fire weather and fuels icon Fire Weather and Fuels Data and Guidance Matrix

This matrix provides information about sources for data and guidance related to Fire Weather, Fuels, and Fire Danger. The resource is part of the Advanced Fire Weather Forecasters Course (S-591) and offers links to observations, forecasts, and assessments useful in determining fire weather conditions across small and large spatial scales.

How to use the matrix

Click the  +  and  -  boxes to display and hide various information contained in boxes, rows, and columns.

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Resource Product/Source
 Type (Obs vs Modeled) Time Scale

Spatial Scale

Limitations

 

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Geostationary Satellite - NOAA, NASA

Visible & infrared imagery
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Visible & infrared imagery

  • Products: Visible and infrared imagery of surface and atmosphere, including vegetation, fires, smoke, and atmospheric properties

  • Source: NOAA, NASA

  • Application: Fire detection, smoke tracking, land cover/vegetation products

Further Information
See Multispectral Satellite Applications: Monitoring the Wildland Fire Cycle, 2nd Edition

 - 

  • Observed and inferred

 
  • 30 to 60 minutes
  • 2.5 to 10 km per pixel

 
  • limited high latitude coverage, very high orbit

 

Polar-orbiting Satellite

Visible & infrared imagery
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Visible & infrared imagery

  • Products: Visible & infrared imagery of surface and atmosphere, including vegetation, fires, smoke, and atmospheric properties

  • Source: NOAA

  • Applications: Fire detection, smoke tracking, land cover/vegetation analysis

Further Information
See Multispectral Satellite Applications: Monitoring the Wildland Fire Cycle, 2nd Edition

 - 
  • Observed and inferred
  • Varies (global coverage 4 times/day)
  • Varies with instrument but often ~1 km
  • sub-orbital tracks do not repeat on daily basis, some gaps in geographic coverage
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R		 Automated Observations
Weather observations from networks across the U.S.
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Weather observations from networks across the U.S.

  • Products: Winds, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation

  • Source: RAWS, ROMAN, MesoWest

  • Application: Real-time and 24-hour surface weather observations for fire weather forecasting

 - 

  • Observed
  • 3 to 10 minutes, up to 30-day history
  • 9000+ stations over U.S. 
  • Data from range of sources, instrument siting less than ideal for some observations 
SPC National
Fire Weather
Outlook
Fire Weather Outlooks & Assessments
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Fire Weather Outlooks & Assessments

  • Products: Fire weather outlooks identifying critical areas nationwide
  • Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center

  • Application: Identification of critical fire areas for present and future time periods

 - 

  • Observed
  • 1 day to 3-8 day outlooks, updated daily
  • Varies
  • Data and climatology on which outlooks are based are not reported
SPC National
Fire Weather
Maps

Forecast maps of fire weather parameters
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Forecast maps of fire weather parameters
  • Products: Composite maps of model predictions of weather parameters

  • Source: NOAA SPC

  • Application: Weather predictions for fire weather forecasting

 - 

  • Modeled
  • 4 times/day
  • 12 km and larger
  • Models not always 100% accurate
Predictive Services
National & regional fire weather assessments & outlooks
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

National & regional fire weather assessments & outlooks

  • Products: Fire weather assessments and outlooks from Geographic Area Coordination Center meteorologists and fire personnel

  • Source: NIFC, GACCs

  • Application: Estimates of fire potential

 - 

  • Inferred
  • Daily to seasonal
  • varies
  • Data not available for small spatial scales
National Weather Service
Precipitation Analysis
Observed precipitation & comparisons to average
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Observed precipitation & comparisons to average

  • Products: One-day and archived reports of precipitation for the entire U.S. and individual states

  • Source: NOAA National Weather Service

  • Application: View recent precipitation and departures from normal

 - 

  • Observed
  • Daily to yearly
  • 4 km areas
  • Data subject to inaccuracies from radar interpretation and precipitation gauges
U.S. Drought Monitor
Current & archived drought information for the U.S.
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Current & archived drought information for the U.S.

