5109.14,10 Page 1 of 4 FSH 5109.14 - INDIVIDUAL FIRE REPORT HANDBOOK, FORM FS-5100-29 WO AMENDMENT 5109.14-95-1 EFFECTIVE 9/5/95 CHAPTER 10 - REPORTING FIRES 11 - WILDFIRES. Unless excepted in sections 11.2 or 13, all wildfires on or threatening National Forest System lands or lands protected by National Forest system units must be reported. (See sec. 05 for a definition of wildfire.) 11.1 - Statistical Wildfires. Prepare a fire report on Form FS- 5100-29, Individual Fire Report, for each unplanned ignition that: 1. Burns on National Forest System lands or other lands for which the Forest Service has protection responsibility; or 2. Threatens to spread to lands under Forest Service protection and is suppressed wholly or in part by Forest Service employees. When statistical wildfires involve State or private lands, provide a copy of the fire report to the State Forester; for other Federal lands, send a copy to the appropriate agency. When National Forest System land is protected by another agency, report any statistical wildfires on Form FS-5100-29 even though the Forest Service was not involved in the suppression action. When fires burn from or into either Mexico or Canada, provide a copy of the fire report to the appropriate national agency in the affected country. 11.2 - Nonstatistical Wildfires. Do not enter data on nonstatistical wildfires into the national fire occurrence data base. A paper copy of the completed Form FS-5100-29, clearly marked "nonstatistical," can be maintained at the local level (optional for tracking at the Regional level). Examples of nonstatistical wildfires are: 1. Railroad fires confined to the right-of-way that do not endanger Forest Service-protected land and are suppressed entirely by railroad employees. 2. Burning buildings, equipment, sawdust piles, and other nonvegetative fuels that, under prevailing conditions, present no significant threat of igniting Forest Service-protected lands. 3. Wildfires that have gone out naturally prior to discovery, unless they are of sufficient size and intensity to cause reportable natural resource damage. 4. Abandoned campfires that, because of fuel and weather conditions, cannot spread or are confined to improved fireplaces or camp stoves. 5. Wildfires from any cause that are confined to private or other public lands and that do not endanger Forest Service- protected lands. 6. False alarms and suspected wildfires that result in a field check without suppression action. 11.3 - Management Ignited Prescribed Fires. Report on Form FS- 5100-29, Individual Fire Report, any planned ignition prescribed fire that burns out of prescription and is declared a wildfire. Base the report on actions and area burned subsequent to the wildfire declaration. All data items are required as for any wildfire with the following additions: 1. For ignition date, enter the date the prescribed fire was ignited. 2. For discovery date, enter the date the prescribed fire escaped prescription. 3. Code the date the prescribed fire was declared a wildfire as described in section 22.6, paragraph 4. 4. Enter "Y" in block 13 to denote an escaped fire. 5. Report as acres burned only those acres burned after the prescribed fire is declared a wildfire. Acres burned within prescription shall not be included in the total. For example, a 40-acre broadcast burn that escapes control lines and burns 5- additional acres would be reported as a 5-acre wildfire. 12 - PRESCRIBED FIRES. 12.1 - Natural Ignition Prescribed Fires. Report any unplanned natural ignition fire managed as a prescribed fire on Form FS- 5100-29, Individual Fire Report. Entry of size in acres at time of wildfire declaration allows separation of acres burned under prescribed natural fire management and under wildfire management. (Note: these acres are not included in the annual wildfire statistics.) 1. Code actual ignition and discovery dates. 2. Use appropriate cause codes to describe the actual fire cause (usually lightning). 3. Enter "Y" in block 11 to denote a prescribed natural fire. 4. Enter "Y" in block 13 to denote an escaped fire only if the fire escapes prescription and is declared a wildfire. 5. If the prescribed natural fire burns out of prescription and is declared a wildfire, code the declaration date and size at declaration as described in section 22.6. 6. Include all acres burned regardless of whether or not the prescribed fire was declared a wildfire. 13 - SPECIAL SITUATIONS. 13.1 - Spot Fires. Do not count spot fires from a wildfire as separate fires. Spot fires are considered part of the main fire for reporting purposes. 13.2 - Multiple Ignitions. In reporting multiple ignitions, such as a string of incendiary fires or a series of railroad or lightning fires ignited at nearly the same time in the same area, the number of separate reportable fires is the number of separate final control perimeters involved. The number of ignitions within the perimeter can be recorded using special code identifier IG (sec. 22.6). 13.3 - Fire on Multiple Units. When a fire burns in two or more forests, or into an area where the Forest Service has formally recognized fire-protection responsibilities, one National Forest System unit shall assume the role as the reporting unit; adjoining units shall coordinate reporting with the reporting unit. For a sample of a completed Form FS-5100-29, Individual Fire Report, see section 22, exhibit 01. 13.31 - Reporting Unit. The reporting unit shall compile and submit one consolidated report for the entire fire. The reporting unit shall gather the information from all affected National Forest System units and other landowners. The report shall include the total fire-perimeter acres along with an itemized summary of the acres burned by unit and/or landowner. Suppression costs, Net Value Change, and related items shall be reported only for Forest Service units. The reporting unit is defined by where the fire starts, or by the first National Forest unit affected by the fire. The reporting unit, in priority order, is the: 1. National Forest System unit that administers the lands where the fire started. 2. National Forest System unit that protects the lands where the fire started. 3. First National Forest System unit that protects lands affected or threatened by the fire. 4. First National Forest System ground unit that arrives at the scene of a fire threatening National Forest System lands. 13.32 - Adjacent Units. Adjacent affected National Forest System units shall provide the necessary information to the reporting unit for inclusion in the consolidated fire report within the reporting time standards in section 14. 14 - STANDARDS FOR SUBMITTING REPORTS. The fire reporting process is designed to provide a data base (FS-5100-IFR) that can reflect up-to-date fire occurrence information with minimal impact on any organizational level. Accurate and timely submission of fire report data is an essential part of the process. Complete Form FS-5100-29, Individual Fire Report, for each fire and enter the data electronically via the FIRESTAT data entry/edit program for transmission to the national data base (sec. 31.2). See section 06 for standards on reporting time frames.