IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FPA PCHA USERS

You must have PCHA version 1.2.31 or later in order to prepare an XML file for FPA-PM.
1.2.32 Patch 1b or greater is highly recommended.

FMU Shape File requirements for FPA-PM version 1.1, including WFU, are documented at: FMU Layer Requirements

Thursday July 20, 2006:

PCHA99 1.2.32 patch 1b includes two enhancements with respect to PCHAFIRES imports:

• Longitudes may be expressed as either negative or positive numbers in the PCHAFIRES import file
• Imports from PCHAFIRES are, by default, assumed to be of a Fire Type / Protection Type utilized by FPA

Wednesday November 16, 2005:

PCHA99 1.2.31 Patch 1e includes two enhancements:

The ability to import fires exported from DOI's WFMI.

For purposes of determining fire probabilities used in random draws, fire occurrence is only considered during Preparedness Staffing Season. For many FPUs, this change will increase the number of resulting fires sent to FPA, more accurately reflecting actual occurrence. Users who have already completed PCHA will need to run:

• FPA -> Calculate ERC and Wind Speed Bins, Fire Probabilities
• FPA -> Prepare Probability-Based Scenario and XML File For FPA

Friday October 21, 2005:

Version 1.2.31 Patch 1d allows naming of .FWX weather files as wxSTATION_ID.fwx. That feature was dropped in Patch 1c, but is reinstated here. Additionally, a possible error when collecting fuels data from grids has been fixed. As was the previous patch, 1.2.31 Patch 1d is a highly recommended update. Please download and utilize this version to prepare your XML file for FPA. If you have completed all other steps, merely prepare the XML file using FPA -> Prepare Probability-Based Scenario and XML File for FPA.

Tuesday October 18, 2005:

Version 1.2.31 Patch 1c is a highly recommended update. Please download and utilize this version to prepare your XML file for FPA. If you have completed all other steps, merely prepare the XML file using FPA -> Prepare Probability-Based Scenario and XML File for FPA.

Thursday August 11, 2005:

Version 1.2.31 Patch 1a is an optional update which does not change any internal workings or results for FPA. It merely improves PCHA's ability to match fires when using the GIS -> Update Fire Locations From GIS routine.

Sunday May 29, 2005:

Effective with its version 1.3.1, FPA-PM will require additional information from PCHA in the XML file. PCHA version 1.2.31, available now for download, provides this information.

This is a mandatory update. In order to synchronize with FPA-PM, please download 1.2.31.

Sunday May 1, 2005:

A PCR was approved for FPA-PM removing the requirement that each FMU have at least one fire. Accordingly, new PCHA version 1.2.30 no longer produces "phantom fires" for any FMU(s) not drawing a fire event.

This is a mandatory update. In order to synchronize with FPA-PM, please download 1.2.30.

Sunday April 24, 2005:

Earlier version 1.2.28 implemented a student suggestion to change the default overwrite choice when importing fires/weather to be "Don't Overwrite". However, users must click one of the choices on this screen, and not merely accept the default as it reads, in order for the logic to work correctly. New version 1.2.29 fixes this so that the user may simply leave the default of "Don't Overwrite" and the logic for that selection will work.

This is a mandatory update. Please download 1.2.29.

Tuesday April 12, 2005:

Version 1.2.28 is available, allowing an apostrophe in the FMU name, clarifying a report label (changing "FFS" to "WFU FFS"), and fixing a potential hang during Landscape Points generation.

This is a mandatory update. Please download 1.2.28.

Wednesday March 23, 2005:

Optional version 1.2.27 provides simulated web retrieval of topographic data. The simulation, producing random data, is only used during the FPA-HA course.

This version slightly reduces the number of Landscape Points collected by PCHA. Other enhancements in 1.2.27 are mostly cosmetic.

A new FPA-specific PCHA User Guide is bundled in the complete setup, or is available for download by itself. This User Guide is highly recommended for all FPA users of PCHA.

Sunday March 13, 2005:

Optional but recommended version 1.2.26 is available with faster (approx 12x) web retrieval of topographic data and enhanced Data Validation.

Wednesday March 2, 2005:

Version 1.2.25 is available. This version improves the Data Validation and error handling routines, and also fixes a problem importing DOI 1202 files when there are more than one BIA/NPS/FWS units in the same database.

If you do not have more than one NPS, BIA or FWS units in your PCHA database, then 1.2.25 is an optional upgrade, although the error checking improvements make it recommended.

If you DO have more than one NPS, BIA, or FWS units in your database, then you should download 1.2.25 and re-import from the 1202 files, using the option "Don't Overwrite (Skip Redundant)" in order to assure that all DOI fires were imported into PCHA.

