Pyrosketchology
Pyrosketchology is an approach for building awareness of the fire environment through observations, sketching and nature journaling practices. The book is intended as a guide to create deeper awareness and educational support for fire-adapted living. If you are an educator looking for creative outdoor exercises, a nature enthusiast looking for interesting information about the fire environment, a property owner looking for ways to understand and evaluate your fire environment or a firefighter/practitioner looking to enhance your observation skill this book is for you.
Each chapter of the book is available in a free PDF format that can be printed only for individual educational use.
Book illustrations may be licensed, with a small fee, for limited educational and not-for-profit purposes. Use the contact form to discuss and request use.

Thank You
I am so grateful for the support and assistance with developing this book. Thank you Marian Kile for your editing support. Thank you Coleen Haskell and others for your fire and weather technical review. Thank you John Muir Laws and others for your review and support on the nature journaling and visual elements.
Fire Environment
I define the fire environment as the mix of elements that influence fire combustion and behavior in the “natural” landscape. Weather, topography and fuels (vegetation) are the primary elements of the fire behavior triangle which is a large focus of this book, but I also include the broader topics of fire seasons, fire ignitions, fire mitigation, fire effects and fire regimes as a means to unfold the complexities and deeper understanding of fire.
Nature Journaling
Nature journaling is the personal practice of documenting nature observations. This is not a new approach but something that has been used by many scientists, explorers, naturalists and artists throughout time. We may have new technologies that allow us to document observations and track information but the science has shown that in-nature and hands-on practices are a better learning approach.
I learned about nature journaling from John Muir Laws, an artists, educator and naturalist that has written several books. He also leads a number of annual conferences and monthly workshops, along with social media sites to support educators and nature journalers. He has developed simple approaches to build curiosity and connections with nature, integrating deeper learning practices. He recommends using a mix of pictures, numbers and words to describe your observations. He also includes key observation prompts such as “I notice…”, “I wonder…”, and “It reminds me of…”
Sensemaking & Situational Awareness
One of the goals of pyrosketchology is to help develop a better sense of place, which includes fire. Sensemaking is something we develop naturally as we interact with the places where we live, work and play. Our sense of place is usually framed around our values, experiences and education. Thus, our sense of place can be biased and lacking in ecological connections and the context of fire. Nature journaling is a helpful tool in expanding our sense of place through curiosity, questions and detailed observations.
Another focus of the book is on developing situational awareness (SA). SA is most often associated with the observations and activities that can inform us about some level of threat, hazard and or risk. People working in science laboratories, zoos, fishing boats or fire management have specific situational awareness considerations for their activities. Consider how someone that is knowledgeable about wolf behavior will know that when the ears are pinned back against the head, there is a higher level of threat. By learning these cues they can decide what to do next. By learning about the observations and cues pertaining to fire hazards and risks we can develop ways to adapt to fire as a natural part of the landscape.
SA is developed through keen awareness and the ongoing attention to environmental cues that can help us predict and respond to threats. A part of this process is to compare past and present observations and to analyze trends that can help you predict how situations may unfold over time. In the fire environment we can use some of the fire behavior principles and environmental indicators as a baseline to help us make general estimates for potential fire behaviors and hazard levels. The foundational observations occur before a fire event, with the during and after fire observations used to compare with the baseline indicators. In the following chart, I have summarized the fire sensemaking and situational awareness elements.

Chapter 1: Introduction
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Fire Environment
Nature Journaling
Sensory Engagement
Sensemaking & Situational Awareness
Analyzing Observations & Reactions
Meaningful Metadata
Fire Behavior Indicators
Journaling Emotions
References

