GFMC: Forest Fires in Canada, 11 July 2000

over the last 24 hours:	23 fires for 362 ha
season summary:	2,546 fires for 113,955 hectares

According to the National Forest Fire Situation Report of 5 July 2000 (updated every Friday), fire activity remains well below normal, but is starting to increase. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have experienced an unusually high number of small fires over the past week. High risk continues in the northwest, but is expected to diminish as rain moves into the area.

current	uncontrolled	controlled	active modified
current	6	104	75
	2000 (to date)	10-year average	in % of normal	Prescribed burning
Number	2,482	4,495	55%	41
Area (ha)	82,364	1,111,836	7.5%	7,878

The Fire Monitoring, Mapping, and Modelling (FireM3) is a collaboration of the Canadian Forest Service and the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing. Through the Map Link at the FireM3 web site you can access daily hotspot images. An Internet Map Server, which is like a simple GIS running on the host computer, allows you to zoom in on any fire or other area of interest and view the image and map data at full (1km) resolution. You can also click on any fire and get information about that fire.

Satellite image, daily fire overview map and season-to-date hotspot map for 10 July 2000
(Source: FireM3)

The Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System is a part of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System and consists of six components that account for the effects of fuel moisture and wind on fire behavior. The first three components are fuel moisture codes and are numerical ratings of the moisture content of litter and other fine fuels, the average moisture contentof loosely compacted organic layers of moderate depth, and the average moisture content of deep, compact organic layers. The remaining three components are fire behavior indexes which represent the rate of fire spread, the fuel available for combustion, and the frontal fire intensity; their values rise as the fire danger increases. For futher information please see the Summary Information.

Fine Fuel Moisture Code	Duff Moisture Code	Drought Code
Initial Spread Index	Buildup Index	Fire Weather Index
	Fire Danger Rating

The Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System is an other part of the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System and provides quantitative estimates of head fire spread rate, fuel consumption, fire intensity, and fire description. With the aid of an elliptical fire growth model, it gives estimates of fire area, perimeter, perimeter growth rate, and flank and back fire behavior. For futher information please see the Summary Information.

Foliar Moisture Content	Surface Fuel Consumption	Rate of Spread
Total Fuel Consumption	Head Fire Intensity	Fire Type

The Saskatchewan Daily Forest Fire Situation Report (10 July 2000) is listing all forest fires currently burning in Saskatchewan and their current status. This report also gives statistics on the total number of fires to date. The whole report and further information can be accessed at the fire management website of "Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management" (SERM).

fires burning in the province today:	12
extinguished in the past 24 hours:	2
new fires:	0
total number of fires to date this year:	296
total up to this date last year:	361
five year average for this date:	434

The International Crown Fire Modelling Experiment (ICFME) in Fort Providence, Northwest Territories/Canada, ended with its final chapter, Phase IV, on 1 July 2000. Following pictures were provided Miguel Cruz, Nathalie Lavoie and Xavier Navalon Nonell.

British Columbia Forest Service Wildfire Report (7 July 2000):
Unpredictable weather challenges forest officials
The B.C. Forest Service sent another air tanker group to the Northwest fire centre in Smithers today in preparation for possible fire starts this weekend. This year's unstable weather has made it challenging for forest officials to position crews and air tankers most effectively throughout the province. One of the most difficult roles of the fire control officer is anticipating weather patterns up to 72 hours ahead. Provincially, seven air tanker groups are available to help ground crews in fighting fires around the province. Regular communication between the six fire centres and the provincial fire control centre, as well as advanced computer technology, is used to ensure resources are relocated quickly and efficiently. The provincial wildfire reporting centre receives calls from the public throughout the fire season. These phone reports are plotted on a map describing location, size and position of fires. This information becomes immediately electronically available to the fire centre closest to the blaze. The fire centre then dispatches initial attack crews. If more resources are required, B.C. Forest Service crews from other areas of the province are brought in to help. Fire control officers use local contract firefighting crews and have access to out-of-province crews and resources through a mutual aid resource sharing agreement.

Number of Fires Burning:	59
Number of New Fires (Lightning):	1
Number of New Fires (Human Caused):	3
Total Lightning Fires:	101
Total Human Caused Fires:	322
Total Fires to Date:	423
Total Area Burned (ha):	12,336