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Background Existing fire spread models focus exclusively on wildland or urban fire simulation. Aims This study aims at an offline coupling of two fire spread models to enable a continuous simulation of a wildfire incident transitioning from wildland into wildland–urban interface (WUI) communities, evaluate the effects of wind input on simulation results and study the influence of building types on fire spread patterns. Methods The selected models are WRF-Fire, a wildland fire behaviour simulation platform, and SWUIFT, a model for fire spread inside the WUI. The 2021 Marshall Fire serves as the case study. A map of the fire’s timeline and location is generated using public information. Three simulation scenarios are analysed to study the effects of wind input resolution and building type on the predicted fire spread and damage. Key results The most accurate results are obtained using a high-resolution wind input and when incorporating different building types. Conclusions The offline coupling of models provides a reliable solution for fire spread simulation. Fire-resistant buildings likely helped limit community fire spread during the Marshall Fire. Implications The research is a first step toward developing simulation capabilities to predict the spread of wildfires within the wildland, WUI and urban environments. 

Abstract. Following the destructive Lahaina Fire in Hawaii, our team has modeled the wind and fire spread processes to understand the drivers of this devastating event. The results are in good agreement with observations recorded during the event. Extreme winds with high variability, a fire ignition close to the community, and construction characteristics led to continued fire spread in multiple directions. Our results suggest that available modeling capabilities can provide vital information to guide decision-making and emergency response management during wildfire events.