Data Challenge

This challenge brings together UC San Diego students to advance proactive solutions to end destructive wildfires. Sign up today to participate. Spots are limited! A series of lightning talks will be offered in November and December to help students prepare for the data challenge, which will start on Friday, January 17, 2025.

3D Fuel and Fire Models:

Prescribed burns can effectively reduce fuels to restore fire-dependent ecosystems and mitigate the risk of devastating wildfires. Next-generation 3D vegetation and fire models can enable the new tools fire managers need for real fuel and fire management solutions. These models unlock the ability to design complex ignition patterns, model the effects of forest structure on winds, and show interactions between the atmosphere and the fire itself.

The Data Challenge:

The fuel beds and forest structure generated by FastFuels are used as inputs to fire models like QUIC-Fire, which uses coupled-fire atmosphere dynamics to produce simulations using the underlying physics that drive fire behavior. During this data challenge, you will create on-ramps for LiDAR and plot data to build 3D models of forests for ingestion into fire models to explore interactions between topography, fuel structure, fuel moistures, and winds, all at high resolution.

Lightning Talks:

Watch ProWESS lightning talks, including the Launch Event for this data challenge.

Hosted by the Prowess Center on the National Data Platform in partnership with the Wildfire Science & Technology Commons.

For questions or more information, please email pramonettivega@ucsd.edu.