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WFDSS Automated STFB - What it needs (inputs)
Like other geospatial fire models, WFDSS Short-Term Fire Behavior (STFB) requires the following data to perform fire behavior calculations:
- fuels
- weather (winds and fuel moisture values)
- topography information
STFB automatically provides (from web-based sources) most of the necessary information to perform fire behavior spread calculations.
Caution: The quality of the output from the analysis is only as good as the data input into the model. Before using the output results to support wildland fire decision-making, be sure that you understand the inputs: fuels data being used, the appropriateness of the RAWS from which fuel moistures are calculated, and the validity of the weather forecast data.
The following table lists the inputs required to make fire behavior and spread predictions in the automated version of WFDSS STFB:
Input |
Source |
Editable Values |
|---|---|---|
Landscape data |
WFDSS |
You can choose to use the default LANDFIRE 2010 1.2.0 landscape data source or you can choose a different data source on the Incident Information page (HOWEVER, you may NOT edit). |
Foliar Moisture Content |
WFDSS default (100%) |
Not Editable |
Live fuel moistures |
From the WFDSS-selected RAWS and based on the standard NFDRS algorithms |
Not Editable |
Weather observations (for 7 day fuel moisture conditioning of dead fuels) |
Nearby RAWS* |
Not Editable |
Weather forecast information for fire behavior predictions |
National Digital Forecast Data (NDFD) based on the RAWS location |
Not Editable |
Wind speed and direction forecast information for fire behavior predictions (wind speed and direction values are used as inputs to generate gridded winds) |
National Digital Forecast Data (NDFD) based on the center of the user-defined landscape extent |
Can change:
|
Landscape extent (extent of analysis area) |
User - defined |
Draw the landscape extent (normally no more than 5-6 miles per side) |
Location of fire (point) |
User - defined |
Enter a Latitude/Longitude or select the fire's location on a map by clicking at a point |
Name of analysis |
User - defined |
Name the analysis |
Analysis Start date and time |
User - defined |
Enter the analysis date and time |
Number of hours in the Burn Period |
User - defined |
Define a burn period |
User - defined |
Define the number of burn periods (1-3) |
* WFDSS chooses the nearby RAWS in the following way: The ignition location is used as a starting point. Then, a horizontal/vertical distance algorithm sorts the RAWS stations within a given area. Next, WFDSS iterates through the list until the first station is found with the requisite fuel moisture / weather information (continuous hourly observations).
In This Section |
See Also |
Reference |