ICLR Friday Forum: Updating Canada's fire danger rating system (August 7, 2020)

On August 7, 2020, ICLR conducted a Friday Forum webinar titled 'Updating Canada's fire danger rating system, led by Dr. Mike Wotton of the Canadian Forest Service. The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) as it exists today has evolved over more than eight decades, driven by ongoing research and also by the decision support needs of wildfire management operations in Canada. The development of the next significant step in the evolution of the CFFDRS (which we refer to as the Next Generation CFFDRS research program) is currently underway. The goal of these modifications is to allow greater flexibility and consistency in predicting fire ignition and spread across a broad range of fuel complexes. The underlying approach however will still remain rooted in the philosophy of using field-based observations calibrate simple physics-based models of the key processes that influence fire environment and hence fire behaviour.

This presentation summarized the methods used for assessing and communicating wildfire potential across the Canadian landscape. It described some of the modifications being proposed to develop the next generation of the CFFDRS and what these changes will mean to both casual and expert users of the system.

This presentation, by Mike Wotton of the Canadian Forest Service, made linkages between the most publicly well-known output of the CFFDRS --the roadside fire danger sign -- and the elements of system that operational fire managers use to inform their daily response and operational planning.