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National Wildfire Coordinating Group

Fire Environment Committee

Fire Behavior Subcommittee

Meeting

April 22 - 25, 2013

4/22/13

Present:

Don Boursier

Kyle Cannon

Tony Harwood (by phone)

Dan Jimenez

John Kern

Jason Loomis

Punky Moore

Rick Mowery

Tami Parkinson

Larry VanBussum

Absent: (none)

Guests:

Annie Benoit

Kim Ernstrom

Scott Anderson

Faith Ann Heinsch

Elaine Waterbury

Jeremy Sullens

Tim Brown

NIFTT:

Kim Ernstrom gave a presentation on the status of some of the programs at National Interagency Fuels

Technology Transfer (NIFTT). http://www.frames.gov/partner-sites/niftt/niftt-home/

NIFTT was originally established as a tech-transfer point for LANDFIRE. It progressed to providing tools

and training with the focus of working with LANDFIRE data. NIFTT hosts a number of tools including

FRCC, LFDAT, ToFu, and associated training material. The somewhat limited stats available show usage

of the courses, for instance is low at about 300 users.

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NIFTT came under the control of the Wildland Fire Management Research Development and Application

(RD&A) program 2 years ago. Currently, they are looking at the materials hosted at NIFTT and deciding if

they are ones that should be hosted there or if there is a more appropriate home for them.

As examples, Kim discussed two training modules currently hosted at NIFTT: One on the 40 fuel models

published by Scott and Burgan and another on the use of fire behavior nomograms.

Annie Benoit did an analysis of where we teach about the 40 fuel models in the curriculum and found

that there was not sufficient instruction on them in existing courses. NIFTT developed a training course

to fill this need. They also developed a course to teach students how to estimate fire behavior using

nomograms. Each course takes approximately 3 hours to complete. NIFTT is looking at revamping

these trainings. They currently employ a training development specialist with a corporate training

background, and are looking at how they can break these trainings into smaller pieces (possibly small

YouTube-style videos) that could be better integrated into existing courses like S-390.

Another example is that the site currently hosts materials in support of NWCG courses (S-244 and S-

495). When the Fire Use Subcommittee took on the revision of S-244 to go with the newly merged

FEMO and FOBS position taskbooks, materials to augment the course were hosted at NIFTT. RD&A is

paying for the Blackboard Learn service for students to access the material through the University of

Idaho systems.

RD&A is looking for ideas: They are not looking to be curriculum developers, since NWCG already has

that function. They want to be sure there is an integrated effort. What are better places to host this

material that has accumulated at NIFTT outside of its mission?

Don gave a brief background on the curriculum subgroup and how their efforts compare to NIFTT’s.

Jason asked if RD&A was using analytics on the NIFTT site. Kim replied that they had none at first, but

they now have analytics for the past 3-4 years. Jason asked if the low use of NIFTT could be due to the

FRAMES site not being very intuitive to navigate. Kim noted that they are looking at the Fuels portion of

the FRAMES site to try to make it more intuitive.

Kim plans to return on Wednesday to sit in on the curriculum subgroup report.

WFSTAR:

Scott Anderson gave a presentation on the status and current projects of the Wildland Fire Safety

Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR) program. http://www.nifc.gov/wfstar/. The WFSTAR site receives a

significant volume of traffic from a wide variety of users. Refresher modules are created to be year- and

agency-neutral. This is the last year refresher DVD’s will be mailed out. Going forward, refresher

materials will only be available by download. Approximately 50 modules are kept on the site. Modules

that do not receive sufficient usage are removed to make room for new ones. Removed modules are

still available on YouTube. Topics for new modules are chosen in the spring. Selection committee will

meet on May 8th. Scott welcomed FBS participation on the May 8th meeting.

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Action item #563: Jason will attend meeting and report back to the committee on the next

conference call.

BehavePlus training:

Faith Ann Heinsch gave an overview of training she has developed to reinforce BehavePlus skills. This 2-

day workshop was created to reinforce skills that students in S-490 were lacking. Has been taught for 3

years. At the request of the SW GACC, plan to put workshop on for students going into next session of

490, and train local resources to put on the workshop in the future. Dan suggested videotaping the

workshop to use as a later reference for people leading these workshops.

