Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS)

Background Information

Overview
Fire Weather Index (FWI) system
Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System

Tools

Great Lakes Fire & Fuels
RunCFFDRS: download .exe file (download zip file)
Field Guide for Predicting Fire Behaviour in Ontario's Tallgrass Prairie
BehaveByRemsoft
Prometheus
Crown Fire Initiation Spread-CFIS
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System

Minnesota Fire Behavior Prediction Field Guide

Minnesota Fire Weather Index Field Guide

Key References

Working With the Great Lakes Fire and Fuels Information System Tools in Lake States Fire Management

Weather guide for the Canadian forest fire danger rating system. 2008.

Van Wagner, C.E. 1987. Development and structure of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System. Canadian Forest Service, Ottawa, Ont. Forest Technical Report 35.

Forestry Canada Fire Danger Group. 1992. Development and structure of the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction System. Information Report ST-X-3. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Forestry Canada, Science and Sustainable Development Directorate. 63 p.

Wotton, B.M.; Alexander, M.E.; Taylor, S.W. 2009. Updates and Revisions to the 1992 Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction System. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. Information Report GLC-X-10, 45p.

Tymstra, C.; Bryce, R.W.; Wotton, B.M.; Taylor, S.W.; Armitage, O.B. 2010. Development and structure of Prometheus: the Canadian Wildland Fire Growth Simulation Model. Nat. Resour. Can., Can. For. Serv., North. For. Cent., Edmonton, AB. Inf. Rep. NOR-X-417

Applying CFFDRS to Alaskan Ecosystems

Learning Aids

Grass Fuel Moisture. A grass moisture model for the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System.

Recorded webinar: Web Based Fire Weather for the Lake States

Taylor, Steve, Lawson, Bruce, and Sherman, Karen. Introduction to the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System, online video. Canadian Forest Service. 22 min.

De Groot, W.J., 1993, Examples of Fuel Types in the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System, Forestry Canada. Poster.

Selecting Your Burn Day. 2012. Poster.

W. Matt Jollya, John Hintzb, Rachael C. Kroppc and Elliot T. Conradd, 2014. Physiological drivers of the live foliar moisture content ‘spring dip’ in Pinus resinosa and Pinus banksiana and their relationship to foliar flammability. VII International Conference on Forest Fire Research

US National Fire Assessment Systems
National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) and National Fire Behaivor Prediction System (NFBPS)

Background Information

Poster of fire behavior application
Predicting Wildfires. Andrews et al. 2007. Scientific American.

Tools

Firemodels.org; Fire Danger & Fire Behavior Software
Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS)
Fuel Characteristics Classification System-FCCS
National Fire and Aviations Management Web Applications-FAMWEB
Wildland Fire Decision Support System-(WFDSS)
Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System-IFTDSS
National Fuel Moisture Database Access data and graphs of soil and fuel moisture.
CompareModels: Spreadsheet that allows for the comparison of fire behavior outputs from multiple NFBPS Fuel Models

Key References

Firemodels.org Publications Library

Fire Behavior Reference

NWCG Fireline Handbook Appendix B: Fire Behavior

Anderson, H. E. 1982. Aids to determining fuel models for estimating fire behavior. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-122. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 22 p.   

Scott, Joe H.; Burgan, Robert E. 2005. Standard fire behavior fuel models: a comprehensive set for use with Rothermel’s surface fire spread model. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-153. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 72 p.  

Gaining an Understanding of the National Fire Danger Rating System

Learning Aids

S-190, Introduction To Wildland Fire Behavior (Online)

S-290, Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior (Online)  

How to Generate and Interpret Fire Characteristics Chart for Surface and Crown Fire Behavior. 2011
Download accompanying software tool.

National Interagency Fuels Technology Transfer (NIFTT) Training Course (Online)

Fuel Model Help File