An Integrated Mathematical Framework for Wind Dynamics, Wildfire Spread, and Smoke Dispersion: Insights from a Case Study

• A coupled wind-fire-smoke simulation tool with a mathematical basis is presented. • The wind model is based on an asymptotic approximation of the Navier–Stokes equations. • The fire model is a simplified 2D physical approach based on conservation equations. • The smoke model is a non-reactive Eulerian multilayer air dispersion model. • The tool is integrable into any GIS through processes based on GDAL. A fire spread and smoke dispersion tool is presented. The tool is based on three coupled mathematical models developed by the research group on Numerical Simulation and Scientific Computation (SINUMCC) at the University of Salamanca. The high-definition wind field model HDWind based on asymptotic approximations of the Navier-Stokes equations feeds both the simplified physical fire spread model PhyFire, and the atmospheric dispersion model PhyNX, which is adapted to simulate the dispersion of the smoke cloud generated by the simulated fire. The whole tool is implemented in C++, using its own Finite Element library Neptuno++ which is adapted for parallel computing using OpenMP, allowing to keep a low computational cost. The tool incorporates functionalities of the GDAL library responsible for the pre-processing of input data and the post-processing of simulation results that makes it more robust, compatible within a GIS context, and also independent of any specific software. The coupled modeling framework has also been implemented within a GIS-based web platform for operational use by non-expert users. In this work, the potential of the presented tool is demonstrated through testing against a real fire that occurred in central Spain.