Fascinated by Fire Science

FireWise programs help homeowners create landscaping that reduces the threat to their homes in the event of wildfire. One of Smith’s current projects digs into the science behind FireWise.

“We live in a fire-prone landscape,” Smith says. “How can you select plants that will give the firefighters more time to save your house?”

In UI’s combustion laboratory, Smith has been testing how quickly different plant varieties burn and how easily they spread flames. He is working in partnership with Idaho FireWise and its national counterpart, which currently make recommendations about planting, but have limited data to support them. Smith’s work makes FireWise more “science-smart,” he said.

Idaho FireWise will establish demonstration gardens at the UI Arboretum and Botanical Garden and the Pitkin Forest Nursery using Smith’s findings, and will share this new knowledge with Idaho’s 12 other demonstration gardens.

“As we learn things in the lab, we’ll let them know which plants to keep,” Smith said.

Just as homeowners can choose fire-friendly plants, forest managers can use science to guide their decisions as they replant forests after wildfires.

Working with Daniel Johnson and Crystal Kolden in the College of Natural Resources, Smith is studying how fire intensity affects tree saplings.

“People have been assuming that when fire affects trees and plants, either it’s dead or it’s unaffected,” he said. “We’re showing it’s more than that.”

The researchers have found that young trees grow differently when they’re exposed to fires of varying intensity. The response varies by species — for example, lodgepole pines can withstand a “minimum dose” of fire, but western larch suffers with any fire exposure at all.

This research can help forest managers choose to plant resilient trees that can withstand periodic fires — which benefits them economically by reducing the cost of replanting.

In addition, managers who use prescribed burns to reduce dry fuels in forests can adjust the burns’ intensities to protect saplings.

“They can keep the fire risk down without killing their crop,” Smith says.

Smith’s third ongoing project sounds more esoteric: postdoctoral researcher Kara Yedinak, mechanical engineering Professor Michael Anderson and Smith are collaborating on a project to measure the noises different tree species make when they’re on fire.

“We all know that when fire burns, we hear snap, crackle and pop,” Smith said. “Can we learn, can we get information, from the snap, crackle and pop?”

Their work so far has found there are in fact distinct differences among species. When trees are stressed from lack of water, the sounds change.

This is foundational research for now, but Smith envisions future firefighters using sound to characterize fires that are obscured by smoke or heavy brush.

“If you can actually get at how the fire’s burning without looking at it, that would really improve firefighter safety,” he said. “It’s adding another level of information to wildfire science.”

Smith’s dedication to research extends beyond his own work. As CNR’s director of research and graduate studies and director of the Idaho Fire Initiative for Research and Education, he helps UI prepare future scientists and natural resource professionals.

One new project brings research outside the traditional university structure: In partnership with Northwest tribes, Salish-Kootenai College and rural Idaho towns, Smith is working to create place-based master’s degree programs that would allow people to stay in their communities while gaining hands-on research experience.

Smith has a list of other research and outreach goals for the coming decade, too — and he knows UI is the right place to make them a reality.

“We have that supportive environment here. There isn’t the stress of ‘You can only do this.’ You can explore what you’re interested in,” he says. “I made the decision many years ago that I would pursue research that interests me, which is really a wide range of things.”