Enhancements include:

• Web-based topographic retrieval better estimates time, and reports at end if points were missed
• Data Validation reports status of topo/fuels, in order to identify "no current record" error during XML preparation
• Duplicate fires report, and preparedness staffing season determination enhanced to fix "invalid use of null"

Wednesday February 9, 2005:

Version 1.2.24 is an optional update, and merely allows the PCHA Standard Fire Import to work with missing Control Dates.

Tuesday February 8, 2005:

All users: please download and use version 1.2.23 (or later). This version relaxes the required match for updating fire locations with GIS by eliminating the need for time of day match. Also: initial version of FPA -> Data Validation is included. If you have not used the 3 new steps "FPA -> Generate Points, Topography, Fuels" introduced in 1.2.19, please run these 3 steps in order to assure proper data collection for fire behavior.

Please regenerate your XML with 1.2.23.

Tuesday February 1, 2005:

New features in 1.2.19:

• Enhanced Crown Fire algorithms
• The old "FPA -> Collect FMU ASCII GRID Information" has been replaced by three menu items, reached with "FPA -> Generate Points, Topography, Fuels".
  • "Generate Landscape Points" randomly draws points that will used to collect topography and fuels. Dozens are collected per FMU, depending on fire history.
  • "Collect Topographic Data" allows you to use the web interface to USGS, or GRID files, to obtain slope, aspect, and elevation. Although the web interface can take hours, it eliminates the need to use Grid files if create non-spatial Fuel Types.
  • "Collect Fuels Data" collects fuels information from GRID files and/or non-spatial Fuels Types.
• After installing 1.2.19, please run all 3 of these steps in order to assure proper data collection for fire behavior.

Wednesday January 19, 2005:

Version 1.2.18 is available. Enhancements:

• "Phantom Fire" Surface Fuel Model changed from 8 to 2.

Thursday January 13, 2005:

Version 1.2.17 is available for download, allowing users to update their FMU record numbers from FPA-PM. This allows a PCHA analysis to be changed and re-imported into FPA-PM even after a new Planning Dataset has been created in FPA-PM. Previously, because the FMU IDs change when we copy a Planning Dataset, the PCHA XML could not be imported.

Wednesday January 12, 2005:
Version 1.2.16, reflecting changes resulting from Day 1 of the FPA Validation in Anchorage, is now available for download from this site. Enhancements include:

• New user-entered factor called "WFU Spread Percent", entered/edited on the FPA -> Edit FMU Attributes Menu. This is the percent of days during the duration of a WFU fire event that active spread is anticipated. The default is 30, indicating that a WFU fire with a duration of 20 days would exhibit active spread for 6 days.
• New XML file format as required by FPA-PM
• Utilities -> Web-Based Topographic Attributes enabled for Alaska

Additional releases during the next week or so are anticipated as any new compatibility issues with FPA-PM are discovered and resolved, and to enable web-based topographic data retrieval.

Thursday January 6, 2005: Changes in 1.2.14 include:

• Import of new Shape File format from FPA-PM
• NFDRS Fuel Model for ERC bins defaults to G
• Rate-of-Spread forced to be greater than zero for compatibility with FPA-PM
• WFU ERC and BI changed from 99999 to 999 for "placeholder" fire events for FMUs not drawing any fires

Tuesday January 4, 2005:
PCHA Software Version 1.2.13 is now available implementing WFU and numerous other enhancements. Version 1.2.14 with fixes for the crown fire algorithm will be posted no later than Friday January 7. Please carefully read the information below.

New features in 1.2.13:

• New FPA-PM Shape File Import
• Idaho Department of Lands Fire Import
• Entry/edit of FMU fire ending rain attributes
• Calculates ERC/BI for WFU using FMU-specific Fuel Model
• New XML format required by FPA-PM
• Revised Final Fire Size algorithms
• Revised Fuel Model for surrogate fires
• Internet-based topographic attributes
• NIFMID Update

Current users of PCHA for FPA-PM - Steps to follow:

1. Install or copy updated PCHA
2. Check Help-About to verify 1.2.13
3. Use menu: FPA -> FMU Attributes to verify Slope Class for each FMU
4. Use menu: FPA -> FMU Attributes to enter WFU Fuel Model (for ERC or BI) for each FMU ("WFUFM")
5. Use menu: FPA -> FMU Attributes to enter ERC Fuel Model (for ERC bins) for each FMU ("ERCFM")
6. Use menu: FPA -> FMU Attributes to enter Days and Inches of rain indicating WFU fire-ending event (e.g. 2 inches over 3 days)
7. Run menu: FPA -> Calculate ERC and Wind Speed Bins, Fire Probabilities
8. Run menu: FPA -> Prepare Probability-Based Scenario and XML File for FPA

Please check this note regularly for information about PCHA and FPA.

Contact Brian Booher directly with any questions at bbooher@bighorn.info.