The Northeast fire danger index system

There are several National Fire Danger Rating Systems currently in use in the northeast United States. At present, the user computes a variety of indices to evaluate forest fire danger. A new system, the Northeast Fire Danger Index System (NEFDIS), is under development. The goal of the NEFDIS is to develop a single, easy-to-use index to accurately represent the current and/or predicted forest fire danger for specific locations and fuel classifications. Utilizing a simple DOS-based PC program, forest fire danger is calculated for a variety of fuel types at specific locations. The parameters needed are easily obtained and entered into the program, with results available for immediate use. Some of these parameters are: temperature, humidity, wind speed, precipitation amounts and duration, length of time since last significant rainfall, herbaceous stage and fuel size. They can be easily measured or observed in the field. The NEFDIS indicators can be used to reduce expenses concerning smoke and fire detection methods, additional personnel and prescribed burn projects. The index is being field tested alongside existing indices at various locations in the Northeast. Tests are also being compiled on past fire seasons to compare this new index with existing ones. At the completion of this project, it is expected that this single index will be used throughout the Northeast to provide a convenient uniform method of evaluating forest fire danger.