diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker.yml b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e0ccfa77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+name: Docker
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - "master"
+      # - "dev-ci"
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [ "master" ]
+
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+
+  docker:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Set up Docker Buildx
+        uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3
+
+      - name: Build Docker Image
+        run: docker build -t forefire:latest .
+
+      - name: Check ForeFire version inside Docker
+        run: |
+          docker run --rm forefire:latest forefire -v
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 09970530..d3dc8cd2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -3,45 +3,55 @@ name: Linux
 on:
   push:
     branches:
-      - "master" 
-      - "dev-ci" 
+      - "master"
+      - "dev-ci"
   pull_request:
     branches: [ "master" ]
-
   workflow_dispatch:
 
 jobs:
-  
   build-native:
-
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - name: Checkout repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          lfs: true # Keep enabled as you use LFS
+
+      - name: Install Dependencies (Build + Test)
+        run: |
+          sudo apt-get update -y
+          # Install build tools
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends build-essential cmake
+          # Install NetCDF libraries (C++ legacy for build, C base for Python test)
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends libnetcdf-dev libnetcdf-c++4-dev
+          # Install Python and pip
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends python3 python3-pip
+          # Keep strace installed for potential future debugging
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends strace
+          # === ADD ANY OTHER ForeFire build dependencies (e.g. MPI) ===
+          # pip install Python test dependencies
+          pip3 install --no-cache-dir lxml xarray netCDF4
 
       - name: ForeFire build
         run: sudo bash ./install-forefire.sh -y
 
-      - name: Check version
+      - name: Check ForeFire version
         run: ./bin/forefire -v
 
-      # - name: Test
-      #   run: cd tests && bash run.bash
-
-
-  docker:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: build-native
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      
-      - name: Build Docker Image
-        run: docker build -t forefire:latest .
-      
-      - name: Test Docker Image
+      # --- KEEPING DIAGNOSTIC STEPS ---
+      - name: Add Build/Runtime Diagnostics
         run: |
-          # Run the container and check the version output
-          docker run --rm forefire:latest forefire -v
-
-      # - name: Run test inside Docker container
-      #   run: docker run --rm forefire:latest sh ./test-forefire.sh
\ No newline at end of file
+          echo "--- ForeFire Linkage ---"
+          ldd ./bin/forefire | grep -i 'netcdf' || echo "Warning: NetCDF library not dynamically linked?"
+          echo "--- Input data.nc Info ---"
+          ls -lh tests/runff/data.nc
+          # Install ncdump tool and check the format kind
+          sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends netcdf-bin
+          ncdump -k tests/runff/data.nc || echo "Could not check data.nc format"
+      # --- END DIAGNOSTIC STEPS ---
+
+      - name: Run 'runff' Test Script
+        run: |
+          cd tests/runff
+          bash ff-run.bash # Execute the complete test logic script
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/TESTING.md b/TESTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dabd6859
--- /dev/null
+++ b/TESTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+# Testing ForeFire
+
+This document describes how to run the automated tests for the ForeFire wildfire simulator. Tests are located within the `tests/` directory.
+
+## Test Dependencies
+
+Running the test verification scripts requires:
+
+*   **Python 3**
+*   **Python Libraries:** `lxml`, `xarray`, `netCDF4` (and their C dependencies like `libnetcdf-dev`).
+
+Install Python libraries via pip:
+```bash
+pip3 install lxml xarray netCDF4
+```
+
+## Running the Core Test (`runff`)
+
+The primary automated test, validated in our CI pipeline, is located in `tests/runff/`. This test verifies core simulation, save/reload functionality, and NetCDF/KML output generation against reference files.
+
+**To run this test manually:**
+
+1.  Ensure ForeFire is compiled (e.g., via `install-forefire.sh`).
+2.  Navigate to the test directory: `cd tests/runff`
+3.  Execute the test script: `bash ff-run.bash`
+
+**Test Logic:**
+
+The `ff-run.bash` script:
+1.  Runs an initial simulation (`real_case.ff`) generating NetCDF output (`ForeFire.0.nc`) and a reload file (`to_reload.ff`).
+2.  Runs a second simulation (`reload_case.ff`) using the reload file, which generates KML output (`real_case.kml`).
+3.  Uses Python scripts (`compare_kml.py`, `compare_nc.py`) to compare the generated KML and NetCDF files against reference files (`*.ref`) with numerical tolerance, accounting for minor floating-point variations.
+4.  Exits with status 0 on success, non-zero on failure.
+
+## Other Tests
+
+The `tests/` directory contains other subdirectories (`mnh_*`, `python`, `runANN`) for potentially testing specific features like coupled simulations or Python bindings. A main `tests/run.bash` script exists but is not currently fully validated in CI. Refer to specific subdirectories for details if needed.
+
+## Contributing
+
+Please see `CONTRIBUTING.md` for guidelines on contributing to ForeFire, including adding new tests. Report any issues via the repository's issue tracker.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/install-forefire.sh b/install-forefire.sh
index 9f847629..51844ed7 100644
--- a/install-forefire.sh
+++ b/install-forefire.sh
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ BIN_PATH="$PROJECT_ROOT/bin"
 mkdir -p build
 cd build
 cmake ../
-make
+make -j"$(nproc)"
 
