Modelling bushfires

A bushfire model contains detailed information about the terrain of a specific area, vegetation type, land usage and fire histories. it also takes into account factors which influence the growth and intensity of a fire, such as wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity.

In a real life situation, firefighters could use the model to determine how best to combat an actual blaze, by creating a fire on the simulator that matches the dimensions and location of the real one. The simulation would suggest what the best procedure is to fight a fire on any given front, where to deploy resources, and what is the quickest and safest route through the terrain. This supplements the measurement of fire fronts done by helicopter, other high level observers. With a model, the firefighters on the ground could use their computers to continually update the information about the changing fire front.