As Southern California grapples with intense flames, scientists in Worcester, Massachusetts, are researching how wildfires spread in an effort to mitigate the damage that they cause.
The work focusing on the generation and movement of embers is happening at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Fire Protection Engineering Department, using a wind tunnel large enough for a person to walk into.
"We know that it's one of the most common ways to spread forest fire and for it to transition from a forest fire to a residential area fire," said WPI PhD student Fernando Ebensperger. "The main issue is that this is the phenomenon that provokes the fire instead of being in a narrower place, starts spreading in multiple directions which creates a secondary problem to manage the resources and being able to maintain the whole fire controlled."
Get top local stories in Boston delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Boston's News Headlines newsletter.
The researchers ignite material like tree branches in an enclosed chamber where they can control the speed of wind blown in the tunnel. That process creates flames and embers that blow onto trays below.
"To collect the information, we are trying to apply a newer approach through image analysis to recognize the fire events while they are flying instead of relying only the parts that are on the ground," said Ebensperger.
"Ideally the knowledge of the fire events will enable us to predict how many are going to be generated and hopefully where are they going to land. If we are able to know both of them either in real time or have an idea of what could happen in a fire scenario, we can also produce a better evacuation route so we avoid the conglomeration of traffic in the cities," he continued. "We could also know where the fire is going to propagate so we can deploy part of the resources there and we stop the fire from starting instead of having to fight it after."
WPI's dean of engineering, John Mcneill, says their research is purpose-driven and aims to make a difference in the lives of people at risk of wildfire danger.
"The tragedy of what is happening in Los Angeles, people are building in areas that years ago, not that long ago, seemed to be safe," said McNeill. "Wildfires are happening more often. They are more intense. They cost more. Having a research program that's looking at how we can mitigate those effects for firefighting practices, maintenance practices, building, so that people's lives are better, that's really powerful."