The group discussed whether the material presented in the workshop could/should be incorporated

somehow into S390/S490 curriculum. There are independent-study materials available for students to

become more proficient with Behave and students at this level are expected to show initiative at

acquiring skills. There is also a significant part of the fire behavior curriculum that is built on a working

knowledge of the Behave program, but the use of that program is not taught anywhere in the official

curriculum. The group discussed whether it is fair to require skills that we do not support with official

training.

S490 is required for FBAN, LTAN, and RXB1 and recommended for IMET. The majority of material

presented in S-490 is geared toward FBAN/LTAN and may have limited application for RXB1. Behave

workshop may be more useful to this audience. If more instruction on Behave were integrated into the

S-390 course, there may still be a need for a Behave refresher for students who wait a number of years

before taking S-490.

Don asked for any recommendations Faith Ann may have on the curriculum matrix.

Larry asked how much flexibility there is for either adding material to existing NWCG courses or for

adding new courses. Per Tami, there is more flexibility for adding material to existing courses than for

creating new courses. If we identify needs that are not being met, we can recommend something new.

There was discussion of distance-learning options for the Behave workshop. Faith Ann felt that multiple

delivery methods were needed. Distance learning may make training available to more students, but

some need more personal, one-on-one instruction.

Feedback from 495 remote session at Missoula: There were some rough edges but things went well

once the video/audio issues were worked out. Students appreciated the remote session as many could

not have otherwise attended.

Project idea discussion: 1-day workshop for LTAN’s/IMET’s/Fuels specialists:

Two topics emerged from discussion:

1) The idea of putting on a workshop on fire behavior technology changes, lessons learned by

LTAN/IMET/FBANs on incidents and tips/tricks they recommend to others. Several potential

formats for this were discussed: A webinar series, looking at various tools and working

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through some examples; a module-style refresher with each module consisting of a short

set-up, examples and a test; a series of workshops presented regionally; a workshop

presented at a national conference. The first to pursue will be a workshop to be presented

at the 2014 conference in Missoula.

2) The need for better understanding on the part of IMT’s regarding the roles and

capabilities of LTANs, IMETs, SOPLs etc. The S-420) course involves numerous role-players

in simulations. It also involves a number of parallel simulations for persons training in roles

that support the CGS. Is there potential to have a parallel exercise for the fire behavior-

related positions that gives some of the same benefits that the CGS candidates are getting?

Action Item #564: Tami will contact Missoula conference coordinator to inquire whether

this workshop idea fits the conference, due date 5/1/13

Action item #565: Larry will draft survey questions to poll FBAN/LTAN/IMET list for interest

in workshop, due date 6/1/13

FENC/NWCG update:

Jeremy Sullens and Elaine Waterbury provided updates from FENC and NWCG. Jeremy gave a summary

of the NWCG all-chairs meeting. Direction to NWCG is to “do less with less” and focus on the parts of

their mission most realistic given travel budgets, etc. He reported on the activities of other committees,

and noted that FENC may see more changes in their May meeting.

Budget proposals are due by May 29 and there are new budget forms this year. FENC expects a 10%

budget decline for next year.

The training branch web page lists all the courses being revised this year and the target dates for

accomplishing. It also gives the names of leads to talk to if we want to get input on a course.

The NWCG portal site has gone away due to budget cuts. Instead, the nwcg.gov website is being

redesigned. Keep using MyFireCommunity for data exchange for the time being. There are also some

changes to the process for IT requests. There’s no longer an NWCG IT committee. Any requests from

the subcommittee for new software, websites, etc. should go up through FENC for packaging to present

to the new Program Board.

To reduce training costs FEMA will be taking over administration of some courses: I100, 200, 300,

Situation Unit Leader, Supply unit leader, Demob, Finance, PIO, Logistics. Instructors will be available to

transition and get qualified November 2013. Courses will be transitioned by fall of 2014. NWCG is still

figuring out how the train-the-trainer with FEMA will work.

OWDC is examining the classification of fires (Type I, Type II, Extended attack) and may have changes to

IMT make-up and mobilization in 2016 or later.

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There is discussion of potentially consolidating NWCG branches depending on the outcome of some

hiring decisions. Nothing is certain at this time.

The subcommittee asked about how realistic it is to request funds, such as 508 compliance for FBFRG, in

a climate of “do less with less”. Elaine stressed that a proposal like the 508 compliance for FBFRG, which

gives the chance to get an ongoing project off the books is more attractive for funding. Proposals for

support of virtual meetings or that reduce travel are popular as well. Budget for travel for state

employees dropped from last year’s $85k to $80k for this year and is expected to drop to $75k for next

year.

