GFMC: Forest Fires in the United States, 3 November 2000

NEWS
Prescribed Fire Training Center Wins National Award
The National Interagency Prescribed Fire Training Center (PFTC) was the recipient of the U.S. Forest Service Chief's 2000 award for Excellence in Technology Transfer. This is a honor and was achieved by conceiving, planning, and implementing an innovative, experience-based program to transfer knowledge, technology, and experience in prescribed fire application to the national fire community. The GFMC would like to congratulate the PFTC for its outstanding support for the prescribed fire training program!

Southern Area Fires Update [conversion table]
Moderate to heavy initial attack activity was reported yesterday across the region; two new large fires were reported, one in Alabama and one in Tennessee. The Southern Area Coordination Center placed orders with the National Interagency Coordination Center for five Type II helicopters, two air attacks, three Type I teams, and various overhead and equipment.
Alabama reported that fires are becoming harder to contain, requiring far more resources than normal. Fire incidence and acreage are increasing, and fire danger is climbing steadily. The Cherokee Fire is 25 percent contained at 300 acres; the fire's burning in remote, rough terrain. High temperatures and drought conditions are challenging control efforts.
In Georgia's Cohutta Wilderness, the Panther Creek Fire is 90 percent contained at 594 acres.
In Kentucky, 50 fires for 2234 acres were reported. The Honey Bee Complex at 2500 acres now has 110 people assigned; Kearney's Blue Team received a delegation of authority yesterday. West of Williamsburg, the 500-acre Sanders Fire and the 225-acre River Fire are now included in the complex. Fire activity yesterday continued, with red flag conditions across eastern Kentucky. The Big South Fork Complex is now at 700 acres and a Type I team was ordered. The Amy Fire near Big Creek was contained at 270 acres.
Mississippi reported one 60-acre fire on the Holly Springs Ranger District. KBDIs across the forest are still averaging from 650 to 800. High pressure will continue over the state today, and continued dry conditions are expected. A fire weather watch is in effect through today.
In North Carolina, federal resources on the 600-acre Tipton Hill Fire include four type II crews, a dozer, and one Deputy IC. Structure protection is in place for three small mountain communities, and both open forest lands and structures are threatened. Approximately 10 percent of the acreage is Forest Service land, and the other 90 percent is state and private lands. The 2075-acre Brushy Ridge Complex is now 50 percent contained; more than 300 personnel are assigned to this complex. The fire made minor runs yesterday, but spotting was only short-range with 2-foot flamelengths. A new start was discovered on the east side of the Linville River; it was reported at 75 acres. Both fires are burning in steep terrain, including vertical cliffs. Air support was limited because of smoke from the fire and drift smoke from neighboring large fires. The forecast includes red flag warnings in the area of the fires for low humidities and above-normal temperatures.
High fire danger was reported in South Carolina; three new starts occurred on the Francis Marion National Forest, but the largest was 35 acres. Helicopters droped over 18,000 gallons on the November Fire.
Tennessee reported heavy airtanker activity in the east zone; the Blufton Fire along Interstate 40 is 50 percent contained at 530 acres, burning in steep terrain.
(Information Source: USFS Fire News, 2 November 2000)

The Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS) is a contribution of "The Fire Behavior Research Work Unit", Missoula (Montana USA). The broad area component of the Wildland Fire Assessment System (WFAS) generates maps of selected fire weather and fire danger components.

Fire Danger (Potential) is a normalized adjective rating class across different fuel models and station locations. It is based on information provided by local station managers about the primary fuel model, fire danger index selected to reflect staffing level, and climatological class breakpoints. Low danger (class 1) is green and extreme potential (class 5) is red.

Fire danger maps for the United States for 2 November 2000 (observation time) and 3 November 2000 (forecast)
(Source: WAFS)

Dead fuel moisture responds solely to ambient environmental conditions and is critical in determining fire potential. Dead fuel moistures are classed by timelag. A fuel's timelag is proportional to its diameter and is loosely defined as the time it takes a fuel particle to reach 2/3's of its way to equilibrium with its local environment. Dead fuels in NFDRS have four timelag classes:
1-hr: Fine flashy fuels, less than 1/4" (< 0.63 cm) diameter. Responds quickly to weather changes. Computed from observation time temperature, humidity and cloudiness.
10-hr: 1/4 to 1" (0.63 to 2.54 cm) diameters. Computed from observation time temperature, humidty, and cloudiness, or may be a standard set of "10-Hr Fuel Sticks" that are weighed as part of the fire weather observation.
100-hr: 1 to 3" (2.54 to 7.62 cm) diameter. Computed from 24 hour average boundary condition composed of day length, hours of rain, and daily temperature/humidity ranges.
1000-hr: 3 to 6" (7.62 to 15.24 cm) diameter. Computed from a 7-day average boundary condition composed of day length, hours of rain, and daily temperature/humidity ranges.


