Tunnel Fire's Effects on Northern Arizona 2022

Abstract

Flagstaff, Arizona has a diverse landscape and despite the regular monsoons and snowfall, Flagstaff is still subject to fires. The Tunnel Fire started on April 17, 2022 and burned almost 20,000 acres just outside of Flagstaff’s city limits. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, authorities do not believe it was started by lightning. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) will be used to analyze the health of the landscape before and after the fire occurred. In addition, hydrological modeling was performed to model theoretical watersheds of Flagstaff and its greater area. Then several of the theoretical watersheds are used to define the study area around the fire as watersheds can play a role in the spread or containment of fires. Then further hydrological modeling was conducted on the defined study area. Data for this project was obtained by the National Map, Sentinel 2A, Landsat 8, and Landsat 9. Upon completion of this project, the difference in the NBR or the dNBR showed a fire scar on the landscape and the NDVI where the fire took place had its values decreased significantly. Climate change is leading to more forest fires and managing the forests is of upmost importance in preventing and minimizing damage from future fires as climate change affects the wind patterns, rain patterns, temperatures, and the overall health of the forests.