Additional Resources
The following resource list does not directly address IFTDSS, it links to guidebooks and information sources that are helpful in fuel and fire modeling, as well as geospatial help. Whether your new to the field or just looking for a refresher these resources are worth a look:
Fire Behavior & Modeling Resources
- Evolving with Fire: Understanding Flammability and Rethinking Burn Windows : Article from the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network on fuels flammability.
- Fire Behavior and Ecological Effects of Burning Masticated Forest Fuels : Joint Fire Science Program research brief describing research on masticated fuels and fire behavior.
- Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide : National Wildfire Coordinating Group's collection of resources to help you address weather, fuels, moisture, mapping, surface and crown fires, fires assessment, and fire danger.
- Guidance on Spatial Wildfire Analysis : Models, Tools, and Techniques: This paper provides guidance to fire managers, planners, specialists, and analysts in the use of "models" (FARSITE, FlamMap, RERAP-Term), tools/programs (KCFAST, RAWS, FireFamily Plus, WindWizard), and procedures for spatial fire analysis.
- Introduction to Fire Behavior Modeling : A nine chapter guide explaining the foundation of fuel modeling for new users.
- LANDFIRE Data and Applications : A short description of LANDFIRE products for fire and ecology, visit the full LANDFIRE program site here .
- World of Wildland Fires : A library of introductory videos explaining topics such as the combustion process, fire behavior, fuel and fuel moistures, and fire ecology.
Fire Ecology Resources
- Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) : A searchable collection of scientific literature about fire effects on plants and animals, as well as fire regimes and plant communities in the United States.
- Fire Research and Management Exchange System : A searchable portal for wildland fire literature, studies, data, media, projects, and online courses.
Fuels Treatment Selection Resources
- A Field Guide for Rapid Assessment of Post-Wildfire Recovery Potential in Sagebrush and Pinon Juniper Ecosystems in the Great Basin : A 70 page guide covering key questions addressing primary components of resilience and resistance, post-wildfire vegetation treatment assessment, and selecting post-burn areas for seeding.
- A Field Guide for Selecting the Most Appropriate Treatment in Sagebrush and Pinon-Juniper Ecosystems in the Great Basin : A 68 page guide covering key questions, selecting treatment methods and the advantages and disadvantages of those methods, state and transition models, seeding considerations, and selecting treatment areas.
- Alaska Fire Science Modeling Consortium : A portal for Alaska users with numerous fire and fuels resources, including a list of resources for Alaska users.
- FRAMES.gov literature database : A searchable database of literature and data that you can sort by your region, topic of interest (such as fire behavior), author, etc.
Geospatial Resources
- Landfire Feedback Page : Landfire's data product feedback page where you can submit feedback and suggestions on a number Landfire data products.
- Modifying LANDFIRE Geospatial Data for Local Applications (Version 1): A 75 page guidebook which covers LANDFIRE background, the framework for data critique and modification, LANDFIRE approaches and considerations for representing disturbance, vegetation, fuels, fire regime and vegetation departure, along with examples.
- Understanding Raster Data: An 8 page primer that defines and explains raster data.
Landscape Editing Resources
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NWCG Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide , section on Landscape Acquisition, Critique, and Editing : Basic information on representing disturbance.
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LANDFIRE Fuels Data Acquisition, Critique, Modification, Maintenance, and Model Calibration : Editing resources with some examples.
Prescribed Fire Planning Resources
- Interagency Prescribed Fire Planning and Implementation Procedures Guide : Establishes national standards for prescribed fire planning and implementation. These standards describe minimum acceptable procedures, provide clear consistent guidance, prioritize firefighter and public safety, and ensure the incorporation of risk management into planning and implementation.
- Prescribed Fire Complexity Rating System Guide : Establishes interagency prescribed fire complexity analysis standards. These standards provide decision support, identify technical difficulty (complexity), provide a complexity rating system, and identify prescribed fire plan elements.
Risk Assessment and Management
- Strategic-Level Risk Assessment Video Series : Videos from WFDSS Support explaining the role of Fire Behavior Specialists in providing information for the Relative Risk Assessment and the Extended Risk Assessment.
- Wildfire Risk Management Science Team : USDA Forest Service page for the Team, it includes several detailed wildfire risk publication, information sources, and more.
Smoke Management Resources
- AirFire Tools.org : Main portal to access the web-based smoke planning and monitoring tools developed by AirFire such as BlueSky Playground, Monitoring PM2.5, and others. Each tool is listed along with a 'More Info' link that provides help pages, user information, and more.
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BlueSky Playground : BlueSky Playground provides interactive access to the models and calculations enabled by the BlueSky Framework. Users can enter basic fire information and compute various fuels, fire, and emissions information as well as model plume rise and smoke dispersion.
- First Order Fire Effects Model (FOFEM) : Downloadable application for predicting tree mortality, fuel consumption, smoke production, and soil heating caused by prescribed fire or wildfire.
- Fuel and Fire Tools (FFT) : Downloadable application for assessing fuel loading, fuel consumption, and emissions production, it contains the Fuel Characteristics Classification System, Consume, FEPS, Pile Calculator, and Digital Photo Series in a single user interface.
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HYSPLIT : The HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model computes simple air parcel trajectories and complex dispersion, and simulates deposition. The link provided here directs to the HYSPLIT main page with options for both internet-based and desktop based (PC-HYSPLIT) versions of the model.
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PB-Piedmont : PB-Piedmont is a land surface model developed as a tool to evaluate low-level transport / dispersion of smoke. Built for nighttime smoke from prescribed fires, it also has potential use for wildfire smoke under similar meteorological conditions. The link provided directs to the web version of this tool, there is a desktop version as well.