10-HR Fuel Moisture	100-HR Fuel Moisture	1000-HR Fuel Moisture

The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) is a soil/duff drought index that ranges from 0 (no drought) to 800 (extreme drought) and is based on a soil capacity of 8 inches of water. Factors in the index are maximum daily temperature, daily precipitation, antecedent precipitation, and annual precipitation. KBDI = 0 - 200: Soil moisture and large class fuel moistures are high and do not contribute much to fire intensity. Typical of spring dormant season following winter precipitation. KBDI = 200 - 400: Typical of late spring, early growing season. Lower litter and duff layers are drying and beginning to contribute to fire intensity. KBDI = 400 - 600: Typical of late summer, early fall. Lower litter and duff layers actively contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively. KBDI = 600 - 800: Often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels.
For further information on the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) by Florida's Division of Forestry / Forest Protection Bureau please refer to Keetch-Byram Drought Index Revisited: Prescribed Fire Applications.

Keetch-Byram Drought Index Maps for conterminous US, 2 November 2000
(Source: WAFS)

GeoMAC Wildland Fire Support
The GeoMAC (Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group) team has produced an internet based mapping application which allows firefighting coordination centers and incident command teams to access online maps of current fire locations and perimeters. Fire perimeter data is updated daily based upon input from incident intelligence sources, GPS data, IR imagery from fixed wing and satellite platforms. The fire maps also have relational databases in which the user can display information on individual fires such as name of the fire, current acreage and other fire status information. Additional data layers including fuel types, aircraft hazard maps, links to remote weather station data and other critical fire analysis information are currently being added to the GeoMAC application.

An example of GeoMAC Wildfire Information on forest fires in Idaho and Montana.
The right image shows a screen shot about the fire size at the Clear Creek Complex (see below), the biggest wildfire in Idaho.
(Source: GeoMAC)

USFS Fire and Aviation Management Morning Report (2 November 2000) [conversion table]
National Overview:
Preparedness Level I
The Southern Area reported three new large fires and moderate to heavy initial attack activity. A chance of showers is forecasted in western Tennessee and Kentucky, but conditions will remain warm and dry in the vicinity of the Southern Area large fires. The National Interagency Coordination Center processed orders for three Type I Incident Management Teams, helicopters, tactical aircraft, engines, telecommunications equipment, crews, and miscellaneous overhead resources for the Southern Area. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia.

	Yesterday	Year to Date	Ten Year Average
Fires	412	88,417	67,765
Acres Burned	8,292	7,061,704	3,153,769
Estimated Daily Cost	$28,000

Weather Outlook (2 November 2000) [conversion table]:
A RED FLAG WARNING IS POSTED IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NORTH CAROLINA FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY.
A FIRE WEATHER WATCH IS POSTED IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR PERIODS OF LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY.
High pressure aloft will keep conditions warm and dry across Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia. A slow-moving front and a southwest flow aloft will bring increased cloud cover and a chance of showers and thunderstorms to western Kentucky and Tennessee. High temperatures will be in the 60's to mid 70's in the Appalachians and in the 70's to lower 80's elsewhere in the region. Relative humidity will be 45 to 55 percent in western Kentucky and Tennessee and between 20 and 25 percent in Virginia and the Carolinas. Winds in western Kentucky and Tennessee will be south to southwest at 5 to 10 mph. In the eastern Appalachians, winds will be northwest to north at 5 to 10 mph.

