@article {bnh-8338, title = {A guide to reconstructing cropland wildfires {\textendash} data collection, collation and analysis for case study construction}, number = {729}, year = {2022}, month = {04/2022}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

This guide is intended to provide the fire behaviour analyst tasked with preparing a case study of a cropland wildfire with the basic set of methods, tools and information necessary to create a meaningful summary of the behaviour and spread of that fire. While the information and examples provided are specific to the case of wildfires burning in cropland fuels, the methods and tools are such that they can be applied to wildfires burning in any vegetation type given due consideration of the differences in the applicable factors and conditions.

This guide provides background information on the importance of undertaking case studies of wildfires, particularly across the broad range of wildfire types and intensities, for developing a case study library from which a large range of lessons may be learned{\textemdash}those immediately related to the incident itself but also those that may be gained from a perspective of time and space later.

A detailed discussion of fire behaviour in cropland fuels and the factors that affect fire perimeter shape and growth are discussed. The effects of suppression efforts, their effectiveness and likely impact on fire shape and spread are also discussed. Understanding the fuels and landscape features across which a cropland wildfire burns, in particular those non-crop fuels such as roadside verges and grazing paddocks, and their condition and state, are critical to interpreting observed fire behaviour and fire propagation across the landscape. Similarly, detailed information on the weather driving the wildfire is critical to understanding how and why a fire spread the way it did.\  These data can be divided into two groups{\textemdash}those that should be collected during the fire, such as observations of fire behaviour and spotting, and those that can be collected after the fire, such as fire progression and burnt area and crop status and distribution. Assessment of the reliability of the data collected for the purpose of compiling a case study is essential to providing context and informing assessment of dependability of data used for later analysis.

Finally, the guide provides suggestions for documenting the fire event, building the chronology and development of the incident, and writing a case study that is pithy and to the point. Checklists of essential information to be collected during and immediately after the fire (including sample fire spread observation forms), suggested observations to be collected from first attack personnel and prompter questions for when doing firefighter debriefs and interviews of eyewitnesses are also provided.

}, issn = {729}, author = {Sullivan, Andrew and Cruz, Miguel G. and Matt P Plucinski} }