WFAS, the
Wildland Fire Assessment System, is an internet-based information
system. The current implementation provides a national view of
weather and fire potential, including national fire danger and
weather maps and satellite-derived "Greenness" maps (Burgan and others 1997). Development is
continuing. See News for current
information.
WFAS was first made available in 1994. In 1999 operation was
transferred from the Fire Sciences Laboratory (FS Rocky Mountain
Research Station, Missoula MT) to the National Interagency Fire
Center (NIFC, Boise, ID).
WFAS was redesigned in 2002 to provide easier access to products
and vastly improve the archival process. The archives now provide
real-time access to past map images including fire danger, heavy
fuel moisture, Haines Index, and greenness.
The navigation bar on the left organizes products by category.
Selection provides access to links along with a description of the
product.
The Quick Links table
provides direct access to products, which are categorized as
- Current conditions
- Forecast
- Image archive (just pictures)
- Data archive
Archives are organized by
calendar. Variables available for each day are listed.
- A 4-panel graphic can be produced to compare four years for the
same day.
- An animation of the previous 7 images can be displayed.