USDA Forest Service
Pacific Southwest Region
Frequently Asked Questions
Wildland Fire Decision Support Systems
(WFDSS)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is authorized to be included on the WFDSS roster address list?
Currently, only FS are authorized but others are being allowed on a case by case basis. Eventually, other agencies will have access when they come on board.
- Are fire origins identified by ownership of land, DPA, Jurisdiction or only by geographic area?
When the ignition falls outside FS ownership you have to manually input the ownership.
- Who is required, or preferred, to do the “next” assessment once a decision has been published and what does periodic assessment actually do?
Approver.
- Can you combine individual fires in WFDSS into a complex?
No, not at this time. You would have to start a new incident which includes all of the incidents combined as a complex and start new. As to what happens with the individual fires that were started you would have to close them out with a final decision stating a new course of action.
- Once a decision is “published” can you add documents that support the decision?
Yes, but you would have to initiate a new decision that includes the new documents “included” under course of action.
- Does SCI include national fires or only regional/local fires?
SCI includes fires from the region/local forest that reflect similar characteristics in:
- location
- fuel model
- ERC station
- values at risk
- topographical details
- fire intensity level
- When identifying “barriers” will it reflect current condition that best estimates probability of holding fire impact?
Yes, you would identify if the barrier is impervious to fire spread (i.e., hard surface, water, wide dozer line, etc.). If the barrier is a fuel change due to previous fire scar or prescribed burn – burn out, shaded fuel break, etc. you would be better to identify it as a “mask” and identify the fuel type. If the area contains multiple fuel types then you can create a mask shape file for each type and conduct a FSPro run with a rule that requires each mask to be combined as one unit.
- Once a decision is published who (what role) is eligible to conduct a “validation”?
Those identified as reviewers, approvers and anyone granted edit authorization for that incident.
- Once a decision is approved I have found that I can change the “include” vs “exclude” status of a course of action. Why?
You can include or exclude when the objective has changed status. However, it does not “activate” until a new decision has been made.
- Will the Forests be able to use WFDSS to run reports post season, such as the number of fires and number of acres by forest?
We hope so. Accessing all the data WFDSS has hidden away is something we are currently talking about. It won't happen this season, but then again we may not want to trust the data this first season. The biggest problem in mining the WFDSS data rests with the users - is the data entered into WFDSS accurate and complete?
- When will 2008 Fires be added to fire history? Is this done by region or national?
Soon, I hope. We are reviewing the GeoMac history to make sure it has at least the 2001 - 2007 history WFDSS currently has.
- How do we add additional layers to WFDSS - such as T&E species or timber values?
We are currently loading the national themes that the RAVAR folks have collected. Then we will start organizing and loading the natural resource data RAVAR has already. You could contact Gladys Crabtree for more details.
- When an IMT is assigned, are there protocols for reviews and approvals? what are the thresholds for approval? and what about SCI?
When an IMT is assigned there should be a approved decision. The dollar thresholds for approval authority have not changed. SCI is a tool for the users to use as they see appropriate - there are currently no requirements for using SCI. However I expect we will see some national expectations for Fires of National Significance.
- This may be more a technical question, when trying to retrieve documents and/or reports the system seems to go into a loop - is this a WFDSS problem, network problem, or computer problem?
This is a serious bug and the top priority item on our to do list. It seems to occur with congested networks. Since the programmers cannot duplicate this issue please call the HelpDesk when you see this problem and they can put you in contact with the IBM people.
- When there are multiple agency administrators involved, for example FS, CAL FIRE, county, and city, do all have to be established as approvers or can one person (FS) represent the group in approving the decision.?
There can be as many Approvers/Reviewers as the incident owner desires. However the decision does not become final or Published until ALL the Approvers have approved the Decision. So make sure Approvers are just those with the jurisdictional authority, others who just need information prior to the decision being approved (local elected officials, air quality regulators, etc) should be Reviewers. Remember, the Approvers do not have to wait for the all the Reviewers to weigh in. See the Help link in WFDSS for more information on this issue.
- When will 2008 CA Land fuel type be updated in WFDSS?
Currently, the system includes 2007 CA Land data. It is planned for update this year.
The other fuel data includes:
- LandFire National 1999-2000
- LandFire Rapid Refresh 2007
- Western Northern Rockies (small subset for western Montana) 2007
- Can the author role (owner) also be the reviewer? Can the author role also be the approver?
The Author Role (Incident Owner) can grant themselves Incident Privileges to be either a Reviewer or an Approver, but not both. For example, a Line Officer (or anyone) who has Author Role authority can create an Incident Decision and grant themselves Incident Privileges to be the Approver of the Decision.
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