Alaska Fire and Fuels: Leveraging the MesoWest API for Fire Protection

MesoWest is working with the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC) to develop targeted visualizations (http://mesowest.org/akff) and datasets using the MesoWest data archive for active fire prevention, monitoring, and response by wildland firefighters. Alaska Fire and Fuels (AKFF) leverages the new MesoWest API (http://mesowest.org/api) to merge extensive data streams of surface observations throughout Alaska with Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System fire danger indices and codes on coordinated time scales. Additionally, National Weather Service gridded RTMA analysis and NDFD forecast fields are integrated into the displays to provide fire conditions throughout the state.

These data are presented to users and the public via web-based maps, graphs, and tables. Emphasis is placed on usability of the system by fire weather forecasters in the field, and their feedback is integrated into the design of both the processing and interfaces. In this presentation, we will explore the datasets we integrate and the processing procedures we have established to create the AKFF data resources. The interfaces and tools that have been developed, and will be developed for future seasons, will be presented. We will discuss AKFF capabilities for the 2015 fire season, one of the most active of the past decade.