Marshall Fire Analysis

0.1 Overview

The Marshall Fire was a devastating wildfire that occurred in Boulder County, Colorado on December 30, 2021. Driven by extreme winds, it became the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, destroying over 1,000 structures.

This project analyzes the Marshall Fire using:

  • HRRR Weather Data: High-Resolution Rapid Refresh wind fields
  • Landfire Data: Fuel models, terrain slope, and aspect
  • Fire Perimeter: Official burn perimeter from Boulder County

0.2 Key Facts

Attribute Value
Start Date December 30, 2021
Location Boulder County, CO
Ignition Point -105.231°, 39.955°
Cause Downed power lines (wind)

0.3 Fire Perimeter

Code 
using Pkg
Pkg.activate(joinpath(@__DIR__, ".."))
Pkg.instantiate()

using MarshallWildfire
using GLMakie

output_dir = joinpath(@__DIR__, "images")
mkpath(output_dir)

path = joinpath(output_dir, "marshall_fire_perimeter.png")
if !isfile(path)
    @info "Generating marshall_fire_perimeter.png"
    MarshallWildfire.plot_marshall_perimeter(; output_dir)
else
    @info "marshall_fire_perimeter.png already exists"
end

Marshall Fire Perimeter

0.4 Perimeter with Buildings and Power Lines

Code 
path = joinpath(output_dir, "marshall_fire_with_buildings.png")
if !isfile(path)
    @info "Generating marshall_fire_with_buildings.png"
    MarshallWildfire.plot_perimeter_with_buildings(; output_dir)
else
    @info "marshall_fire_with_buildings.png already exists"
end

Marshall Fire with Buildings and Power Lines

0.5 Damage Assessment

Code 
path = joinpath(output_dir, "damage_assessment.png")
if !isfile(path)
    @info "Generating damage_assessment.png"
    MarshallWildfire.plot_damage_assessment(; output_dir)
else
    @info "damage_assessment.png already exists"
end

Damage Assessment