NIFC Wildland Fire Potential Assessment (5 October - 2 November 2000):
ALASKA - Potential: Below normal. Temperatures have been below normal and precipitation has been above normal for the last four to six weeks. Nighttime temperatures are routinely falling below freezing in the Interior. The 1000 hour and live fuel moisture levels are normal for this time of year. Typical October fire occurrence is five fires for .1 acre.
NORTHWEST – Potential: Normal to above normal. Temperatures have been normal and precipitation has been below normal in the area for the past month. Live fuel moistures are below average in all areas and have been measured at 59% to 148% in Washington and 53% to 124% in Oregon. 1000-hour dead fuel moistures are also below average for this time of the year. Measurements range from 8% to 19% in Washington and 5% to 16 % in Oregon. The Energy Release Component (ERC) is showing well above average for southeastern Oregon, average for northwestern Washington and above average for the rest of the area. Palmer Drought Index (PDI) indicates extreme to severe drought conditions in eastern Washington and Oregon. The long-range weather forecast calls for average to above normal temperatures and below average precipitation for most of the area.
CALIFORNIA - Potential: Normal to above normal. Temperatures and precipitation have been normal for Northern California. Live fuel moistures have reached their critical levels and are now mostly dormant. 1000-hour fuel moisture in most of the state is around 8% to 15%, which is slightly below average. PDI indicates normal conditions in the north except east of the Sierra range where severe drought conditions persist. Long range forecast calls for normal temperatures and slightly below normal precipitation for Northern California.
NORTHERN ROCKIES - Potential: Above normal. Precipitation has been below normal in much of the area and temperatures have been above normal. Live fuel moistures are continuing to experience drought induced stress. Rainfall was received at the first of the month, but the area still lags behind in the year to date precipitation. The PDI indicates extreme and severe drought conditions continue to exist in most of Montana and Idaho. Long-range weather forecasts call for slightly above normal precipitation for southeast Montana and normal conditions for the rest of the area.
GREAT BASIN - Potential: Normal. Temperatures have been above normal during the past month while precipitation has been below normal through the area. Live fuel moisture is ranging from 73% to 143% in Nevada and 30% to 120% in the Eastern Great Basin. 1000-hour fuel moisture is averaging 5% to 9% in Nevada and from 6% to 18% in the Eastern Great Basin. Due to precipitation early in the month, shorter days and increased nighttime relative humidity has moderated the fire danger. The PDI indicates that most of the region is still in severe and extreme drought conditions except for southern Nevada. Long-range weather predicts normal to above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation.
SOUTHWEST - Potential: Normal. Temperatures have been normal and precipitation has been normal to a little below normal in eastern New Mexico. PDI shows drought conditions continuing though recent precipitation has lessened the fire danger. The long-range outlook indicates above normal temperatures and slightly below normal precipitation.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN - Potential: Normal to above normal. Temperatures were normal to above normal and precipitation was normal to below normal for the last four to six weeks. Live fuel samples are well below normal for much of the area in the conifer and oakbrush fuels due to lack of long duration precipitation. 1000-hour fuel moisture is around 6% to 10 % in the north-central portions of Wyoming and 11% to 15% in the rest of the area. The potential for short duration large fire occurrence remains high for the period. PDI indicates severe and moderate drought in most of the area. The long-range forecast calls for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation for most of the area.
EASTERN - Potential: Normal. Temperatures have been below normal in Indiana, Minnesota and the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Above normal temperatures were observed for the rest of the area. Precipitation has been above normal through much of the area for the last month. The 1000-hour fuels are currently ranging from 18% to 30% which is slightly below average for this time of year. The PDI indicates that most areas are near normal or wetter than normal. Potential still exists for large fire growth in the southern part of the area due to continuing drought conditions. Long-range climate forecasts call for normal temperatures except for the Great Lakes, which is predicted to be below normal. The Eastern Seaboard is predicted to have above normal precipitation this month and normal rainfall for the rest of the area.
SOUTHERN - Potential: Normal to above normal. Temperatures have been below normal in Kentucky and Virginia and normal elsewhere. Precipitation has been below normal in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. The PDI shows large portions of Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama to be in severe to extreme drought conditions. The long-range outlook is calling for above normal temperatures and normal precipitation for the area.

Temperatures and precipitation reflect conditions over the past four to six weeks. The long-range forecast is for the next 30 days. Above and below normal is indicated above in the narrative, areas not mentioned fall in the climatological category which means there are equal chances of being below normal (33.3%), normal (33.3%) or above normal (33.3%)

Map describing the wildland fire potential, 5 October - 2 November 2000
(Source: NIFC)

National Weather Service
Long-range, 30-day weather forecasts are predicting above-normal temperatures for the southern tier of states from southern California to Florida and throughout the Midwest (see 30 and 90-day forecast maps).

30 and 90-day temperature and precipitation forecast maps (October and October to December 2000)
(Source: National Weather Service)

Remarks on Prescribed Burning
Fire is an important natural tool for ecosystem management. It can reduce dense vegetation improving wildlife habitat and lessening the potential for large, wildfire disasters. Land managers are directed to prepare a prescribed fire/burn plan for every area of public land that can burn. Some areas require total suppression while others will benefit from a wildland fire. Those areas that will benefit from a fire can be treated by a prescribed fire.
Especially, for the moment, in the southern and southeastern regions of the United States prescribed fire activities will be carried out in the following weeks and months. In this case, fire signals on satellite images can be traced back to this kind of land management activities.

In the Prescribed Fire Position Paper of the Forest Protection Bureau by the Division of Forestry in Florida, prescribed fire activity is described as a land management application that is essential to the practice of forestry, management of wildlife, preservation of endangered plant and animal species, improvement of range conditions and reduction of wildfire damage in the wildland/urban interface areas. While there is general public and landowner concern with increased smoke, reduced air quality, and liability; the general public and landowners benefit significantly from the reduction of devastating wildfire, improved wildlife habitat and forage, preservation of endangered and threatened plant and animal species, and improved management of forest resources. The prospect of severe reductions in the utilization of this management tool is of major concern to Florida's natural resource managers and conservationists due to the subsequent loss of derived public and private benefits. They suggest the need for legislative attention.

Another report on nation-wide prescribed burning in the U.S.A. was published in International Forest Fire News No.19 (September 1998).
A set of photographic documents on prescribed burning techniques and objectives in the Southeast can be visited in our photo archive.