Chapter 2: Fire Weather
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Heat & Humidity
Sensing Air Temperature
Insect Thermometers
Humidity in Shades of Blue
Heat Transfer—Dark & Light Landscapes
Temperature & Air Pressure
Jet Stream Winds
Cloud Families, Levels & Movements
Wind Shear
Cloud & Wind Journaling Exercise
Journaling Clouds at a Distance
Atmospheric Stability & Instability
Stable Atmosphere
Unstable Atmosphere
Weather Fronts
Warm Front Summary
Cold Front Summary
High Ridge Breakdown
Journaling Weather Fronts- A Time Series
Weather Front Maps
Thunderstorms
Lightning
Key Thunderstorm Observations
Journaling Thunderstorms
Orographic Clouds & Winds
Diurnal Terrain Winds
Land & Sea Breezes
Open & Filtered Winds
Funneled Winds—Forest Chimneys
Formed by Winds—Past Winds
Griggs-Putnam Wind Deformation Index
Felt Winds—Beaufort Wind Force
Journaling Wind Force Observations
Wind Situational Awareness
Positional Awareness
References

Chapter 3: Topography
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Elevation
Slope Aspect
Slope Angle
Biometric Slope Estimates
Terrain Feature
Landscape Distance & Depth

Chapter 4: Fire Fuels
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fuel Groups—Fire Carrying Fuels
Horizontal & Vertical Fuels Arrangement
Forestry Biometric Measurements
Tree Canopy Cover
Fuel Beds
Fine Fuels
Dead Fuel Moisture- Time Lags
Estimating Fuel Moisture
Dead Fuel Moisture Snap Test
Pine Cone Indicators
Leaf Shape & Fuel Bed Flammability
Live Fuel Moisture & Vapor Pressure Deficit
Multi-Sensory Observations
Detailed Fuels Observations
Combining Fire Environment Observations

Chapter 5: Fire Seasons
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fire Seasons
Seasonal Sunlight
Seasonal Shadows
Fire Season Starting Conditions
Fire Season Ending Conditions
Seasonal Weather Systems & Patterns
North American (Southwest) Monsoon
Lightning
Journaling Seasonal Lightning Observations
Lightning Scars
Other Fire Season Scenarios
California Thermal Low
Great Basin High
Weather Wheel & Fire Trends
Temperature & Climate Graph
Journaling Seasonal Temperatures
Journaling Seasonal Winds
Journaling Seasonal Rain
Observing Fire Season Rain Events
Combining Weather Elements
Vapor Pressure Deficit & Phenology
Energy Release Component
Journaling Phenology
Seasonal Fuels Curing
Seasonal Sensory Observations

Chapter 6: Fire Ignitions & Prevention
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fire Ignitions
Fire Prevention
Journaling Fire History
Landscape Patches & Patterns
Burn Scars
Lighting Ignition Indicators
Human-Caused Ignitions
Campfire Cause Indicators
Fire Cause Consequences
Vehicle & Equipment Cause Indicators
Fireworks Cause Indicators
Cigarette & Match Cause Indicators
Journaling When Ignitions Occur
Fuel Bed Factors
Weather Factors
Journaling Ignition Factors
Journaling Campfire Safety
Journaling Potential Fire Areas
Estimating the Fire Origin Area
Fire Ignition & Prevention Story
References

Chapter 7: Wildfire Mitigation & Readiness
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Fire Mitigation
Collaborative Planning
Visual Vocabulary
Goals & Objectives
Hazard Mitigation Treatments
Home Defensible Space
Fire Embers
Plant Fire Hazard Traits
Mitigation Measurements
Defensible Space Measurements
Journaling Defensible Space
Journaling Ember Sources & Nests
Fire Mitigation Timing
Grassland Curing & Treatment Timing
Fire Mitigation Calendar
Stripped-down Story
Journaling the Story Exercise
Phased Story Panels
Journaling Goat Grazing
Goat Sketching Tips
Wildfire Readiness
Readiness Calendar
Wildfire Evacuation Planning
Journaling Your Evacuation Route
References

