Fire Weather


by John Saltenberger
National Weather Service
Portland, Oregon


My education and career path:

My career in meteorology began in 1985 with a summer appointment as a student trainee at the National Weather Service office in San Francisco, California. When I completed my bachelor's degree at San Jose State University in 1986, the NWS assigned me as a meteorologist intern at the fire weather office in Redding, California. Redding is a hub of fire weather activity because it provides meteorological support for fire management over the state and federal wildlands of northern California. It was in Redding that I developed my interest in fire weather that set the course for the remainder of my career. My training there illustrated how crucial effective weather support was to safe and effective wildland fire management. Learning about the interaction between the atmosphere and wildland fire behavior provided me with the foundation of what would become a rewarding career in a specialized aspect of operational meteorology.

Upon completing my internship at Redding in 1989, I was assigned a full time position as a fire weather forecaster at the NWS office in Salem, Oregon. During my years at Salem I honed my skills as a meteorologist and gained experience in all aspects of fire weather. In 1994 I returned to graduate school for a stint at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. I also bolstered my professional experience by completing advanced training courses in fire weather, fire behavior and fire danger rating. By 1993 I had gained enought experience to serve as an instructor at both the NWS National Fire Weather Forecaster's Course and the S-590 Advanced Fire Behavior Interpretation course at the National Advanced Fire and Resource Institute.

In 1997 fire weather duties were transferred to the NWS office in Portland, Oregon. and I was re-assigned as a member of the regular Weather Forecast Office staff. Since then I have split my duties between working traditional operational forecast shifts at the WFO during the winter and providing fire weather support to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center during the fire season. My job duties require me to shift my meteorological focus between various forecast disciplines depending upon the time of year.

Specialized Requirements of Fire Weather

To be effective in fire weather, I have had to gain forecasting experience and develop a diverse set of job skills. These include: weather forecasting in complex terrain with minimal data support, recognizing the components of severe wildfire burning conditions, clear communication of information to fire managers, instruction of weather topics to student firefighters and investigation of problem wildfire outbreaks through applied research.

1. Forecasting in complex terrain.

The National Weather Service provides fire weather support by issuing of a suite of specialized weather forecasts and warnings tailored to meet the needs of fire managers. These products can generally be broken down into routine and non-routine categories.

     Routine products include:

  • General fire weather forecasts for fire planning. These are generalized forecasts similar to routine public zone forecasts but with more detail added. These are intended to be used by fire managers as broad scale overviews of weather across a geopgraphic area.
  • National Fire Danger Rating System trend forecasts. These are numerical trend predictions that help fire managers evaluate fluctuations in wildland fire danger as reported by the National Fire Danger Rating System.

     Non-routine products include:

  • Spot forecasts for prescribed fire management and wildfire supression. Spot forecasts are detailed predictions of micro scale wind, temperature, humidity, and stability that are designed to account for local variations in terrain elevation, slope, fuel type and exposure. Spot forecasts are issued on special request to help fire managers safely meet the goals of prescribed fire management or wildfire supression. To be effective at spot forecasts, the meteorologist must be familiar with the terain, fuel type, and micro climate weather conditions that exist in a given forecast district.

    Fire Ignition
    Prescribed fire ignition
    		Buildup reduced through managed fire
    Fuel buildup reduced through prescribed fire





  • Red Flag Warnings for wildfire supression readiness. Red Flag Warnings are special bulletins issued during dangerous combinations of critical weather and extreme fire danger. Examples include Santa Ana type foehn winds or dry thunderstorms. Fire managers take specific action to reduce wildfire threat during Red Flag Warnings such as increasing the readiness of fire crews on duty or closing public forests to industry and recreation. Effective Red Flag Warnings depend on the ability of the weather forecaster to recognize both the weather patterns and the underlying fire danger conditions that are conducive to the outbreak of severe wildfires. Familiarity with both is a must. Research has shown that combinations of very dry fuels and extreme weather events are rare, but when they happen, costly and dangerous wildfires can result.

