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Fire Weather and WFO/IMET Decision Support Heath Hockenberry, Larry Van Bussum and the National Interagency Coordination Center

3833 S. Development AVE Boise, Idaho

NATIONAL FIRE PROGRAM STATISTICS

PREPAREDNESS AND IMET AVAILABILITY• Preparedness Levels are set nationally by the National Multiagency Coordination Group (NMAC)

• These “PL’s” correlate with the potential for large fires, IMET dispatch requests and adverse fire wx.

• PL 4 and 5 are the highest levels, and NIFC is in PL 4 and/or 5 an average of 42 Days.

WHAT WE NEED FROM MIC/HIC COMMUNITY

THE FUTURE FIRE WEATHER AND IMET PROGRAMS 1. A re-designed SPOT Program

- ITO Volunteers have been selected to re-design the SPOT Program

- Several “”Portals” are proposed- Fire, HAZMAT/Marine, Search and Rescue

2. National Support Increase for Field and Regions- Additional staff being hired in Boise to support

operations, field needs, Information Technology needs and interagency relations

- The goal is more responsiveness to Users and to our WFO fire weather needs

3. A Standard Fire Weather Training Curriculum- A need exists for clear, concise fire weather

training for Forecasters- COMET is being funded to develop training

following the advice of a Training Curriculum Team for Fire Weather

• Continued support of  International Fire Weather- The Australia BoM has indicated a continued

need for NWS forecaster support.- Expect 6 to 8 requests per year

•  Fire Weather NDFD Grids- A small number of NDFD, standard fire weather

grids are being proposed- There are also several NDGD national guidance

grids being proposed for fire weather (Haines, Lightning Probability and Smoke grids)

IMET TYPES FOR DECISION SUPPORT

FIRE WEATHER SCIENCE AND RESEARCH

TYPE 1 IMETS. Have fire weather specialized training , fire line safety training and proficiency with an full, field AMRS Unit. Perform tasks while camping with an IMT

Several Recommendations were put forward to NOAA leadership by external Users through the 2008 NOAA Science Advisory Board Process

Suggestions Included: Improvement of SPOT Program, Continued Support of FX-Net, Improved fire weather nowcasting tools, and long term fire-atmosphere coupled model development

Where can YOU find the SAB recommendations?: http://www.sab.noaa.gov/

FIRE AGENCIES AT NIFC

Contact information

Heath HockenberryNational Interagency Fire Center3833 S. Development AVEBoise, Idaho 83705

Telephone: 208-334-9862Cell Phone: 208-284-1982E-mail: heath.hockenberry@noaa.gov

DECISION SUPPORT: WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

Patience, Communication and Awareness- The nature of Incident Response is immediate and can come with little advance notice.  We rely on your contributions and flexibility with your staffing requirements.  The National Fire Program is always willing to communicate with you! 

Ideas and Field Requirements for National  Level Support of IMET Types and Decision Support Needs– What would you like see the National Program help you with concerning logistics, training and equipment requirements?

Education to Your Staff– Good incident response begins with the WFO, is supported by the staff and encouraged by local Management through education.

Continued emphasis on one-on-one Service– All our customer satisfaction surveys reveal one consistent truth. The #1 strength of the fire program is personal, direct communication.

Your support of fire weather to your Regional Director and Partners- Assignments are not “camping trips”. And the success of each dispatch depends on MIC support.

YOU ARE DIRECTLY SAVING LIVES!

Our Forecasts are used, read and adopted into the Fire Agency Planning Process every day!

• 16,000+ “Spot Forecasts“ annually (20,857 in 2009)

• 20,000+ “Red Flag Warnings” annually (13.87 Hours National Lead Time)

• 137,000+ “NFDRS Forecasts” annually (Temperature, RH and Wind)

• 95%+ of SPOTs issued for fires(with 69% issued for prescribed fire)

• 141 Incident Meteorology (IMET)Dispatches Annually

• Average IMET Dispatch = 9 Days(Represents 18,200 average hours ofannual support for Fire Agencies/FEMA)

• Availability from Mid-June through Early Sep.

• Empowerment of SOO’s, WCM’s and Lead Forecasters to make shift management decisions that approve/disapprove IMET release for a dispatch.

• Recognition of high states of alert (PL 4 and/ 5) or Regional high PL’s and its meaning for IMET needs.

TYPE 2 IMETS. Have fire weather training. Equipped with laptop running FX-Net. Typically perform tasks at a fire or non-fire EOC, JFO or Area Command.

TYPE 3 IMETS. Have FEMA Incident Command System training and typically perform tasks at a NON-FIRE EOC, JFO or Area Command.

- Staff Training Requirements:  IS 100 & 700- Focal Point  and Management Requirements:  IS 100,200,700

Type 1, 2 and 3 Requirements:  IS 100,200,300,700, 800