Office of Aviation Services:

Keith Raley gave an overview of the history and functions of the OAS, which was established in 1973 to

improve aviation safety in the Department of the Interior. The organization handles aviation policy,

aviation safety training, air fleet program management, aircraft program needs assessment and

commercial flight coordination for the Department.

Office of Wildland Fire overview:

Russ Johnson gave an overview of the OWF and its functions. OWF coordinates all aspects of the DOI

wildland fire program with other partners. The office has existed since about time of the National Fire

Plan, but only in last few years has staffing come up to what was envisioned. The majority of its

employees work either in the Washington D.C. office or in Boise, with just a few at remote locations.

The office has three divisions: Budget and Performance Management, Policy, and the Enterprise Systems

and Decision Support division.

Pocket card study update:

Tim Brown of Desert Research Institute gave an update on the progress and results from the pocket card

evaluation study.

The study officially concluded in March and results are being synthesized into a report which will go to

the Fire Danger and Fire Behavior subcommittees for review (probably sometime in May). The study

used both interviews and quantitative analysis. It found a number of positive points regarding usage of

the pocket cards and also some areas of possible improvement. It found the current refresh cycle of the

cards (2 years) generally appropriate.

DRI is also working on a JFSP project verifying the accuracy of spot weather forecasts, and a project to

standardize the calculation of mixing heights.

Action item #566: Members will review pocket card study report, due date 7/1/13

Afternoon work session:

Subcommittee members discussed need for a training representative among members. There was

unanimous agreement that someone with a strong background in training would benefit the efforts of

this subcommittee. Several potential candidates were discussed

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Action item #567: Punky will work with Tami to send outreach letter to prospective candidates,

due date 6/1/13.

Members discussed the addition of a fuels specialist position to the committee, as this relates to a

number of our efforts. It is important to continually evaluate the number and types of positions on the

subcommittee. There was agreement that bringing on people as mentees to shadow outgoing

committee members is beneficial.

Members discussed possibility of sabbaticals for members to address changes in jobs/locations, special

projects or life events. All were in support of allowing flexibility if needed, providing it does not hinder

the subcommittee’s work.

Meeting schedules and formats were considered. Members agreed to continue to hold 2 face-to-face

meetings per year, with VTC as an option if needed. At least one of these meetings to be held in Boise.

There was discussion about the pros/cons of co-locating face-to-face meetings with a conference. May

decrease the productivity of the meeting, but reduce travel costs if the alternative is attending both the

meeting and conference separately.

Fall of 2013: Meeting October 21st – 25th (21st and 25th travel days) in Boise, ID at a

location TBD.

Spring of 2014: Meeting May 14th – 17th in Missoula, before the IAWF/AFE conference.

Fall of 2014: Meeting October 20th – 24th (including 20th, 24th as travel days) in Boise.

Meeting adjourned for day at 1700

4/23/13

Present: Same as Monday

Guests:

Lisa Elenz

Robyn Heffernan

Elaine Waterbury

Allen Deitz

Marty Alexander

S-590 update:

Lisa Elenz gave an update on the status of the S-590 course. The steering committee is looking at shifting

to more of an S-495 model: shortening the classroom portion, integrating travel days into the schedule

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by cutting a day of instruction on each end. This will mean some material shifts to online/pre-course

delivery. There might be about 8 hours of online/pre-course instruction.

Figuring out what skillsets we want folks to get out of class so that we can better tailor the instruction to

the skills. There are concerns that the technology needs to be taught sooner and required sooner.

Nominations for the 2014 session are due this fall. Qualifying exams in November, selections in

December. Usually a note gets sent out to remind people to get out and get some experience. Student

success in S-590 seems more likely when student has worked with an FBAN/LTAN on an incident prior to

coming to the class.

Hugh Scanlon will be new co-chair of the steering committee through 2014.

Discussed idea of a refresher workshop for FBAN/LTAN/IMET. Lisa suggested starting with the materials

presented at the Raleigh conference, and that a remote-access option would be beneficial for those

unable to travel to a conference. Lisa will look into possibility of a person from S-590 cadre or steering

committee to work with the fire behavior subcommittee on this.

