UBC ATSC 413 - Forest-fire Weather & Climate

Syllabus Schedule - 2025

Under construction.

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

 


 

Week

Tuesday 2025
Theme: Weather.
Instructor: Dr. Doug McCollor

See Detailed Schedule of Tuesday Assignments-v4.

Thursday 2025
Theme: Fire.
Instructor: Prof. Roland Stull

See the links below.
1 2 Sep
(UBC Imagine Day. No Tuesday undergrad classes.)		 4 Sep.       (link to Thursday week 01 Lect. Notes)
Intro: Indigenous; significant fires, types of burns, WUI
2 9 Sep.    Analysis methods for weather charts. 11 Sep       (link to Thursday week 02 Lect. Notes)
Sources of Fire Info: FIRMS, GWIS, CIFFC, NIFC, BlueSky.
3 16 Sep.    Types of weather charts: surface, upper air, cross sections. Observations: METARS. 18 Sep       (link to Thursday week 03 Lect. Notes)
Fire behavior: fuels, moisture, wind, slope.
4 23 Sep.    Weather satellite imagery &interpretation. Satellites & orbits. Channels. Fire hot-spot detection. Sensors for lightning & drought. 25 Sep       (link to Thursday week 04 Lect. Notes)
Antecedent conditions. Ignition sources. Fire danger rating systems. FWI Intro.
5 30 Sep.
(Truth & Reconcilation Day. No classes.)		 2 Oct          Tuesday week 05 topics are covered during Thursday this week.
Weather radar image interpretation: reflectivity, Doppler velocity, polarimetric.
6 7 Oct.    Atmospheric soundings, tephigrams, hodographs, stability & convection. 9 Oct   (link to Thursday week 05 Lect. Notes)
FWI: Fire weather index system.
7 14 Oct.    Extratropical (mid-latitude) cyclones. 16 Oct   - Double Feature
First hour:  FBP: Fire behavior prediction system.
        (link to Thursday week 06 Lect. Notes)

Second hour: Guest lecture by Mina Deshler on Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).
(Also possibly  team -building methods.)
8 21 Oct.    Fronts and airmasses. 23 Oct   - Double Feature   
• First 50 minutes - Midterm Exam (tips)
• Last 50 minutes - Case Study: High Level, AB, fire. 2019 . 
(link to Thursday Lect. Notes for High Level fire)
9 28 Oct.    Double feature.
1st hour: (McCollor) Effect of temperature, humidity, & clouds on fires.
2nd hour: (Stull) Regional weather, including downslope windstorms. 

30 Oct      
Case Study: Kimiwan, AB, fire. 2023 - 2024.
    (link to Thursday Lect. Notes for Kimiwan fire)

Also, in preparation for your own case-study capstone presentation, view (as homework) 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 on the link to Thursday Lect. Notes for Sparks Lake fire .

10 4 Nov.  - Double Feature     
1st hour: (McCollor) Convective storms (thunderstorms).
2nd hour: (Stull) Pyrocumulonimbus & fire tornadoes (see mc07.7 & 07.8)
 6 Nov - Double Feature
Palisades Fire, CA - Capstone Presentation. by Red Team.
Jasper, AB . - Capstone Presentation. by Green Team
11 11 Nov.
(Fall break. No Tuesday classes.)		 13 Nov - Double Feature
First hour: Quebec Complex Fires - Capstone Presentation. by Orange Team.
Second hour: Guest lecture by Dr. Chris Rodell, Meteorological Analyst at Technosylva, studying fire risk and fire behavior modeling. 
If he is unable to come, then video and lab on the Paradise fire (link to Paradise Fire lecture notes.)
12 18 Nov.
First hour: Fort McMurray, AB - Capstone Presentation. by Blue Team.
Second hour: Guest lecture by Matt MacDonald - BC Wildfire Service lead forecaster: On the forecast process at the BC Wildfire Service.		 20 Nov - Double Feature
Camp Fire (Paradise, CA) - Capstone Presentation. by Violet Team.
Marshall, CO . - Capstone Presentation. by Gold Team.
13 25 Nov.   Weather Forecasting .  Double feature:
First hour:  Doug McCollor: Nowcasting, short-range, & medium range forecasting.
Second hour: Guest lecture by Lynn Engel: How to use modern tools on the internet to make forecasts		 27 Nov - Double Feature
1) Overview of Numerical weather prediction (NWP), by Stull.  
      (link to Thursday NWP Lect. Notes)
2) Guest lecture by Liam Buchart on Indigenous wildfire and forest issues. (link to his slides and video )
14 2 Dec.    Double feature.
1st hour: (McCollor) Climate Change vs. Wildfires.
2nd hour: Guest lecture by Mariette Kulin, ECCC Senior Meteorologist, Training & Development.  Topic is on jobs with Environment Canada.

4 Dec - Double Feature
First hour: (Stull) Wildfire Smoke: production, plume rise, dispersion, modeling, & health effects.
      (link to Thursday Lect. Notes on Wildfire Smoke) 

Second hour: (Stull & McCollor) Synthesis of weather, fire, and cultural issues.
      (link to Thursday Lect. Notes for Last Class)

  Final Exam, Monday 15 December at 12 noon.  (room tba)  
     

 

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