GFMC: Forest Fires in Canada, 12 July 2000
12 July 2000
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) distributes timely information about forest fires in Canada. The current fire situation for 11 July 2000 can be summarized as follows:
over the last 24 hours: 52 fires for 0 ha season summary: 2,598 fires for 111,652 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.
Number and area of forest fires in Canada, as of 5 July 2000
current uncontrolled controlled active modified 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 11 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.
The latest available images are shown below (11 July 2000):
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.
The latest available images are shown below (11 July 2000):
Foliar Moisture Content 
Surface Fuel Consumption 
Rate of Spread 
Total Fuel Consumption 
Head Fire Intensity 
Fire Type
The Saskatchewan Daily Forest Fire Situation Report (11 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: 11 extinguished in the past 24 hours: 1 new fires: 0 total number of fires to date this year: 296 total up to this date last year: 378 five year average for this date: 445
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.
During the experimental phases a special ICFME website was updated daily. A final description with a summary will be provided in the next couple of days. The experiment has been also described in the International Forest Fire News (IFFN) No. 21 (September 1999).
British Columbia Forest Service Wildfire Report (11 July 2000):
Temperatures down, fire numbers up from last year
A total of 439 fires have been reported in B.C. this year well below the 10-year average of 540 thanks to this summers cool, wet weather, but an increase of 99 over the number of fires reported by this time last year. More wildfires have been caused by people so far this year. Lightning has started 113 fires, but the rest have been caused by human carelessness involving backyard burning and clearing, abandoned campfires and slash pile burns moving into forested areas. Fortunately, high moisture levels and the unseasonably cool, damp weather in most of the province have helped wildfire response crews contain most of these fires quickly. Many fires occur in spring and early summer when people clean up their yards: grass burning and spring cleanup fires can escape control and result in wildfires. When summer arrives, the number of people in the woods increases, and so do the fires they start. The severity of the fire season depends on the weather. Looking ahead, more unsettled weather is expected over the next couple of weeks; however, the southern part of the province may see a short-term warming and drying trend. Even short periods of warm, dry weather can affect the forest fire danger rating in the province, and the Forest Service is asking people who are planning camping trips to be careful with their campfires. Careless use of campfires is one of the leading causes of forest fires. People are asked to choose their site carefully and prepare their campfire carefully, removing all leaves, twigs and other flammable material from the area. It is also important to choose a proper fire pit or make a ring of rocks around the fire. People should never leave their campfire unattended and must keep a shovel and pail of water close by at all times. It is critical that the campfire is completely extinguished before leaving the area. The fire should be doused thoroughly with water and the embers stirred until they are completely cold to the touch.
Wildfire Statistics Report, 11 July 2000
Number of Fires Burning: 67 Number of New Fires (Lightning): 1 Number of New Fires (Human Caused): 2 Total Lightning Fires: 113 Total Human Caused Fires: 327 Total Fires to Date: 440 Total Area Burned (ha): 12,355
Fire Danger Rating for British Columbia, 11 July 2000.
(Source: British Columbia Forest Service)