National Fire Environment Center discussion:

Members talked about an idea brought forward by Larry. When there are hurricanes, everyone looks to

the National Hurricane Center. It tracks storm potential, current conditions, exchanges information to

local offices and is a source of information for policy makers and media. There is not an equivalent “Fire

Environment Center.” Members discussed a number of currently-unfilled needs that such a center could

address and identified some key questions to answer in formulating a proposal.

Action item #568: Larry will draft initial idea of FEC to present to Tim, Lisa, due date 5/22/13

Historic grid project:

Robyn Heffernan of the NWS gave an overview of the background, status and next-steps for a project to

produce gridded weather archives based on historic weather observations. The NWS has been

developing gridded weather data that infers conditions between observed data points (NWS, RAWS

stations etc) with a process called Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA). This is being utilized in fire

management (NDFD in WFDSS). This process can be used to create historic gridded weather based on

the archived weather observations from the RAWS network. NWS was not funded for this because it

was not the intent of RTMA. NWS working with RD&A and the Missoula Fire Lab to develop this

climatology for past 30 years. The historic data would be developed on the same 2.5 km grid as the

RTMA data, with the same pixel boundaries. Data would be hosted in the same location as well. If

successful, this would create a record of surface weather conditions for every cell in the analysis area

that goes back 30 years and extends through the current model forecast. This is expected to be a 2-year

project, requiring funding in FY’s 2013 and 2014. Robyn didn’t have specific funding data with her, but

thought that funding need was about $150k ($75k/year for 2 years) and was fairly confident on funding

for the first year.

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There were discussions of the methods used for determining the values in each cell, and the expected

accuracy/bias of the data. Robyn noted that accuracy will be less than if we had actual observation

points on a 2.5km grid, but more than the current system of assuming the values at observation points

apply to the whole area.

Subcommittee members discussed potential uses for prescribed fires, multi-objective fires and use with

the large fire simulator of FPA. Robyn noted that NWS is looking for additional possible applications of

this data (such as use in FPA) in order to strengthen funding proposals.

Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide – 508 compliance:

Allen Deitz (NWCG Data Architect) and Elaine Waterbury (FENC) joined the subcommittee for a

discussion on the requirements of 508 compliance and next steps for the FBFRG.

Allen gave a brief overview of section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It requires that any

information made electronically available by the government must be made equally available to anyone,

including the color-blind, blind etc. The legislation provides a checklist that highlights some things to

consider, e.g. have you used color to convey meaning without another way to convey that same

information? Many of the challenges in meeting this requirement deal with graphics and tabular data,

both of which are abundant in the FBFRG. While there are a number of programs that will analyze a

document for 508 compliance (including Microsoft and Adobe products already in use by government

agencies) none of them can fix any problems. That is up to the creators of the document.

Per Dan, FBS became aware of this requirement very late in the process. While it would have been very

easy to incorporate at the beginning, it is much more difficult now. Now we need to figure out what it

will cost to get it fixed and ask for the funding to do it. Axiom has been kept in the loop as we have

found out more about 508 requirements. We’ve had them halt production for the time being while we

determine a course of action. Possibilities include having them finish the FBFRG as is and we secure a

separate contract to address 508 compliance issues, or if we can create the needed alt-text to make

images compliant they may be able to incorporate it into the document.

Per Allen, the majority of issues in the document can probably be addressed in simple ways but are best

addressed by someone familiar with the subject matter. Creation of the text is where the bulk of the

workload is; actually adding the text to the document is a fairly easy process.

If information is available and compliant on another website, linking to that site from our document may

meet 508 compliance requirements and may add functionality for all users. For example, the relative

humidity tables present a large amount of text for a text-reading program and would not require

substantial time to render readable by one. However, we can link to a website that supplies an RH

calculator to meet compliance requirements. Another option, for tables with values based on an

equation, is to provide the equation for a reader. Per Allen, the guideline is that alt-text links to external

websites, etc. must give the same information and convey the same meaning that the original

graphic/tables do. Two separate versions of a document (one basic and one 508-compliant) can be

maintained but this introduces issues keeping them both updated. For images or tables which require

extensive alt-text to convey the same meaning, having a separate document hosted on the same site

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with a link embedded in the image is acceptable. For such links and links to any external sites, there

should be information in your document that describes where the link takes a reader and what

information is there.