    Fire ignition from dry thunderstorm
    Fire ignition from dry thunderstorm
    		Effects of foehn wind on wildfire
    Effects of foehn wind on wildfire




  • IMET forecasts during disasters. Incident Meteorologists (IMETs) are forecasters specially trained to work with Incident Management Teams during severe wildfire outbreaks or other disasters requiring onsite weather support. IMETs travel quickly to the incident site and then assemble a mobile weather center capable of providing continuous meteorological support for the duration of the incident. The kit includes a cell phone, a laptop computer and a two-way portable satellite dish used for gathering and displaying weather data such as satellite imagery or numerical forecast model output. Remote weather montoring units called "micro-REMS" and "Fire RAWS" can also be added as needed. IMETS can be deployed anywhere a disaster strikes and must be capable of working long hours for weeks at a time in remote locations under rough conditions. An IMET must be flexible to changing demands and adaptable to the various climatic and geographic features found across the United States.

    Sampling wind at the Cerro Grande Fire
    Sampling wind at the Cerro Grande Fire
    		Assembling a micro-REMS
    Assembling a micro-REMS




2. Clear communication of information to fire managers.

An accurate weather forecast is of no use if it is not communicated clearly to the user. Wildland fire managers are heavy users of weather information because their responsibilities for protecting public lands are so closely linked to environmental conditions. Their contact with meteorologists is frequent because they depend on timely and accurate weather information to make informed decisions regarding the safe and efficient management of wildland fire. Fire weather forecasters (and IMETS in particular) must develop effective communication and briefing skills that clearly transmit the most important information in the least amount of time. This requires that fire weather forecasters identify and understand the needs of fire managers and then stive to harness the new technologies in meteorology to communicate the most relevant information to meet those needs. Given the rate of change of meterological technology, its not always an easy task to keep a focus on fundamentals.

Evening briefing at the La Jara Fire
Evening briefing at the La Jara Fire
Dawn briefing of fire crews and CNN
Dawn briefing of fire crews and CNN




3. Instruction of weather topics to student firefighters

An big component of the fire weather job requires participation in instruction of meteorological concepts to student firefighters during their fire training. Wildland firefighters must clearly understand how fluctuations in weather can result in dramatic changes in wildland fire behavior that affect their safety. During various steps of their career firefighters are expected to attend increasingly detailed training courses in meteorological subjects such as stability, humidity and wind effects in complex terrain. Several times each year fire weather forcasters are called upon to assist in instruction of these topics at all skill levels. Teaching skills and patience are a must. Clear communication of sometimes arcane meteorological topics is required to assist the student firefighters in passing their weather courses. The most effective fire weather instructors make use of their own fire experiences and historical fire examples to illustrate key weather features in the training courses.

Setting up to teach a basic firefighter's weather class
Setting up to teach a basic firefighter's weather class




4. Development of better forecasting methods through applied research

Another exciting aspect of fire weather is participating in projects aimed at understanding critical fire wather events and improving methods of forecasting them. Applied research such as case studies of problem fire outbreaks or statistical correlations of weather and fire danger can prove very useful to improving the skills of the forecaster. Better understanding of the underlying weather and fuel conditions that result in problem wildfires can only result in improved forecasts and warnings. Both the fire weather forecaster and fire manager will ultimately benefit. The fire weather offices in the Pacific Northwest have had a long history of producing applied fire weather research. In my career I have been fortunate enough to benefit from the many fire weather applied related research projects originating in the region.

Lecturing on fire weather topics
Lecturing on fire weather topics
Critical fire weather pattern
Critical fire weather pattern




Summary

Fire weather forecasting, including IMET dispatches, applied research and weather instruction, has provided me with a rewarding career in operational meteorology. The combination of these various disciplines, plus graduate school and operational forecasting experience, has resulted in the steady improvement of my skills as a meteorologist. In addition, I have professionally and personally benefitted from the opportunities for travel and advanced training that are inherent in the fire weather. Over the years I have made many social and professional contacts in both the fire and meteorological communities around the U.S. and abroad. These have resulted in long lasting friendships and valuable partnerships.





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John F. Saltenberger is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, Oregon. John is 39 years old and has been a professional meteorologist since 1985. Besides fire weather, John's interests include outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and whitewater rafting. John has been a licensed private pilot since age 17, is an amateur radio operator, and is happily married to his wife, Rose.

Email comments to: John_Saltenberger@blm.gov