Within the Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy Review the use prescribed fire, mechanical, and chemical methods will be used to enhance the native species on public lands. There is a crisis on public lands whereby type conversions from perennial grasslands, sagebrush, and pinion/juniper areas are being invaded by exotic species like cheatgrass (Bromus tectorium), and many other invasive species of plants. This is increasing the amount and size of wildland fires in the Great Basin. The number of fires have increased dramatically on range lands due to the type conversions of plant species. In timber areas, cheatgrass that once was mainly on the flats and on southern exposures, has encroached into the timbered areas adding to an already heavy fuel loading problem. Wildland fires are more costly to suppress, due to the advanced fire behavior seen in those areas. The risk to human safety, and protection of property has been compromised.
Understanding the fuels, and most importantly meteorological events is key in aiding all wildland fire agencies in controlling prescribed fires and in wildland suppression. The weather is the driving force if a wildland fire will go over the hill . The fires burn rapidly through the fine fuels (cheatgrass) driven by the wind. Knowing the climatology of an area is an important parameter in understanding what has happened in the past. We have an understanding of the fuel loadings, fuel moistures, fuel continunity, and compactness of the fuels, however, understanding the atmospheric conditions that affect lightning, wind patterns, and what affects a blow up situation is needed. Understanding what type of conditions create the dry thunderstorms and what conditions these thunderstorms develop are very important in planning and prepositioning fire fighters to potentially high risk areas