Per Allen, the document should remain in draft form while we finish making it compliant, provided we

are diligently pursuing compliance and are sure to let people know it is a working draft. This would allow

Axiom to complete the original contract before funding expires in September.

Per Tami, research on the time required to make documents compliant was approximately 30 minutes

per table/image. Per Allen, contract cost for copying agency-provided text into compliant format is $.65

per page and $1.00 per image.

In closing, Allen gave a quick set of guidelines for creating documents to be compliant from the start:

Structure the document with headers

Give a paragraph or caption under each image that describes it (may even be as simple

as “map as described above”)

Use tables only for tabulating data and not for formatting text

Label every row and column in a data table

If you link to other documents preface the link with an explanation of what the link is,

whose site it goes to and what information the user will find there

The subcommittee requested some example 508 compliant websites with documents similar to the

FBFRG. Elaine Waterbury offered to help by adding table numbers and figure numbers to the document.

Follow up: Members will use a work session to identify all tables/graphics that need alt-text

or reformatting to be compliant, due by the end of the meeting.

Update on Axiom contract:

Tony gave an update on the status of the contract with Axiom to produce the FBFRG. Over the past few

months, many comments have been received, covering all sections of the document. Initially, most of

the comments were regarding content, with few concerning format. Axiom addressed the comments

they felt they were able to. Content-related issues are the subcommittee’s responsibility to address.

Tony gave Axiom the last reviews of the 9 sections, which mostly identified tabs or links not working or

not fully functional. Axiom incorporated as many of these changes as they could and requested a

meeting with Dan and Tony to close out the process.

Subcommittee selected the image that will be used on the header of each page on the website from

among 6 options presented.

Per Dan, the process of the subcommittee identifying needs for alt-text may prompt changes in content.

However, if Axiom has addressed all of the non-content issues, we should sign off on the contract. We

may have to do a separate item for 508 or content-related issues.

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Per Tami, subcommittee will sign off on the contract. It may take up to a year to finish the 508

compliance.

Follow-up: Dan will post the draft guide to the MFC site.

Working session (FBFRG):

Subcommittee members went through the document and identified 508 compliance needs.

Update on crown fire synthesis:

Marty Alexander gave an update on the crown fire research work he has done, funded through JFSP.

Outputs include a section in the forthcoming Synthesis on Extreme Fire Behavior volume 2, a book

chapter, 6 peer-reviewed publications and a workshop at the Raleigh conference. The project website is

at the Western Wildlands Environmental Threat Assessment Center (WWETAC) website. The project

was originally funded through October of 2012, and was granted an extension through June, 2013. He

would like to further report out on the September call and provide what were identified as knowledge

gaps and recommendations.

One knowledge gap identified was that current models do not provide as much ability as anyone would

like to determine the impact of fuel treatments to change crown fire potential. When asked about the

question of independent crown fire, Marty reported that they could only find evidence of one case

involving crown fire with associated burning on the ground, and even in that instance there was some

burned material at the base of trees. If it occurs it is a short-lived and unstable phenomenon.

Meeting adjourned for the day at 1700.

4/24/13

Present: Same as yesterday

Guests:

Mark Cantrell (0800 – 1105)

Kim Ernstrom (0815 – 1005)

Laurie Kurth (0930 – 1005)

Marc Doucette (1030 – 1045)

Deb Fleming (1055 – 1105)

Herb Arnold (1245 – 1330)

Linea Keating (1330 – 1400)

Faith Ann Heinsch (1330 – 1400)

Denny Burns (1330 – 1400)

Tony Navarro (1330 – 1400)

Robert Ziel (1545 - 1615)

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WFI status update:

Mark Cantrell gave an update on the status of WFI. Progress toward implementing WFI has been slowed

by funding and organizational issues. Mark estimated that WFI has been delayed by at least one year

and encouraged the subcommittee to continue efforts to identify curriculum needs and improvements

to learning paths. The training branch is currently focused on obtaining a contractual vehicle for

creating learning content management systems. Contractor would work with subject matter experts to

create a central hub of training material that is then exported to various formats: print, web, application

and media. Mark and Wendell Welch are the contacts for utilizing this contractor.

In the meantime, continue to identify needs and make recommendations for fixing them. Training

branch will get changes out as efficiently as possible. Part of WFI role is to be a place to consolidate

information that is currently spread through multiple systems. While they are not ready to start moving

material, they are in the process of identifying where materials are currently housed and what it will

take to move them.

