Articles | Volume 18, issue 24
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7805-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7805-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Integrating fireline observations to characterize fire plumes during pyroconvective extreme wildfire events: implications for firefighter safety and plume modeling
Marc Castellnou Ribau
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Av Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain
Wageningen University & Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Mercedes Bachfischer
GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Av Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain
Pau Guarque
GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Av Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain
Laia Estivill
GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Av Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain
Marta Miralles Bover
GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Av Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain
Borja Ruiz
GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Av Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain
Jordi Pagès
GRAF, Catalan Fire and Rescue Service, Av Serragalliners, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain
Brian Verhoeven
Netherlands Institute for Public Safety, IJsselburcht 2, 6825 BS Arnhem, the Netherlands
Zisoula Ntasiou
Hellenic Fire and Rescue Service, Mourouzi 4, 10674 Athens, Greece
Ove Stokkeland
Grenland Fire and Rescue IKS, Hydrovegen 53, 3936 Porsgrunn, Vestfold og Telemark, Norway
Chiel van Heerwaarden
Wageningen University & Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Tristan Roelofs
Wageningen University & Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Martin Janssens
Wageningen University & Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Cathelijne R. Stoof
Wageningen University & Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Jordi Vilà-Guerau de Arellano
Wageningen University & Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
Data sets
Radiosonde dataset of: Integrating Fireline Observations to Characterize Fire Plumes During Pyroconvective Extreme Wildfire Events: Implications for Firefighter Safety and Plume Modeling (Campaigns 2021-2025) Marc Castellnou Ribau et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17886250
Executive editor
Obtaining a better understanding of how the fire-perturbed atmosphere may ignite more fuel is important to firefighters, but it is also a topic of interest for the general public. If large enough, fires can grow by feeding themselves. Atmospheric measurements during a fire can help scientists and firefighters better understand how the fire will evolve and whether there is a risk that the fire will run out of control. The authors show that using sonde measurements during the fire enables firefighters to better predict how it will evolve, thereby improving their security. At the same time, such measurements provide a valuable dataset for scientific model testing and development.
Obtaining a better understanding of how the fire-perturbed atmosphere may ignite more fuel is...
Short summary
Firefighter entrapments can occur when wildfires escalate suddenly due to fire-atmosphere interactions. This study presents a method to analyze this in real-time using two weather balloon measurements: ambient and in-plume conditions. Researchers launched 156 balloons during wildfire seasons in Spain, Chile, Greece, and the Netherlands. This methodology detects sudden changes in fire behavior by comparing ambient and in-plume data, ultimately enhancing research on fire-atmosphere interactions.
Firefighter entrapments can occur when wildfires escalate suddenly due to fire-atmosphere...