Predictions & Analysis of Wildfire Spread

Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center

Welcome to San José State University's Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center (WIRC). We are a National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) and an official Campus Center and Institute within the California State University system.

Our core mission is to conduct high-impact interdisciplinary wildfire research to help the world manage a growing crisis of increasing wildfire frequency and intensity. Our faculty pursue fundamental and applied research on both the physical and social aspects of wildfire science. Together with our industry and university partners, WIRC develops new prediction and observational tools to better understand extreme fire behavior in a changing climate.

Our Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) projects are collaborative endeavors funded by our Industry Advisory Board (IAB) Members. Our goal is to develop new prediction and observational tools and informational frameworks that help our IAB members address the wildfire crisis and keep our local and national communities safer.

Research With Impact

FireBench

FireBench is a pioneering, open-source framework developed by the WIRC modeling team to evaluate and cross-compare complex wildfire models. By standardizing diverse data sets into an intuitive, unified system, FireBench helps decision-makers and industry partners clearly understand which wildfire models to trust for operational forecasting, risk assessment, and hazard mitigation.

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Wildfire Hazards & Resident Behavior

Residents within the wildland-urban interface often do not mitigate their properties to reduce wildfire risk. Four projects within WIRC investigate what mitigations matter most, how many residents are mitigating, and if not, why not. This information equips government agencies, insurers, utility companies, and policymakers with actionable data needed to protect communities.

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International Map of Collaborations

  1. San José State University

  2. Worcester Polytechnic University

  3. University of Oregon

  4. University of Colorado, Denver

  5. University of Coimbra

  6. Polytechnic University of Catalonia

  7. University of Corsica

  8. Gdansk University of Technology & Institute of Meteorology
    and Water Management

  9. National Observatory of Athens

  10. University of New South Wales, Sydney

  11. University of Canterbury, Christchurch

WIRC Research Thrusts

  • Two people holding weather equipment while watching a wildfire

    Fire Weather

  • Image of field on fire with visible phone lines in the background

    Fire Behavior

  • Image of helicopter spraying materials below them

    Wildfire Management & Policy

  • Aerial view of a wildfire

    Climate Change & Wildfire Risk

  • Ground level view of a wildfire with smoke

    WUI Fire Spread and Impact

  • Fire Fighter Saftey

Research Thrust Descriptions