Update on curriculum subgroup:

Don gave an update on the progress of the curriculum subgroup. SMEs continue to work on the

curriculum matrix. When the matrix is completed and reviewed, the group will progress to making

recommendations on specific courses. They decided, based on the size of the student audience, to start

with S-190.

Mark Cantrell offered support from the training branch, including sharing collected feedback on courses,

Word or PDF files of existing course materials, and info on past enrollment in the course. He noted that

while NWCG is transferring ownership of a number of courses to FEMA, the S-190 to S-590 series is not

among those courses.

S495 update:

Laurie Kurth gave an update on the S-495 course. To date, in 4 sessions, 209 students have completed

the course successfully, and only 1 has not. The number of students who pass the pre-exam and do not

complete the online materials has declined. This year students had the option of attending classroom

portion at a distance-learning classroom in Missoula or at NAFRI. Estimated savings of $20k in travel

funds by offering distance learning option. Funding is primarily from FBS. NWCG provided funding for

state instructor to travel. WO or FS paid for other instructors (Orange County and NWS) to travel.

Course has made several contributions to wildland fire training by exploring distance-learning

techniques for courses requiring a high level of interaction, using MFC for instructor collaboration

among a diverse cadre, and transferring instruction materials to host sites.

Future plans for the course include exploring further use of VTC and other distance learning options,

replacing the Farsite/FLAMMAP related portions of online materials to focus on current systems, and

get the course hosted and sanctioned. NAFRI is willing to host the course but this has to go through the

GATR group.

Action item #569: Laurie will complete the S495 curriculum maintenance plan, due date

5/29/13

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GSAN taskbook discussion:

Members discussed the need for a position taskbook (PTB) for the Geospatial Analyst (GSAN) position.

The position appeared in the 5109.17 in 2012 and is listed in the technical specialist section, with the

only requirements being completion of the S-495 course and satisfactory performance in the position.

There is potential for someone to be qualified in the position without the proficiency to function in the

position. This has the potential for delayed or substandard products being produced that are being

relied on for decision-making.

Follow-up: Tami will continue this discussion with Laurie & Tonja

Fire Behavior Field Reference Guide:

Marc Doucette with Axiom gave an update on the status of the FBFRG website. They received all of the

comments from yesterday and incorporated all the ones they felt they could; some others will need FBS

follow-up before they can proceed on them.

Dan outlined the plans of the FBS to seek separate funding for addressing compliance issues with tables

and alt-text. Marc noted that Axiom can get alt text in place under the current contract if we supply the

text, but agreed that alteration of tables would take more time than is in the current contract. Tony

informed Marc that there would not be any more section reviews from our side, but that the committee

had found some issues in our working session yesterday: some “Page not found” errors. Marc said

those would be fixed right away and suggested a meeting to discuss the items the committee identified

yesterday and any remaining items from reviews.

Dan reiterated that we talked early on about revisions to content and that there would be a need to

change the PDF as well. If we do decide there is a need to make major changes to content, they would

not be done by Sept 30 and would be with additional funding in the next fiscal year.

Missoula Fire Lab update:

Dan gave an update on various projects the MFL is working on. The RXCADRE project is a collaborative

research initiative that brings together numerous researchers from across the country with a variety of

instruments including infrared sensors, aerial and terrestrial LIDAR, drone aircraft-mounted sensors, etc.

to measure different aspects of a (prescribed) fire burning in various fuels. The goal of the project is to

collect detailed data with metadata, which can then be analyzed by other researchers to provide better

modeling and prediction systems, to better understand fire effects, etc. The Lab is also working on

developing physical fire models. Brett wants to join the FBS at our next meeting to discuss what new

safety zone suggestions should look like. The Lab is also looking at foliar moisture in beetle-killed trees

and how it may affect fire behavior and also testing whether bullet fragments can actually start fires.

The Lab is also starting work on the code block project. This is a project with funding from JFSP to

recode existing fire modeling software to be more efficient and flexible. Also allows for addition or

replacement of models over time. Hiring a programmer this year. Probably 3 years at least before end-

user sees result.

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The lab is funding two universities to work with the RXCADRE project. University of Montana hosts the

National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis. Other universities are developing mobile apps for fireline

use. Members considered the value of additional liaisons/potential members on the Subcommittee such

as Jim Riddering from the University.

