An official website of the United States government. Here's how you know.

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

NCAR and GSL scientists focus on Lahaina fire to improve prediction of wildland-urban fires

Maui community of Lahaina burned by wildfireResearch may help with firefighting, evacuations

Scientists have successfully applied a pair of advanced computer models to simulate last year’s wildfire that devastated the Hawaiian town of Lahaina. The development could lay the groundwork for more detailed predictions of wildfires that advance into towns and cities, eventually helping with firefighting efforts and safer evacuations as well as the design of wildfire-resistant communities. GSL’s Eric James was co-author on the article. Read the full article by the National Center for Atmospheric Research here.

Journal: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Title: “Brief communication: The Lahaina Fire disaster – how models can be used to understand and predict wildfires”

Authors: Timothy W. Juliano, Fernando Szasdi-Bardales, Neil P. Lareau, Kasra Shamsaei, Branko Kosović, Negar Elhami-Khorasani, Eric P. James, and Hamed Ebrahimian

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Last Update: March 22, 2024

Our Mission

Lead research and directed development through the transition of environmental data, models, products, tools, and services to support commerce, protect life and property, and promote a scientifically literate public.

Research Areas

Organizational Excellence, Earth System Prediction, Advanced Technologies, and Decision Support are the foundation to achieving the GSL Grand Challenge: Deliver actionable global storm-scale prediction and environmental information through advanced technologies to serve society.

Global Systems Laboratory