RED FLAG WARNING NO. 6
CHANNELLING EVENT

Recognition:

FORECAST	DETECTED	OBSERVED
A fire is burning or has been recently contained in a part of the landscape that is conducive to channelling under the weather conditions current or forecast.	n.a.	An aerial observer, or other field officer, observes a watch-out situation for channelling driving a fire.

Response:

[B] highest priority, review urgency by sector and act immediately if required.

Situation Unit staff are to immediately advise the Planning Officer of an actual or imminent Red Flag situation.
Planning Officer is to assess affected sectors and work with Operation Officer to ensure safe evacuation of all crews in those sectors until conditions abate.
Planning Officer to meet with IMT to review current and next IAPs.

Detailed Material:

McRae, R., 2004. Breath of the dragon – observations of the January 2003 ACT Bushfires. In: Proceedings of 2004 Australasian Bushfire Research Conference, May 2004, Adelaide.
Sharples, JJ. (submitted). Review of mountain meteorological effects relevant to fire behaviour and bushfire risk.
Sharples, J.J., Weber, R.O., & McRae, R. HighFire Risk: Wind-Terrain Effects on Rugged Landscape Fire Propagation: Lee-Slope Channelling. Poster, AFAC/BushfireCRC Conference 2008, Adelaide.
McRae, R., Weber, R. & Sharples, J. (submitted). Wind-terrain effects on the propagation of large wildfires in rugged terrain: fire channelling. Environmental Modelling & Software.

This material arises from work carried out by the HighFire Risk Project.

Material prepared by R. McRae September 2009.