Experimental study on the evolution of canyon fire spread behavior under different terrains and the critical conditions for eruptive fire

Jiale Fan; Boxuan Chen; Yan Guo; Chenze Bu; Jiangxue Gao; Xu Dou; Haiqing Hu; Long Sun; Tongxin Hu

doi:10.1071/WF24134

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Contents Vol 34(10)

Experimental study on the evolution of canyon fire spread behavior under different terrains and the critical conditions for eruptive fire

Jiale Fan ^A , Boxuan Chen

^A , Yan Guo ^A , Chenze Bu ^A , Jiangxue Gao ^A , Xu Dou ^A , Haiqing Hu ^A , Long Sun ^A ^* and Tongxin Hu ^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management – Ministry of Education, Northern Forest Fire Management Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 26 Hexing Road, Harbin 150040, China.

^* Correspondence to: sunlong365@126.com, htxhtxapple@sina.com

International Journal of Wildland Fire 34, WF24134 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF24134

Submitted: 14 August 2024 Accepted: 15 September 2025 Published: 13 October 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of IAWF. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Background

The spread of canyon fire often involves sudden acceleration, which is related to eruptive fire.

Aims

The purpose of the study is to explore the pattern of fire line evolution and rate of spread (ROS) with topographic conditions in canyon fire, and to clarify the critical conditions for and mechanism of eruptive fire.

Methods

A systematic experimental study on canyon fire was conducted by igniting dead pine needles with a point ignition.

Key results

Four different types of fire line contours were identified under different topographic conditions. When the central slope angle α ≥ 15°, the direction of the fire head gradually deviates from the line of maximum slope and moves to the center line, and this deviation increases with α. Accordingly, ROS along the center line also exhibits dynamic characteristics, and ROS increases with α and the lateral slope angle δ. The critical conditions for eruptive fire are α = 27.5° and δ = 20°.

Conclusions

When eruptive fire occurs, there is significant convective heating ahead of the fire front. This strong convective heating is the basic mechanism for eruptive fire in canyons.

Implications

Our results may provide a theoretical basis to assist fire commanders to make decisions.

Keywords: canyon fire, convective heating, critical conditions, eruptive fire, extreme fire behavior, fire front, fire line contour, rate of spread, terrain.

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