RAWS program update:

Herb Arnold gave an update on the status of the national RAWS program. He identified three topics of

interest to the subcommittee.

1) Overall compliance with maintenance standards is high for the network. Due to recent

budget issues, the BLM is still working on a backlog of deferred maintenance of stations.

2) Evaluation under way of the current requirement that relative humidity sensors be replaced

yearly. This single sensor drives the yearly maintenance requirement. Extending service

cycles to 2 years would greatly reduce costs but also result in less accuracy of

measurements.

3) There is a shortage of RAWS techs this year. Requests for RAWS techs to set up IRAWS may

be delayed if local resources are not available.

The RAWS depot is also looking at having Nelson FMs reported hourly thru WFMI from directly from the

RAWS, rather than just having it calculated it in WIMS. Herb also noted that some stations, especially

state-owned or DOD-owned ones may not be available this season due to the new high data rate

requirements going into effect.

Fire behavior curriculum subgroup:

Don hosted a conference call with the subgroup. He reported on the positive comments from Mark

Cantrell and Deb Fleming for the work the subgroup is doing on the curriculum matrix. The matrix was

developed over a decade ago and over time has been used as a template for other committees to

organize training courses and skills required for various positions.

Participants on the call set a deadline for finishing work on the matrix at September 2013. This timing

would be advantageous because it should put the group ready to look at the first course on their list (S-

190) about the time NWCG gets their contractor for learning content management. Denny Burns

brought up the possibility of working on more than one course at once; S-490 was identified as a priority

course for revision at the California IMT meetings.

The next conference call for the group will be May 22. Don noted that the subgroup seems to be

working well and did not see a need at this time for the group to have a face-to-face meeting. He did

note it would be beneficial to have an S-490 cadre member work with the group, especially if they are

considering reviewing S-190 and S-490 at the same time.

Afternoon work session:

Members wrote alt-text for all images in the FBFRG document.

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Contacted Robert Ziel about the CFFDRS portion of the document. Per Zeke, the tables in the CFFDRS

section are from Behave by Rimsoft software. They are derived from the outputs of that software, but

were converted to English units. The source for the material that went into developing that software,

the “red book” (Canadian fire behavior guide) is not available in any electronic form.

Members discussed GSAN taskbook and took consensus vote: Members were in favor of pursuing 310-1

recognition for a PTB for the position.

Meeting adjourned at 1700

4/25/13

Present:

Same as yesterday

Guests:

John Cissel (1530 – 1545)

Working sessions:

With Tony planning retirement, the group discussed what duties he has that should be

transitioned. Tony is the point of contact for the Northern Rockies and Great Plains

Consortia. He is also the backup for training issues on the committee.

Updated the contacts list (person on the subcommittee that is the contact for various

externals). Contacts should be committee members – but those members can designate

liaisons outside the committee.

Discussed opportunities for marketing our work

o Banner on Lessons Learned Center website

o They Said

o Twitter

o Facebook (host by non-FS)

o Podcasts

o Conference participation

o Links on other fire info pages

Action item #570: For website, Punky will update roster, due date 5/3/13

Action item #571: Post meeting notes, Rick, due date 5/3/13

Action item #572: Punky will update the old Communication Plan, due date Oct. meeting

15

Budget working session:

Last year, we requested $7,500 for workshops (received $5,000), $2,500 for FBFRG (received $2,500)

and $2,000 for FF-math (received $2,000). Budget items should be clearly tied into the NWCG mission.

Items for this year include:

1) S-495 delivery and support. This would be funds for course updates/revisions (course

revisions occur in even years, delivery in odd years). May contract for an instructional

specialist to review online materials this coming year. Travel costs in odd years: $3500 X 5

people - $17,500

2) Fire behavior workshops –This would cover travel, materials, and payment to externals to

put on workshops, and cover costs for a videographer to record and offer online later.

Could also pay for videographer for BehavePlus sessions to be recorded.

3) 508 compliance for FBFRG –This would cover conversion of tables or alt text equations as

well as any content updates identified. Could also look at e-book conversion?

4) Extreme Fire Behavior Synthesis – There may be something to put in after talking with John

Cissel this afternoon.

What have we not requested funding for in the past that we should:

Videography of printed material on fire behavior? There is a lot of potential for

delivering information on fire behavior, fire weather etc in accessible ways.

