Resource dispatch optimization for firefighting based on genetic algorithm

Abstract

The number of forest fires has increased in recent years. Rising ambient temperatures and rising demographics are the main drivers of these disasters. Optimization has been widely applied in forest firefighting problems, allowing improvements in the effectiveness and speed of firefighters actions. In this work, a resource dispatch problem for forest firefighting (involving 7 resources to extinguish 20 ignitions) is presented. The main goal is to minimize the total burned area caused by the ignitions. To solve this work, a genetic algorithm (GA) adapted to this problem was used. Furthermore, a statistical analysis was carried out among several GA operators, crossover, mutation and selection, to verify which operators obtain the best results for this problem.