric conditions to drive transitions to increasingly extreme fire behaviour.
- experimental burns have been undertaken in stubble, gorse and most recently (in 2023) in piled wildings.
- burns have all been heavily instrumented, enabling comprehensive data collection and analysis
- these burns have validated the convection fire spread theory, thereby increasing understanding of extreme wildfire behaviour, especially at the fire-front
- burns have provided valuable training in incident management for Fire and Emergency New Zealand and Department of Conservation staff
- further burns are planned for 2025. These burns were originally planned for standing wildings to scale up the fuel type (short – stubble, gorse – medium, wilding pine – tall), however the experimental burn site burned in a wildfire. The Scion team is therefore exploring other options.
Explore the Extreme Wildfire Research Programme workstreams:
Extreme Wildfire News
2025 Youth Micro Innovation Challenge. Supporting Forestry’s next generation of innovators – Be in to win $10,000
Calling all creative forestry students, graduates, and young workers! You are a powerhouse of fresh, game-changing ideas just waiting to be unleashed. We want to
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
Related searchable documents and reports
| Title | Date | Report Number | Author | Link | hf:doc_categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Research Publications | February 18, 2015 | 00 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Fire Research Documents pre-2008 | September 30, 2014 | 01 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Aerial fire suppression research – 2008 | February 1, 2008 | 18 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Spatial Techniques for Grassland Curing Across Australia & New Zealand – 2008 | February 1, 2008 | 19 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Impact of climate variability on fire danger – August 2007 | August 1, 2007 | 17 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Forest Biosecurity & Protection – Review of methods and data on rural fire suppression resource productivity and effectiveness – June 2007 | June 1, 2007 | 16 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Forest Biosecurity & Protection – Communication of Fire Danger Warnings in New Zealand and Overseas – May 2007 | May 1, 2007 | 15 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| New Zealand Experimental and Wildfire Observer Guide : Forms – 2006 Fire Weather Recording Form | February 1, 2006 | 13 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Applying fire spread simulators in New Zealand and Australia – 2006 Results from an international seminar | February 1, 2006 | 14 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Forest and rural fire danger rating in New Zealand – 2006 | January 1, 2006 | 10 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Wildfires and Communities: Australasian Perspectives | January 1, 2006 | 11 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| New Zealand Experimental & Wildfire Observer Guide – 2006 Guide Version 1.1 – January 2006. | January 1, 2006 | 12 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Spatial Prediction of Wildfire Hazard Across New Zealand: A Significant Upgrade – September 2005 | September 1, 2005 | 08 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Impact of Climate Change on Long-term Fire Danger – June 2005 | June 1, 2005 | 06 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| New Zealand Vegetation Fire Database Summary and Initial Data Quality Findings – June 2005 | June 1, 2005 | 07 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| patial Prediction of Wildfire Hazard Across New Zealand – A Significant Upgrade – 2005 | May 1, 2005 | 05 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Forest Biosecurity & Protection – Wildfires and Communities: International Perspectives March 2005 | March 1, 2005 | 04 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Determination of field sampling methods for the assessment of curing levels in grasslands – 2005 | January 1, 2005 | 09 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| Fire Danger Climatology Analyses and Tools | May 1, 2003 | 01 | G Pearce, J Moore, L Douglas | extreme-wildfire-public | |
| A fire danger climatology for New Zealand, plus Appendix 2 – 2003 | May 1, 2003 | 02 | extreme-wildfire-public | ||
| A Fire Danger Climatology for New Zealand – 2003 | May 1, 2003 | 03 | extreme-wildfire-public |