  • Products: Synthesis of multiple indices for drought conditions, plotted for entire U.S., regions, and states
  • Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

  • Application: View current and archived drought and drought impact information

 - 

  • Observed
  • Daily
  • County
  • Does not report local detail and drought impact information

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 Wildland Fire
Assessment
System (WFAS)
National maps of fuel moisture, greenness, & related info
(For details, click the "+" button.) + 

National maps of fuel moisture, greenness, & related info

  • Products: Dead fuel moisture, live shrub moisture, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) greenness, departure from greenness

  • Source: USFS

  • Application: Assessments of fuel dryness & susceptibility to fire

 

 - 

  • Modeled, inferred
  • Daily to weekly
  • 1 km
  • Gives estimates based on "average" conditions
NFDRS Fuel Models
Fuel model map for the contiguous U.S.
(For details, click the "+" button.) + 

Fuel model map for the contiguous U.S.

  • Products: Map showing distribution of 17 fuel models used to assess Fire Danger Rating for areas across the contiguous U.S.

  • Source: WFAS/USFS

  • Application: Fire danger assessment based on land cover data

 - 

  • Observed, but with high degree of interpolation
  • Decadal
  • Interpolated from 1-km plots
  • Interpolation across large geographic areas, not good for small scale or for assessing fire behavior
Landscape Fire and Resource
Management Planning Tools
Project (LANDFIRE)
High resolution dataset of several landscape variables
(For details, click the "+" button.) + 

High resolution dataset of several landscape variables

  • Products: Map viewer and GIS raster data files that include vegetation type. Entire CONUS by end of 2008, AK and HI by end of 2009.

  • Source: Dept. of Interior agencies (USGS) and USFS

  • Application: Input to GIS and fire behavior modeling software programs. Primarily used to identify priority areas for fuels reduction projects.
    • - 
  • Observed, but with high degree of interpolation
  • Varied
  • 30 m
  • Requires some familiarity with GIS or fire behavior modeling software to be most useful
National Fuel
Moisture
Database
(NFMD)
Fuel moisture database for sampled live and dead fuels
(For details, click the "+" button.) + 

Fuel moisture database for sampled live and dead fuels.

  • Products: Graphical and tabular fuel moisture samples

  • Source: GACC

  • Application: Assessments of fuel dryness and susceptibility to fire

 - 

  • Observed
  • Varies
  • Varies
  • Data reporting not always consistent across regions or over time
Growing Season Index
Index to measure canopy growth and dormancy
(For details, click the "+" button.) + 

Index to measure canopy growth and dormancy

  • Products: CONUS and regional maps and downloadable raster data of Growing Season Index, user-selectable point data

  • Source: WFAS/USFS

  • Application: Monitoring trends in canopy growth, provides insight during the green up period

 - 

  • Observed
  • Daily (21-day running average)
  • point-source data for CONUS
  • Interpolation across large geographic areas
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E 		Wildland Fire
Assessment
System (WFAS)
Indices related to drought and other fire variables
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Indices related to drought and other fire variables

  • Products: Lightning ignition, Haines Index, Keetch-Byram Drought Index, Palmer Index

  • Source: USFS

  • Application: Indices for determining likelihood of fire ignition, spread, and intensity

 - 

  • Modeled
  • Daily
  • Products interpolated to 1 km or 10 km
  • Does not provide information at very small spatial scales
National Fire
Danger Rating
System
Observed & forecast fire danger nationwide
(For details, click the "+" button.)

 +

Observed & forecast fire danger nationwide

  • Products: Observed & forecast fire danger

  • Source: WFAS/USFS

  • Application: Systematic national view of Fire danger rating based on weather, fuel types, and fuel moisture

 - 

  • Modeled
  • Daily
  • 10 km
  • Interpolation across regions with low station density
Fire Behavior
Prediction
System (FBPS)
Models for predicting fire behavior
(For details, click the "+" button.)  + 

Models for predicting fire behavior

  • Products: fire spread rate, fuel consumption, fire intensity, fire description

  • Source: Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory

  • Application: A
    method for simulating fire behavior and spread using fuels models as input

 - 

  • Modeled
  • Fire behavior analysts can run over time scales needed
  • Varies
  • Output only as good as fuel models used as input, must utilize on-site observations

 

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