Hazardous Fuels and Vegetation Treatment Processes and Tools
Under Development by R5, PNW Research Station and RM Research Station
1. Tool Name : Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS)
2. Brief Description of Tool : The Fuel Characteristic Classification System (FCCS)
presents a nationally consistent and durable system to assign fuel properties and fire
potentials to landscapes at all scales across the United States. The FCCS is
comprised of:
a. A large database of physical parameters that describe the abundance, physical
character, and arrangement of wildland fuelbeds. The database includes 265+
fuelbeds common to the United States. The FCCS stratifies fuelbeds into 6
horizontal fuelbed strata that represent unique combustion environments and
sixteen fuelbed categories with common combustion characteristics. An
expert system to interactively:
i. Select fuelbed prototypes by inputting location, vegetation form,
structure, cover type, change agent, fire regime, and condition class.
ii. Customize fuelbeds in the database to site specific data.
b. A calculator to generate fuelbed characteristics and fire potentials (the
intrinsic capacity of the fuelbed for surface fire behavior, crowning potential,
and fuel consumption) for each fuelbed.
3. Scale Tool is Applicable: The FCCS can be used across all scales.
4. Analyst Requirement: The Fuel Characteristic Classification System is very simple
to run. However, identifying and constructing fuelbeds to represent the area to be
assessed requires a moderate level fuels or fire management specialist.
5. Data Inputs: The Fuel Characteristic Classification System requires:
a. Identification of area to be assessed for fuel characteristics and fire potentials.
b. Identification of fuelbed types that occur within the area of interest.
c. Selection of the fuelbed prototype that most closely represents fuelbeds within
the assessment area.
d. Acceptance of fuelbed prototype or customization of the selected fuelbeds by
adjusting variables assigned for each fuelbed category with inventory data.
e. Calculation of fuelbed characteristics and fire potentials.
6. Model Outputs: The Fuel Characteristic Classification System provides
quantitative fuel characteristics (physical, chemical, and structural properties) based
on the user input and a fire potential based on the intrinsic capability of the fuelbed
for surface fire behavior, crowning potential, and fuel consumption. Several different
output formats will be available including fuelbed name and description, all input
information provided by the user or inferred by the FCCS, all fuel characteristics
generated by the system including fuel loading and fuel area index, a fire potential,
and National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) and Fire behavior fuel model
assignments, and a reliability or data quality index.
7. Application of Model for Fuel Treatment work: < The Fuel Characteristic
Classification System allows users to map fuelbeds with the associated fuel
characteristics and fire potentials and input fuelbed characteristics into various fire
Disclaimer: The views in this report (presentation) are these of the author(s) do not necessarily represent the views of the
Forest Service.
behavior and fire effects models for fire planning and assessing fuels treatment
activities.
8. Linkage to Other Models/Tools: <The Fuel Characteristic Classification system
will be linked to several models that require fuel characteristics as inputs including
Consume 3.0, First Order Fire Effects (FOFEM), and Forest Visualization System.
9. Partners: The development of the FCCS software program was funded by the Joint
Fire science program, National Fire Plan, and USDA Forest Service Region 6 with
cooperation and support from the Department of the Interior National Park service
and Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service Research Forest
Inventory and Assessment program
10. Current Status: The Fuel Characteristic Classification System will begin beta
testing in May, 2004 and will be officially released in the late fall of 2004. For more
information, please contact Roger Ottmar: e-mail: rottmar@fs.fed.us; office phone:
(206) 732-7826 or view the Fire and Environmental research Applications Team
website: www.fs.fed.us/pnw/fera under “Current Research” and “Joint Fire Science
Program”.
11. Training Availability: The Fuel Characteristic Classification System is very simple
to use and will have a User’s Guide and a help feature in the program. The Joint Fire
Science Program has funded the development of a web based tutorial for the FCCS,
scheduled for completion in 2005.
12. Tool Contact: Roger Ottmar: e-mail: rottmar@fs.fed.us, Office phone: 206-7327826; Cell phone: 206-849-3172
13. Example of Model/Tool Application: The Fuel Characteristic Classification System can be
used to map fuelbeds, their characteristics, and intrinsic fire potential. A manager may
want to prioritize and measure the effectiveness of fuel treatments across an
assessment region. By mapping a combination of selected and customized fuelbeds
from the Fuel Characteristic Classification System with the associated fire behavior
(FB), Crown Fire (CF), and Available Fuel (AF) potential index (1-10, 10 being the
highest potential), decision support and performance measures for the vegetation and
fuel treatments can be assessed for fire hazard reduction and improved Fire Regime
Condition Class distribution. Please see the following flow diagram for additional
information.
Disclaimer: The views in this report (presentation) are these of the author(s) do not necessarily represent the views of the
Forest Service.
Enter FCCS
Select fuelbed prototype
Review assigned variables of selected
fuelbed in FCCS editor
Customize Fuelbed
Calculate fuelbed properties
Generate output reports
Fire
Potentials
Map Fire Potentials
Disclaimer: The views in this report (presentation) are these of the author(s) do not necessarily represent the views of the
Forest Service.