Using FlamMap to assess wildfire behavior in Bohemian Switzerland National Park

The 2022 summer fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park (BSNP) is the largest in the 30-year recorded history of the Czech Republic, with an affected area of over 1000 ha. The FlamMap fire modeling system was used to investigate the fire behavior in the BSNP and to evaluate scenarios under a range of fuel types, fuel moistures, and weather conditions. The model was used to simulate fire conditions, propagation, and extent. We focused on matching the observed fire perimeter and fire behavior characteristics. The fire occurred in a region of the BSNP heavily affected by Spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus L.) infestation; hence, most of the burned area encompassed dead spruce forest (Picea abies Karst.). The best FlamMap simulations of the observed fire behavior and progression were compared with several created scenarios exhibiting various input conditions. These scenarios included a fire in a healthy spruce forest, clearcuts, or different meteorological conditions. We could calibrate and use FlamMap to recreate the 2022 summer wildfire in the BSNP under the observed conditions. It was found that the fire would have likely spread to the observed final perimeter even if standing dead trees had been removed, albeit at a lower fire intensity and with a considerably shorter duration. Alternatively, if healthy standing vegetation with a closed canopy had been present, the wildfire perimeter would have reached approximately half the observed value. Similar results were obtained for both the non-native spruce forest and deciduous forest, which is a native alternative.