Wildland Fire Danger Rating and Early Warning Systems

Fire danger rating has become the cornerstone of national fire management programs, and operational systems have been available for over 40 years. Fire danger information is used across a broad spectrum of fire management decision making including daily operations, seasonal strategic planning, and long-term fire and land management planning under future climate change. There are many different national fire danger rating systems in use worldwide. Early warning of extreme fire danger is critical for fire managers to mitigate or prevent wildfire disaster. Early warning is provided using forecasted fire weather, which is further enhanced with remotely sensed fire activity and fuels information in fire early warning systems. Fire danger and early warning systems can operate at global to local levels, depending on fire management requirements. Current operational systems and applications are reviewed.

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