Simulation of forest fire spread based on a 3D-surface Cellular Automata Model

In order to study the forecast and simulation visualization of forest fire spread, the authors introduced Cellular Automata (CA) to forest fire modelling and spread simulation based on the existing forest fire spread models. A 3D-surface CA model was built, integrated with Digital Elevation Model(DEM), weather and tree species information. A framework was designed for data log, processing and application. A software system was developed to simulate forest fire in 3D space. It showed that the model could simulate forest fire under different conditions and rapidly predict a developing fire. Some perspectives in improving the model are also discussed.