About the National and Geographic Preparedness Levels (NPL & GAPL)

WFDSS displays both the National Preparedness Level (NPL) and the Geographic Area Preparedness Level (GAPL) in both Training and Production. The NPL displays beside the WFDSS logo located on the top left of screen and the local GAPL displays on the Incident Information page for incidents in that GA.

The NPL and GAPL update via an automated feed, but occasionally the feed goes down for one or both. When this occurs, the NPL can be manually edited by a WFDSS Administrator with the Support Role (Admin tab > Support fly-out menu > bottom left). The GAPL cannot be manually edited however.

The NPL is set at the national level by the National Multi Agency Coordination Group (NMAC.) The NPL is based on burning conditions, fire activity and resource availability at any given point during the year. It is a compilation of reported activity using a five-level fire activity rating; one being minimal fire activity in the country and five being major fire activity that could deplete all resources in the country. Each additional rating is associated with management requirements and the ability to deploy a larger variety of equipment and resources. For further information about how each level is defined click here.

In This Section Understanding and Modifying the National Preparedness Level (NPL) and Geographic Area Preparedness Level (GAPL) in WFDSS

See Also When the National Preparedness and Geographic Area Preparedness Levels do not Automatically Update

Reference Field Descriptions Glossary Resources Spatial Data Reference Landscape Data Source Reference Relative Risk Reference Organization Assessment Reference Fire Behavior Reference About the WFDSS Decision Editors