Spatial analysis of risk for underground coal fire in Xinjiang, China

Three elements of combustion are the coal with self-ignition orientation, contacting with oxygen, and the external inducement. According to this, the evaluation indices were selected according to local condition and the index system for underground coal fire risk evaluation was established. The dataset of coal fire risk in Xinjiang were developed with the resolution of 1 km×1 km, the regional risk assessment methodology of underground coal fire was applied here. Evaluation results show that the coal fire risk is extremely high in the middle region, high in the south and lower in northwest. Overall, risk level in Tuha, Zhunnan and Wuqia coalfield are general higher, it takes second place in West Kunlun and Aerjing coalfield in the southern region, while risk level in Yili and Zhunbei coalfield in the northwest is lower. Accuracy evaluation shows that the precision can be above 80%. The satisfactory results can be provided as scientific basis for monitoring and extinguishing strategy formulation of underground coal fire in Xinjiang, China.