UBC ATSC 413 - Forest-fire Weather & Climate

Syllabus Schedule - 2026

Under construction.

Follow this schedule to access fire cases, meteorology, online lectures, homeworks/readings, quizzes.


 

 

Week

Tuesday 2026 (draft)
Theme: Weather.
Instructor: Dr. Doug McCollor

See Detailed Schedule of Tuesday Assignments-v1.

Thursday 2026 (draft)
Theme: Fire.
Instructor: Prof. Roland Stull

See the links below.

1 8 Sep
(UBC Imagine Day. No Tuesday undergrad classes.)
10 Sep.    Welcome to this course.
   (link to Thursday week 01 Lect. Notes)
Intro: Indigenous; significant fires, types of burns, WUI
2 15 Sep.   Weather-chart analysis. 17 Sep       (link to Thursday week 02 Lect. Notes)
Sources of Fire Info: FIRMS, GWIS, CIFFC, NIFC, BlueSky.
3 22 Sep.    Satellite imagery interpretation. 24 Sep       (link to Thursday week 03 Lect. Notes)
Fire behavior: fuels, moisture, wind, slope.
4 29 Sep.    Radar imagery interpretation. 1 Oct         (link to Thursday week 04 Lect. Notes)
Antecedent conditions. Ignition sources. Fire danger rating systems. FWI Intro.
5 6 Oct.    Atmospheric soundings and hodographs.
8 Oct       (link to Thursday week 05 Lect. Notes)
FWI: Fire weather index system.
6 13 Oct.    Extra-tropical (mid-latitude) cyclones. 15 Oct       (link to Thursday week 06 Lect. Notes)
FBP: Fire behavior prediction system.
7

20 Oct.    Fronts and airmasses.

Also see "What is a Cold Front?", by Matt MacDonald, BC Wildfire Service.  

22 Oct       (link to Thursday week 07 Lect. Notes)
Case Study:  High Level, AB, fire. 2019

(Also possibly  team -building methods.)

8 27 Oct.    Effect of temperature, humidity and clouds on fires. 29 Oct   - Double Feature:   
• First 50 minutes - Midterm Exam (tips)
• Last 50 minutes - Case Study: Camp Fire (Paradise), California,  (link to Thursday week 08 Paradise Fire
9 3 Nov.    Convective storms (thunderstorms).
1st hour: (McCollor) Effect of temperature, humidity, & clouds on fires.
2nd hour: (Stull) Regional weather, including downslope windstorms

5 Nov      (link to Thursday week 09 Lect. Notes for Kimiwan)
Case Study: Kimiwan Fire, AB, fire. 2023 - 2024.

10 10 Nov.  - Fall Break (no classes)
12 Nov -  (link to Thursday week 10 Lect. Notes.-Sparks Lake)

Also, in preparation for your own case-study capstone presentation, view the demo presentation video for the Case Study: Sparks Lake, BC fire in 2021, as presented by Jalena Bennett.  You can find Jalena's video in the Lect. Notes link.

11

17 Nov. - Double Feature 
First hour: Williams Flats fire, WA  - Aug 2019 - Capstone Presentation. by xxx Team.
Second hour: Guest lecture (tbd).

19 Nov - Double Feature
First hour: Donnie Creek fire, BC -2023-2024 -  Capstone Presentation. by yyy Team.
Second hour: Lahaina fire, HI - Aug 2023 - Capstone Presentation. by zzz Team.
12 24 Nov. - Weather forecasting (nowcasting, short-, medium-range)

26 Nov - Double Feature
First hour: Wildfire Smoke (link to Thursday week 12 - Smoke) .  (Stull)
Second hour: Guest lecture Dr. Chris Rodell, Principal Scientist – Fire and AI Weather Forecasting, Technosylva. Title: "From UBC to Wildfire Operations: A Career in Fire Weather". 

13 1 Dec.   Climate signals and climate-change vs. wildfires.
3  Dec - Last Class Day.
Double Feature:
First hour: Guest lecture (tbd).
Second hour: Synthesis & Wrap-up. (McCollor & Stull)
  Final Exam, to be scheduled by UBC Admin.  
   

 List of potential guest lectures:

Chris Rodell, Principal Scientist – Fire and AI Weather Forecasting, Technosylva.   Title: "From UBC to Wildfire Operations: A Career in Fire Weather".

Jesse Ellis, or Brett Soderholm: BC Wildfire Service weather forecasting

Mina Deshler: Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).  

Lynn Engel: How to use modern tools on the internet to make forecasts, with links to tools.

Liam Buchart on Indigenous Fire Methods/Knowledge. (link to his slides) 

ECCC forecaster recruitment:  Guest lecture by Sarah Marcil, ECCC/MSC meteorologist recruitment leader .  Topic is on Meteorology Careers with ECCC Meteorological Service of Canada.

PyroCB:
Lecture slides on PyroCB= Cumulonimbus Flammagenitus. Read mc07.7 and mc07.8.   
Also, from last year:
Zoë Golay & Evan Chartrand: Deep convection of smoke into the stratosphere.
Golay: slides and narrative ;
Chartrand: slides and narrative .

 


Schedules and fire cases from past years: 2023 , 2024 , 2025 , 2026 , 2027 , 2028 , 2029