One such tool is the Wildland Fire Risk Assessment System (WFRAS) from Colorado-based Space Imaging. WFRAS helps fire professionals identify areas of of high-risk and potential property loss, as well as the actual sources of hazards, so they can plan strategies for fire mitigation and avoidance.

Recent news reports familiarized many throughout the U.S. with the extreme damage fires have inflicted California this year. According to data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, 2003 saw 6,939 fires, which consumed 556,136 acres and more than 2,400 homes, just in California. The price tag for this damage is still being tallied, but the 1991 Oakland Hills fire in California, which destroyed 3,276 homes and killed 25 people (sparked by a single ember from an extinguished brush fire) caused an estimated $2 billion in damage.

California is but one example of a state that faced large fires in 2003. Others include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, North and South Dakota, Utah and Washington. To combat what has become a national fire problem, in 2001 the USDA Forest Service and the Department of the Interior established the National Fire Plan, a long-term program designed to foster communication and cooperation between federal agencies, states, local government and the public. To meet the Plan’s directives for fuels reduction and community assistance, many fire planning professionals are now seeking ways to identify in advance areas of potential risk, and to plan and test strategies for reducing fire risk.

WFRAS is one such tool being offered by private industry to support local strategic and tactical fire plans. A well-defined and repeatable process for describing fuels and analyzing fire risk in wildland settings, WFRAS helps fire professionals assess the current fire risk situation based on a number of data sources, test the effectiveness of potential fire prevention options and experiment with methods of fuel treatment or reduction.

WFRAS begins with remotely sensed data (i.e., from satellites, aircraft and other aerial sensors) that records spectral images of fuel variation such as grass, chaparral, shrub, timber and slash. These color signatures are matched to actual conditions on the ground using powerful algorithms.

The Wildland Fire Risk Assessment System (WFRAS) is a well defined methodology for describing fuels, assessing current fire risk, and analyzing fire prevention and fuel treatment options for reducing future wildland fire risk. The methodology offers fire managers tools to support effective fuels management, mitigation and treatment options.

The system also records non-spectral data such as slope, shaded relief, topography, population density, road access, water sources and fire history to form a complete database. This data is then fed into the Wildland Fire Risk Model, the heart of WFRAS, to provide a current, state-wide view of fire risk, potential fire effects and overall level of concern.

In addition to the core risk model, WFRAS features a number of analytic tools that enable fire managers to evaluate different programs for large-fire avoidance and fuels reduction. By changing elements in the model—such as eliminating a certain kind of fuel—experts can test fire prevention programs in advance of any strategic or budgetary decisions. Working with Space Imaging’s experts, managers can analyze the effectiveness of fuels treatment measures over time, typically 10 to 20 years (varying depending on the specific characteristics of the geographic area).

As no two geographic areas are the same, each WFRAS is custom-built for each region. Local fire experts are utilized at all stages to help define local conditions. This specificity is useful not only for risk assessment, but also for advanced planning in the eventuality that large fires do break out. Based on information such as slope and fuel load, planners can predict which direction a fire will spread, and how fast. Wildland-urban interface data determines risk to subdivisions and towns. Mapping streams, lakes and pools provides data on potential water sources for fire response.

Space Imaging recently completed a state-wide fire risk assessment for the Florida Division of Forestry (DOF) using the WFRAS process.,. In addition to identifying the potential for serious fires within Florida and prioritizing areas for mitigation, the study evaluated opportunities for multiple agencies to work together efficiently to manage fire risk. All data from the study is accessible and usable by DOF staff and other Florida fire specialists through an ArcView application custom-built by Space Imaging. Officials can use this data to create a Wildland Fire Susceptibility Index and a Level of Concern map. The application also provides updates on the current wildland fire risk situation to state managers, officials and legislators.

With the completion of this program, Florida now has one of the most advanced fire management tools in the country. Other states are conducting their own studies. The Southern Group of State Foresters is currently using WFRAS in a 12-month program to study their own fire assessments in each community, county, congressional district and fire response zone in each of the 13 member states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Oklahoma.

Wildland Fire Susceptibility Index (WFSI)
The WFSI map integrates the probability of an acre igniting, and the expected final fire size based on the rate of spread in weather percentile categories, into a single measure of Wildland Fire Susceptibility.  WFSI integrates the probability of an acre igniting, wildland fire behavior, and historic fire suppression effectiveness. WFSI was computed for each 30x30 meter cell of burnable vegetation within the State.

Droughts and human encroachment on wilderness areas have made large fires more of a threat than ever before. To prevent the devastating loss of acres, property and lives, fire officials and forest managers must have at their fingertips the most complete picture as possible of their fire risk situation. This includes the overall level of large fire danger, geographic areas of particular concern, property most at risk, and assets such as water and roads that can be employed to combat fires when they do erupt. Forest landowners should conduct studies in fuel reduction and other mitigation techniques to determine the best approaches for reducing fire risk. If the Southern Group of State Forester’s adoption of WFRAS is any indication, this kind of analysis is here to stay, and will become one of our most important tools in protecting our forest assets from fire.

But how doe individual forest landowners access this information? This kind of fire risk analysis requires significant software and data—so much so that it can’t be used directly by individuals. However, this does not mean individual landowners can’t benefit from WFRAS. The key is to join with other landowners to lobby local government to conduct the study. Even though the project will be driven at the government level, the benefits will then be shared by all. Typically, the smallest level of government capable of conducting such a study is county, so landowners should begin their efforts there. Industrial landowners, provided they manage sufficient acreage (typically numbered in the hundreds of thousands), can handle a project the size of WFRAS single-handedly, but a partnership with local government is going to benefit any landowner, regardless of size.

You can learn more about WFRAS and other http://www.spaceimaging.com/solutions/fire_management/index.htm

Authors:
Jim Smith & Dave Buckley, Space Imaging - www.spaceimaging.com.

Entire article copyright (c) Space Imaging, 2003, 2004 - reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.