Update of Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System? Make digitally available?

Field guide for it?

Convert FBFRG into Author-It?

Add video support to sections of FBFRG?

BehavePlus video tutorial?–

Budget priorities submitted for FY 2014 –

1) FBFRG

2) Firefighter Math – continued hosting

3) S495 content update

4) Workshops

Budget proposals for FY2014 were sent to Elaine by Dan. Will submit additional proposal for production

of BehavePlus training video.

Action Item #573: Tami will find out how we request additional travel for state employees to

support committee activities if necessary, due date 5/22/13.

Follow-up item: Does Canada have a Fire Behavior Committee? Per Marty, no

Action item #574: ? will contact LLC and see what it costs to produce FlamMap video, due

date 6/1/13

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Reviewed and updated Action Item Table

Meeting locations:

Meeting location for Fall 2013 in Boise – Water resources building.

Meeting in May: Missoula. Dan looking into meeting facility, logistics. Jason looking into possibility of

Staff Ride to Mann Gulch.

Discussion of topics for Missoula Workshop –

Does the proposed workshop of Tips-and-tricks for LTAN/FBAN/IMETs fit in with Missoula Conference?

Could present a modeling exercise looking at the social, political and ecological impacts on a long-

duration wildfire, for example, the Bull Creek fire (PNW)?

Joint Fire Science Program update:

John Cissel, JFSP program manager, gave an update on the activities of the program. Extreme Fire

Behavior Synthesis Vol. (for researchers) is complete and awaiting printing. Tami noted that Vol. 1 will

soon be available in the reference library (in the fire cache) as a reference to multiple courses.

Action item #575: Tami will contact Tim Swedberg and Allen Deitz to ensure the process is

moving forward for EFBS Vol. 1 to be available in the cache, due date 5/22/13.

JFSP made decisions on FY13 proposals about 2 weeks ago. Total amount of allocated funds is around

$6 million and proposals cover a range of topics including the effects of climate change on fuels, health

effects of smoke, economic effectiveness of fuel treatments, response of bird species to fire,

effectiveness of fuel treatments in restoration, grad student enhancement and assorted data archival

work. The next call for proposals will be in the last week of October. The list of topics will go out a few

months in advance of that.

JFSP just had its 5-year program review. A team of external personnel examined all aspects of the

program and made recommendations to improve its effectiveness. Overall the review was positive.

The JFSP manages the regional consortia. They will be holding their annual meeting in Boise next week.

John noted that future funding for the consortia is reasonably certain, as they are a part of the core,

long-term funding plans of the JFSP. While it had been hoped that the consortia might be self-funding,

that does not appear likely at this time. A WO consortia is being considered.

Discussed the process of reviewing proposals. First stage peer-reviews are done remotely. Second stage

peer reviews, where a group reconciles and come up with a consensus review, could be done in person

or remotely. However, most panels say they get to a different place and are more effective face-to-face.

Some travel funding is available for review panels.

Action item #576: Larry will attend part of all-consortia meeting on May 1st and report back to

the group regarding interaction with consortia, due date 5/22/13

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Action item #577: Larry will write up request to JFSP to consider proposal to improve Haines

index and measures of atmospheric stability, due date 6/1/13.

Update on Research, Development and Applications group:

Tami gave a brief overview of the RD&A. The program has 19 people on staff and a few vacancies. There

are two main sides to the group: the Decision Support side which operates the National Wildfire

Decision Support Center; and the Tech Transfer side which handles the operation of WFDSS and NIFTT

and coordinates with Landfire, FRCC, the fire science, consortia, etc. The group also operates the Rocky

Mountain Center, which was established to provide real-time fire weather intelligence and smoke

forecasting. RD&A is funded out of research (Rocky Mountain Research Station) and Fire and Aviation

Management. They, in turn, fund money to the Rocky Mountain Center and Desert Research Institute.

The group has worked to improve spatial planning in WFDSS and holds monthly calls with the WFDSS

geographic area editors. NWDSC offers details ranging in length from a few days (to support specific

incidents) to 30-60 days where candidates function as part of the staff.

RD&A also works with the Line Officers Training group and produced the new Line Officers Field Guide.

The mobile technologies group at RD&A works with Information and Technology group for application

development.

Meeting adjourned at 1700