Citation

Brou ADV. Fire (Basel) 2022; 5(5): e156.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publications Institute)

DOI

10.3390/fire5050156

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Firebreaks are one of the techniques used to fight bushfires in Côte d'Ivoire. Their objective is to prevent the progression of fire and to protect sensitive sites. In this paper, a parametric study on the effectiveness of a firebreak in a savanna area is conducted using a fire spread model. The ability of the model to conduct this study was tested by an empirical model based on fire experiments in the Australian savanna. An agreement was found between the results predicted by our model and those of the empirical model. The parametric study conducted on the effectiveness of firebreaks indicated that a firebreak thickness equal to twice the flame length was effective. For bushfire control in Côte d'Ivoire, a firebreak with a minimum thickness of 8 m could stop the fire despite the slope of the land and the wind speed.

Language: en

Keywords

bushfire management; bushfires; design rule for fuel breaks; firebreak sizing; operational prediction tool