Fuels Inventories in the Los Alamos National Laboratory Region: 1997
Fifty-four sites were surveyed for fuel levels, vegetational structures, and topographic characteristics. Most of the surveyed sites were on Los Alamos National Laboratory property, however, some surveys were also conducted on U.S. Forest Service property. The overall vegetation of these sites ranged from pinon-juniper woodlands to ponderosa pine forests to mixed conifer forests, and the topographic positions included canyons, mesas, and mountains. The results of these surveys indicate that the understory fuels are the greatest in mixed conifer forests and that overstory fuels are greatest in both mixed conifer forests and ponderosa pine forests on mesas. The geographic distribution of these fuels would suggest a most credible wildfire scenario for the Los Alamos region. Three major fires have occurred since 1954 and these fires behaved in a manner that is consistent with this scenario. The most credible wildfire scenario was also supported by the results of BEHAVE modeling that used the fuels inventory data as inputs. Output from the BEHAVE model suggested that catastrophic wildfires would continue to occur during any season with sufficiently dry, windy weather.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 7385
- Report Number(s):
- LA-13572-MS; TRN: US0101911
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Mar 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
A characterization methodology for post-wildfire flood hazard assessments
The Effects of Disturbance and Climate on Carbon Storage and the Exchanges of CO2 Water Vapor and Energy Exchange of Evergreen Coniferous Forests in the Pacific Northwest: Integration of Eddy Flux, Plant and Soil Measurements at a Cluster of Supersites. Final report