United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Intermountain Research Station General Technical Report INT-GTR-367 August 1997

FIRES: Fire Information Retrieval and Evaluation System - a Program for Fire Danger Rating Analysis

Patricia L. Andrews
Larry S. Bradshaw

Andrews, Patricia L.; Bradshaw, Larry S. 1997. FIRES: Fire Information Retrieval and Evaluation System - a program for fire danger rating analysis. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-367. Ogden, UT; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 64 p.

A computer program, FIRES: Fire Information Retrieval and Evaluation System, provides methods for evaluating the performance of fire danger rating indexes. The relationship between fire danger indexes and historical fire occurrence and size is examined through logistic regression and percentiles. Historical seasonal trends of fire danger and fire occurrence can be plotted and compared. Methods for defining critical levels of fire danger are provided. The paper includes a review of NFDRS philosophy and application, a description of input and output, and a summary of fire danger rating programs and data bases and their relationship to FIRES.

The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not
imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of any product or service.

Contents

Authors, Research Summary, and Acknowledgments

Introduction

Methods

U.S. National Fire Danger Rating System Overview

FIRES Information Flow - NFDRS Programs and Data

FIRES Program Overview and Operation

Data File Preparation and Export

- File Types
- Preparing an Analysis File
- Custom Data Files
- Exporting Files

Data Summaries

Seasonal Plots

Percentiles

Probabilities and Logistic Regression

Percentiles and Probabilities - a Comparison

Setting Fire Danger Levels

Choice of Index and Fuel Model

Discussion

References

Appendix A: Setup and Installation

- System Requirements
- Suggested Directory Setup
- Installation Procedure
- Running the Program
- Printer Setup
- Sample Data Files

Appendix B: Sample FIRES Run

Appendix C: Data Files

Appendix D: Exporting Data Files

Software Availability

Ordering a copy

Title: INT-GTR-367 - FIRES: Fire Information Retrieval and Evaluation System - a Program for Fire Danger Rating Analysis
Publish Date: July 14, 1997
Last Update: May 10, 2012

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