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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Wind Tunnel Experiments to Study Chaparral Crown Fires

Wind Tunnel Experiments to Study Chaparral Crown Fires

Published on: November 14, 2017

High-severity fire now dominant in California forests.

Mitchell J Hung^1,2, A Park Williams^1,3

¹Department of Geography, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|June 22, 2026

Summary

California

Keywords:

burn severity fire forests

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Producing, Characterizing and Quantifying Biochar in the Woods Using Portable Flame Cap Kilns

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Last Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Wind Tunnel Experiments to Study Chaparral Crown Fires

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Published on: November 14, 2017

Producing, Characterizing and Quantifying Biochar in the Woods Using Portable Flame Cap Kilns

Producing, Characterizing and Quantifying Biochar in the Woods Using Portable Flame Cap Kilns

Published on: January 5, 2024

Area of Science:

Forest ecology
Environmental science
Remote sensing

Background:

Forest fires are critical ecological drivers globally.
California has seen a dramatic increase in annual forest fire area.
Understanding burn severity trends is vital for policy and management.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess trends and drivers of burn severity in California forests.
To develop high-resolution maps of fire severity using remote sensing.
To analyze data from 1985-2024 for 4,391 forest fires.

Main Methods:

Development of high-resolution, remotely sensed fire severity maps.
Analysis of 4,391 forest fires across California.
Assessment of burn severity trends and contributing factors from 1985-2024.

Main Results:

A significant shift from low-severity to high-severity fire has occurred since 2012.
High-severity, stand-replacing fires are now the most common class.
This trend is most pronounced in high-biomass forests, linked to fuel loads from fire exclusion.

Conclusions:

California's forests are increasingly experiencing fires of unsustainable severity.
This shift threatens forest resilience and the ecosystem services they provide.
The rise in high-severity fires will likely incur substantial socioeconomic costs.