Adapting map resolution to accomplish execution time constraints in wind field calculation

Forest fire propagation prediction is a key point to fight against such hazards. Several models and simulators have been developed to predict forest fire propagation. These models require input parameters such as digital elevation map, vegetation map, and other parameters describing the vegetation and meteorological conditions. Coupling wind field model and forest fire propagation model improves accuracy prediction, but increases significantly prediction time. This fact is critical since propagation prediction must be provided in advance to allow the control centers to manage firefighters in the best possible way. This work analyses WindNinja execution time, describes a WindNinja parallelisation based on map partitioning, determines the limitations of such methodology for large maps and presents an improvement based on adapting map resolution to accomplish execution time limitations. © The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.