NEW JERSEY—Amidst escalating risks posed by wildfires in the eastern United States, fire researchers at Silas Little Experimental Forest are making significant contributions to better understand the relationship between fuels and the way fires spread across the landscape. With over a century of data for reference and a mature culture of wildland fire management that spans federal and state agencies and private landowners, the Silas Little Experimental Forest is the “model landscape” for scientific fire research.

Much of the work has been facilitated by opportunities to conduct management scale prescribed burns where scientists can monitor the ways in which fuel consumption, ember movement and weather conditions influence fire spread. Prescribed fires serve as a critical tool in the mitigation of wildfire intensity and risks posed to communities near forests.

Northern Research Station scientists at Silas Little Experimental Forest are employing low-cost Terrestrial Laser Scanning, a ground-based type of LiDAR, or light detection and ranging, to record detailed, three-dimensional data models of vegetation structures as they interact with fire. This information can be used to better assess fuel hazards and to predict fire behavior, particularly through better understanding fire embers and their spread.

Through collaborations with other government agencies, academic institutions and other partners, Forest Service researchers hope to offer more effective, informed approaches to be employed in the management and suppression of wildfire.