Publications

Fire Behavior, Fuels Modeling & Decision Support

A guide for risk management process at the incident level (RMRS-GTR-298) Has recently been completed and made available. It has been published as a General Technical Report (GTR) by the Rocky Mountain Research Station and is available in Adobe PDF format only .

The publication focuses on the thought processes and considerations surrounding a risk management process for decision making on wildfires. The publication introduces a six element risk management cycle designed to encourage sound risk-informed decision making in accordance with Federal wildland fire policy, although the process is equally applicable to non-Federal fire managers and partners.

"The Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide" (PMS 437 April 2019) - This a revision of the fire behavior field reference guide that is available as an e-book, a downloadable PDF or as an interactive product in your web browser.

"Effectiveness and Longevity of Fuel Treatments in Coniferous Forests Across California" - This project looks at the forest structure and fuel characteristics at 5 and 10 years post treatment. The project is intended to help lend knowledge to length of time fuel treatments are effective, what re-treatment intervals are effective, and lastly the uncertainty associated with using standard fuel models for assessing fuel treatment effectiveness.

The Line Officer's Guide - This desk reference for fire management was created to aid Line Officers who oversee fire management from the preseason through the life of a fire and after. It is sponsored by the National Forest Service Line Officer Team (LOT) and was developed by the WFM RD&A with recommendations from Agency Administrators and Line Officers.

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Weather, Climatology and Smoke

"Review of the FS Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) Network" (RMRS-GTR-119) - RAWS is an active program created and supported by the many land-management agencies that share a common need for accurate and timely weather data from remote locations for vital operational and program decisions specific to wildland and prescribed fires. Data from almost 1,900 stations deployed across the conterminous United States, Alaska, and Hawaii are now routinely used to calculate and forecast daily fire danger indices, components, and adjective ratings. This project conducted a detailed review of the RAWS network and data-use systems.