The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center is hosting a webinar by Bret Butler, who will present results of his research which suggest modifications to current firefighter safety zone guidelines.

Current safety zone guidelines are based on assumptions of:

• flat ground,
• no wind,
• radiative heating only.

Recent measurements in grass, shrub, and crown fires indicate that convective heating can be significant, especially when wind or slope are present. Measurements and computer modeling support this and suggest that convective energy transport should be considered when assessing safety zone effectiveness any time wind or slope is present.