Skip to main content

Smoke from residual combustion in the aftermath of prescribed burns or wildfires can combine with certain atmospheric conditions usually late at night to produce superfog -- a fog reducing visibility to less than 10 feet, and frequently to less than 3 feet. When this smoke/fog is transported across a major roadway, the results are often disastrous. The superfog problem is divided into two sub-problems. The first sub-problem is predicting where smoke from prescribed burns is transported over complex terrain late at night under near-calm conditions. The second sub-problem is figuring out just what causes oftentimes small concentrations of smoke to flash into superfog. The talk will be highlighted with photos of superfog taken during prescribed burns and accidents, and superfog simulated by laboratory experiments at the University of California, Riverside.

Media Record Details

May 3, 2012
Gary Achtemeier

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Fire Communication & Education
Fire Effects
Ecological - First Order
Emissions
Smoke & Air Quality
Smoke & Populations

NRFSN number: 12856
FRAMES RCS number: 13929
Record updated: