Forest fire simulations using level set methods

I was a mentor for the forest fire modelling team at the 2007 MITACS Industrial Math Summer School. Over three weeks, four students, Helen Alexander, Anna Belkine, Chris Poss, and Weining Wang developed a forest fire model using level set methods. At the end of the program, they submitted a report to MITACS and the sponsoring organization, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.

Videos

The results of some computations using the model developed by the students are shown below.

fire_barriers.mpg: the fire cannot burn through barriers such as roads or rivers.
fire_sparks_wind.mpg: the addition of sparks and wind to the model means the fire can jump barriers.
SecretMessage.mpg: a motivational message.

Computing on topography

Using the Closest Point Method, level set computations can be easily modified to compute on more general topography. For example mountain_slope3.mpg shows a computation using a model similar to that used above.