 echo -e "\n=== ForeFire has been installed to $BIN_PATH ===\n"
 
diff --git a/tests/runff/compare_kml.py b/tests/runff/compare_kml.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ff69011c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/runff/compare_kml.py
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import sys
+import math
+import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
+import re
+
+# --- Configuration ---
+RELATIVE_TOLERANCE = 1e-5
+ABSOLUTE_TOLERANCE = 1e-8
+# ---
+
+def parse_coordinates(coord_string):
+    """Parses the KML coordinate string into a list of [lon, lat, alt] floats."""
+    points = []
+    raw_points = [p for p in re.split(r'\s+', coord_string.strip()) if p]
+    for point_str in raw_points:
+        try:
+            coords = [float(c) for c in point_str.split(',')]
+            if len(coords) == 2: coords.append(0.0)
+            if len(coords) == 3: points.append(coords)
+            else: print(f"Warning: Skipping invalid coordinate tuple: {point_str}", file=sys.stderr)
+        except ValueError: print(f"Warning: Skipping non-numeric coordinate data: {point_str}", file=sys.stderr)
+    return points
+
+def compare_coordinate_lists(list1, list2, rel_tol, abs_tol):
+    """Compares two lists of coordinates point by point with tolerance."""
+    if len(list1) != len(list2):
+        print(f"Error: Coordinate lists have different lengths ({len(list1)} vs {len(list2)})", file=sys.stderr)
+        return False
+    for i, (p1, p2) in enumerate(zip(list1, list2)):
+        if not math.isclose(p1[0], p2[0], rel_tol=rel_tol, abs_tol=abs_tol) or \
+           not math.isclose(p1[1], p2[1], rel_tol=rel_tol, abs_tol=abs_tol) or \
+           not math.isclose(p1[2], p2[2], rel_tol=rel_tol, abs_tol=abs_tol):
+            print(f"Error: Mismatch at coordinate point {i+1}:\n  Got: {p1}\n  Expected: {p2}", file=sys.stderr)
+            return False
+    return True
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if len(sys.argv) != 3:
+        print("Usage: python compare_kml.py <generated_kml_file> <reference_kml_file>", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(2)
+    file1_path, file2_path = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]
+    try:
+        tree1 = ET.parse(file1_path); root1 = tree1.getroot()
+        coords1_elements = root1.findall('.//{http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2}coordinates') or root1.findall('.//coordinates')
+        coords1_text = "".join([c.text for c in coords1_elements if c.text])
+        points1 = parse_coordinates(coords1_text)
+
+        tree2 = ET.parse(file2_path); root2 = tree2.getroot()
+        coords2_elements = root2.findall('.//{http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2}coordinates') or root2.findall('.//coordinates')
+        coords2_text = "".join([c.text for c in coords2_elements if c.text])
+        points2 = parse_coordinates(coords2_text)
+
+        if not points1 or not points2: print("Error: Could not extract coordinates.", file=sys.stderr); sys.exit(1)
+        if compare_coordinate_lists(points1, points2, RELATIVE_TOLERANCE, ABSOLUTE_TOLERANCE):
+            print(f"KML comparison successful: {file1_path} matches {file2_path} within tolerance.")
+            sys.exit(0)
+        else: print(f"KML comparison failed: {file1_path} differs from {file2_path}.", file=sys.stderr); sys.exit(1)
+    except ET.ParseError as e: print(f"Error parsing XML: {e}", file=sys.stderr); sys.exit(1)
+    except FileNotFoundError as e: print(f"Error: File not found - {e}", file=sys.stderr); sys.exit(1)
+    except Exception as e: print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}", file=sys.stderr); sys.exit(1)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/runff/compare_nc.py b/tests/runff/compare_nc.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5b74273d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/runff/compare_nc.py
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+# tests/runff/compare_nc.py
+import sys
+import xarray as xr
+
+# --- Configuration ---