Chapter 8: Fire & Smoke
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Fire Triangle
Visual Inspiration
When & Where to Journal Active Fire Pyrolysis & Combustion
Journaling Flame Shape & Color Heat & Light Transfer
Other Sensory Observations Journaling Campfire Combustion Flame Colors
Fire Acoustics
Landscape/Wildland Fire
Fire Anatomy
Fire Behaviors
Fire Measurements
Flame Length
Fire Intensity
Fire Rate of Spread
Fire Shape—Origin Area
Fire Shaped by Wind Speed
Visualizing Fire
Basic Fire Types & Behaviors
Ground Fires
Surface Fires
Intensifying Fire Behaviors
Running
Torching
Spotting
Flare-up
Crowning
Fire Whirls
Extreme Fire Behaviors
Eruption
Vorticity-Channeled-Lateral Fire
Fire Storms
Ember Storms
Conflagrations & Mega Fires
Fire Tornados
Smoke Observations
Smoke Color Indicators
Smoke Consistency, Volume & Shape Indicators
Smoke Plume Height Indicators
Smoke Plume Size & Shape
Smoke Plume Shape & Weather
Journaling Smoke Observations
Journaling Smoke Comparisons
Journaling Smoke & Air Quality
Air Quality Sketches
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed Fire Anatomy
Fire Ignition Test
Prescribed Fire Ignition Tactics
Opportunities for Journaling Prescribed Fire
Prescribed Fire Journal Template
Sketching a Silhouette Person & Fire
Other Prescribed Fire Journaling Approaches
Fire Data Graphs
Other Wildfire Journaling Approaches
Journaling Wildfire Smoke & Air Quality
Journaling Social & Emotional Observations
References

Chapter 9: Fire Severity, Patterns & Effects
Fire Severity
Fire Severity Maps
Online Burn Severity Map Viewing
Sketching Landscape Burn Severity
Observing & Estimating Fire Severity
Vegetation & Soil Severity
Tall to Intermediate Sized Tree Severity
Small Tree to Tall Bush Severity
Tiny Tree, Shrub & Grass Severity
Ground & Soil Fire Severity
Ground Hydrophobicity
Watershed Effects
Water Color
Journaling Fire Severity Observations
Fire Severity Journal Template
Fire Patterns Indicator
FPI Overview
Landscape Pattern Indicators
Fire Perimeter Shape
Scene Pattern Indicators
Tree Transitions
Dark & Light Areas
Grass Area Patterns
Ash Color
Close-up Pattern Indicators
Grass Stems
White Ash
Angle of Char
Protection
Foliage Freeze & Angle of Scorch
Staining
Spalling
Collective Tree FPIs
Collective Surface FPIs
Optional FPI Symbols & Codes
Optional FPI Journal Template
Fire Effects—Ecological Gains & Losses
First & Second Order Effects
Habitat Zones & Escape Strategies
Journaling Fire Effects
Cold Canyon Fire Journals--Green Shoots, and Silver Linings
Tree Mortality Phases
References

Chapter 10: Ecoregions & Fire Regimes
Table of Contents:
Ecoregions
Journaling Ecoregions
Fire Regimes
Fire Size
Journaling Fire Size
Fire Types & Severities
Fire Complexity
Patchiness
Journaling Patchiness
Patch Size
Fire Frequency & Return Intervals
Journaling Fire Frequency & Return Intervals
Tree Rings & Fire Frequency
Fire Synchrony
Fire Seasonality
Climate Trends & Seasonality
Journaling Fire Seasonality
Landscape Patterns
Ecological Succession
Journaling Ecological Changes
Journaling Landscape Patterns
Seasonal Patterns—Tree Phenology
Observing Tree Stress, Injury & Death
Observing Tree & Forest Recovery
Plant Traits & Fire Regimes
Tree Foliage Traits
Journaling Foliage Flammability Traits
Bark & Branch Traits
Journaling Bark & Branch Traits
Root Structures & Sprouting Traits
Journaling Root & Sprout Traits
Vegetation Communities & Fire Regimes
Multi-Sensory Observations
Fire Followers
Journaling Fire Followers
Animals & Fire Regimes
Ecoacoustics
Journaling Acoustic Observations
Sound Maps
Humans & Fire Regimes
Journaling Human-Fire Relationships
References