Learn About Phoenix RapidFire, a Computer Program Used by Australian Firefighters to Predict the Path of Wildfires
Learn about a computer program used by Australian firefighters to predict the paths of wildfires.
© University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
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© University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A discussion of high-tech wildfire management in Victoria, Australia.
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© University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A discussion of the languages of Indigenous Australians.
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© University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about the use of plants in green architecture.
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© University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn how a white roof helps cool a building in hot sunny weather.
Transcript
A 42 degree day at the height of a typical Australian summer. A fast moving grass fire is bearing down on the 350 residents of Moyston, an idyllic country town northwest of Melbourne. In the city, 200 kilometers away, analysts at the emergency management center are using Phoenix RapidFire, a computer program developed with the University of Melbourne to predict the path of wildfires. This is the moment the battle to control the fire was won. The precise location for the bombing, as predicted by Phoenix RapidFire, created a break for fire crews on the ground and enabled them to contain the blaze by nightfall.