Breaking the Water Barrier
February 2025
Presented "Bushfire Sprinklers: Breaking the Water Barrier" at the Fire Protection Association of Australia's "Bushfire Sprinklers: the future" event held in Melbourne, Victoria....
WEEDS Info
WEEDS installation near Sacramento
This is an owner-built system in Northern California.
The video links show WEEDS operation under windy conditions.Photos and videos used with permission.
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WILDFIRE Magazine Article
Brand Dilution (Cover article); Wildfire Magazine; Mar. 2005
by Joseph W. Mitchell
Here are some references behind the article WEEDS: Firebrand Defense for the “Typical Catastrophe”
The ideas underlying the WEEDS concept, the proposition that...
Wildfire
WUI Encyclopedia Article
Wrote chapter “ Radiant Heat ” in the Encyclopedia of Wildfires and Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fires .
Wildland Fire Still an Unsolved Problem
SOURCE: RAMONA SENTINEL Michael Scott-Blair’s two articles in the July 9th Sentinel on retired Chief Steve Butler’s efforts to raise fire awareness and on his fire equipment company raise a number of important issues that people living in the San...
California Office of the State Fire Marshal Task Force on Wildfire Protection Building Construction
Assisted the State Fire Marshal’s Office in establishing a framework for testing ignition-resistant construction proposed for the 2010 update to the California Building Code, Chapter 7A. Final draft 5/21/2009. Chapter 7A Task Force Recommendations ...
Power Lines and Wildfire
14th annual International Association of Fire Safety Science Symposium
October 2023
I attended the 14th annual International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) symposium to present my analysis of California utility wildfire and risk models:
Analysis of utility wildfire risk assessments and mitigations in...
The CPUC Risk-Based Decision-Making Framework
July 2023
As part of the S-MAP proceeding I was recently invited to give a presentation on tail risk and consequences for utility risk planning by the CPUC's Safety Policy Division. This is shown on the CPUC YouTube channel below.
Tail risk and...
Reviewing Utility Wildfire Mitigation Plans - 2023
By California statute, electrical utilities must provide a complete Wildfire Mitigation Plan every three years, with yearly updates. The WMPs are submitted to the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety (OEIS) and then to the California Public...