+# Adjust tolerance as needed. Start with something reasonable.
+RELATIVE_TOLERANCE = 1e-5
+ABSOLUTE_TOLERANCE = 1e-8
+# ---
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    if len(sys.argv) != 3:
+        print("Usage: python compare_nc.py <generated_nc_file> <reference_nc_file>", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(2) # Exit code for usage error
+
+    file1_path = sys.argv[1]
+    file2_path = sys.argv[2]
+
+    ds1 = None # Initialize to None
+    ds2 = None # Initialize to None
+    try:
+        # Open datasets using xarray. Ensure they are closed afterwards.
+        ds1 = xr.open_dataset(file1_path, cache=False)
+        ds2 = xr.open_dataset(file2_path, cache=False)
+
+        # Compare the datasets numerically with tolerance
+        # This compares all data variables by default.
+        # Use `equal = ds1.equals(ds2)` for exact bit-wise comparison (usually too strict)
+        # Use `identical = ds1.identical(ds2)` for exact comparison including attributes etc. (also often too strict)
+        xr.testing.assert_allclose(ds1, ds2, rtol=RELATIVE_TOLERANCE, atol=ABSOLUTE_TOLERANCE)
+
+        print(f"NetCDF comparison successful: {file1_path} matches {file2_path} within tolerance.")
+        sys.exit(0) # Success
+
+    except FileNotFoundError as e:
+        print(f"Error: NetCDF file not found - {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1)
+    except AssertionError as e:
+        # This exception is raised by xr.testing.assert_allclose on failure
+        print(f"NetCDF comparison failed: {file1_path} differs from {file2_path}.", file=sys.stderr)
+        print(f"Details from xarray: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1) # Failure - Datasets are different
+    except Exception as e:
+        # Catch other potential errors (e.g., invalid NetCDF format)
+        print(f"An unexpected error occurred during NetCDF comparison: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+        sys.exit(1) # Failure
+    finally:
+        # Ensure datasets are closed to release file handles
+        if ds1 is not None:
+            ds1.close()
+        if ds2 is not None:
+            ds2.close()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/runff/ff-run.bash b/tests/runff/ff-run.bash
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7d8b40ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/runff/ff-run.bash
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+set -e
+
+GENERATED_KML="real_case.kml"
+REFERENCE_KML="real_case.kml.ref"
+GENERATED_NC="ForeFire.0.nc"
+REFERENCE_NC="ForeFire.0.nc.ref"
+GENERATED_RELOAD="to_reload.ff"
+
+# --- Cleanup previous run artifacts ---
+echo "Cleaning up previous test artifacts..."
+rm -f "$GENERATED_KML" "$GENERATED_NC" "$GENERATED_RELOAD"
+
+# --- Simulation ---
+FOREFIRE_EXE="../../bin/forefire"
+
+echo ""
+echo "Running ForeFire simulation (real_case)..."
+$FOREFIRE_EXE -i real_case.ff
+
+echo "Running ForeFire simulation (reload_case)..."
+if [ ! -f "$GENERATED_RELOAD" ]; then
+    echo "Error: State file '$GENERATED_RELOAD' needed for second run was not created."
+    exit 1
+fi
+$FOREFIRE_EXE -i reload_case.ff # <<<--- ADDED SECOND RUN
+
+# --- Verification ---
+echo ""
+echo "Verifying KML output..."
+# Make sure python3 is available and comparison script exists
+if ! command -v python3 &> /dev/null; then echo "Error: python3 required."; exit 1; fi
+if [ ! -f compare_kml.py ]; then echo "Error: compare_kml.py not found."; exit 1; fi
+
+python3 compare_kml.py "$GENERATED_KML" "$REFERENCE_KML"
+echo "KML verification passed."
+
+echo "Verifying NetCDF output..."
+if [ ! -f compare_nc.py ]; then echo "Error: compare_nc.py not found."; exit 1; fi
+# Check if the NetCDF file was created (likely by the first run)
+if [ ! -f "$GENERATED_NC" ]; then echo "Error: Expected NetCDF output file '$GENERATED_NC' not found."; exit 1; fi
+
+python3 compare_nc.py "$GENERATED_NC" "$REFERENCE_NC"
+echo "NetCDF verification passed."
+
+echo "All KML and NetCDF verifications passed for runff test."
+exit 0
\ No newline at end of file