UBC researcher to go national with wildfire smoke forecasting

Extreme weather expert Roland Stull has received $325,000 from the Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP) to expand his work on forest fire prediction and tracking.

Stull and his team of researchers at the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (EOAS) have spent the past six years running the BlueSky Western Canada Wildfire Smoke Forecasting System. Support from CSSP will expand BlueSky’s reach, allowing full Canadian coverage of wildfire smoke forecasts.

BlueSky can predict extreme particulate matter air pollution from wildfires up to 60 hours in advance. The ability to predict and track forest fire fallout assists health agencies and helps determine evacuation decisions.

The BlueSky-Canada wildfire smoke predictions will be a collaboration between Natural Resources Canada, British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment, Parks Canada and UBC.