Wildfire spread simulation and visualization in virtual environments

Wildfire spread is a complicated phenomenon that affected by many factors, such as terrain, vegetation, and weather conditions. This paper presents a wildfire-spread simulation and visualization method. A simulation system was developed based on OSG (Open Scene Graph) and FARSITE (Fire Area Simulator). The system can visualize a realistic 3D wildfire scenario considering the influence factors. Wildfire is rendered by particle system, while LOD (Level Of Detail) and curve morphing technique are used to animate the flame and smoke under conditions of slope and wind. During the propagation of the procedural wildfire, the appearances of burned plants are changed automatically. The wildfire spread is visualized according to the calculations from the wildfire simulation engine. The users can not only manage the objects such as fire lines, fire-fighting vehicles and water-bombers, but also assess the damage.