M-bar Technologies and Consulting, LLC
Joseph W. Mitchell, Ph. D. 760-703-7521

For information on WEEDS - the Wind-Enabled Ember-Dousing System -

Photos courtesy of Nanette Martin

“Power Lines and Catastrophic Wildland Fire in Southern California”
Presentation to the Fire & Materials 2009 Conference, San Francisco CA, Jan 26, 2009

Paper PowerPoint Presentation

Presentation on WEEDS and comparison to other structure protection techniques

Prepared for the Ramona Fire Recovery Center, 8/12/2008

MGRA Phase 2 Testimony to the Califonia Public Utilities Commission on San Diego Gas & Electric's Proposed "Sunrise Powerlink" Transmission Line
- The analysis for MGRA continues, with powerline contributions from the October 2007 fires, an anomalously high number of power line fires in San Diego County, implications of another 230 kV fire in 2007, and some inconsistent SDG&E wind calculations.
Submitted 3/12/2008. Published online at the request of the MGRA.

MGRA Phase 1 Testimony to the Califonia Public Utilities Commission on San Diego Gas & Electric's Proposed "Sunrise Powerlink" Transmission Line
- An analysis of powerline fires and the wind events that both cause them and make them more destructive than other wildland fires. Submitted 5/31/2007.

Union Tribune Op-ed on SD County's "Shelter-in-Place" Guidelines - May 5, 2007

Presentation to the Fire & Materials 2007 Conference (web version, only works with IE):
Powerpoint presentation for download
Accompanying Article (.pdf) Extended Abstract (.pdf)
("Firebrand Protection as the Key Design Element for Structure Survival during Catastrophic Wildland Fires", Co-authored with Oren Patashnik and containing statistical results on curved-tile roofing. Presented Jan. 31, 2007 in San Francisco)

Presentation to the Third International Fire Ecology and Management Conference (web version, only works with IE)

(Powerpoint presentation for download)    -  Presented in San Diego on November 17, 2006 in the Wildland-Urban Interface Track.

The Fire Safety Journal  - An academic article on WEEDS has been published in the September 2006 edition (Subscription required for full download, available free of charge at many university libraries.)

WILDFIRE Magazine Article - Here are some references for the WEEDS article in the March 2005 edition

Home&fire Magazine - Spring 2005 edition contains WEEDS: Wind Enabled Ember Dousing System. p. 32

Engineering a Miracle - the story of WEEDS (published in The San Diego Reader, April 29, 2004)

WEEDS Facts

Wildland Fire Links

For more information, contact




M-bar Technologies and Consulting, LLC
19412 Kimball Valley Rd.
Ramona, CA 92065
760-703-7521


Last update 2/7/2009