NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

A discrete area within a larger prescribed or fire use project.

Setting fire inside a control line to consume fuel between the edge of the fire and the control line.

The duration of flaming and smoldering combustion phases at a specified point within a burn or for the whole burn, expressed in convenient units of time.

The characteristic configuration of char left by a fire. In wildland fires burn patterns are influenced by topography, wind direction, length of exposure, and type of fuel. Definitions are scale-dependent: (1) They can be used to trace a fire's origin; (2) They are influenced by severity and intensity within a stand; (3) They describe the landscape mosaic.

Apparent and obvious design of burned material and the burning path from the area of origin.

A qualitative assessment of the heat pulse directed toward the ground during a fire. Burn severity relates to soil heating, large fuel and duff consumption, consumption of the litter and organic layer beneath trees and isolated shrubs, and mortality of buried plant parts. 

BAER teams are formed to analyze post-fire conditions and to take immediate emergency stabilization action to prevent loss of life and property and critical and natural resources. It is the Agency Administrator’s responsibility to order or designate a BAER Team.

The post-fire activities prescribed and implemented to rehabilitate and restore fire damaged lands.

Decomposition of material by the application of heat and oxidation. Also applied to propellants and other pyrotechnic mixtures, though the proper term there is "reacting". Also often an element of the crime of arson.

A declared ban on open air burning within a specified area, usually due to sustained high fire danger.

The state of the combined factors of the environment that affect fire behavior in a specified fuel type.

A relative number related to the contribution that fire behavior makes to the amount or effort needed to contain a fire in a specified fuel type. Doubling the burning index indicates that twice the effort will be required to contain a fire in that fuel type as was previously required, providing all other parameters are held constant. 

An estimate of the potential difficulty of fire containment as it relates to the flame length at the head of the fire.

A device used to determine the burning index for different combinations of burning index factors.

Setting fire inside a control line to consume fuel located between the edge of the fire and the control line.

That part of each 24-hour period when fires spread most rapidly; typically from 10:00 AM to sundown.

System of rating slash to indicate the treatment objective, whether or not burning is required to meet that objective, the fuel treatment necessary to achieve successful burning, and the time of year burning should occur.

Rate at which a propellant and other combustibles burn.

The planned number of years between prescribed fires on a specified area.

A flame generating device (e.g., a fount containing diesel oil or kerosene and a wick, or a backpack pump serving a flame-jet).

An event in which a fire moves through a location or overtakes personnel or equipment where there is no opportunity to utilize escape routes and safety zones, often resulting in personal injury or equipment damage.

A team that supports one or more incidents and is authorized to procure a wide range of services, supplies, and land and equipment rentals. In addition, the Buying Team Leader has the responsibility of coordinating property accountability with the Supply Unit Leader.

According to the American Meteorological Society, a law describing the relationship of the horizontal wind direction in the atmosphere to the pressure distribution; if one stands with the back to the wind, the pressure to the left is lower than to the right in the Northern Hemisphere.

A pre-determined complement of tools, equipment and/or supplies stored in a designated location, available for incident use.

Measurement of the area estimated to be treated by a planned action. derive from perimeter

A measure of acres calculated (i.e., infrared) from a geospatial perimeter of a fire. More specifically, the number of acres within the current perimeter of a specific, individual incident, including unburned and unburnable islands.

Evaluation of all factors pertinent to probable future behavior of a going fire and of the potential ability of available forces to perform fire suppression operations on a specified time schedule.

Indicated airspeed of an aircraft, corrected for position and instrument error. Equal to true airspeed in standard atmosphere at sea level.

A geographical site within the general incident area (separate from the Incident Base) that is equipped and staffed to provide sleeping, food, water, and sanitary services to incident personnel.

Date treatment or activity status changed to Cancelled

The burning of the foliage of a single tree or a small group of trees, from the bottom up.

The stratum containing the crowns of the tallest vegetation present (living or dead), usually above 20 feet.

The extent of someone's or something's ability to support a wildland fire.

A colorless, odorless, nonpoisonous gas, which results from fuel combustion and is normally a part of the ambient air.

A colorless, odorless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete fuel combustion.

Any substance that can cause or contribute to the production of cancer.

Odd or "even" thousand-foot (305 m) altitudes or flight levels. E.g., 5,000, 6,000, 7,000; FL 250, FL 260, and FL 270.

North, south, east, west; used for giving directions and information from the ground or air in describing the fire (e.g., the west flank or east flank, not right flank or left flank).

A parachute designed and rigged for dropping equipment and supplies from an aircraft.

An internal area of an aircraft specifically designed to carry baggage or cargo.

Dropping of equipment or supplies, with or without a parachute, from an aircraft in flight.

Mechanically and electrically operated hook attached to the bottom of a helicopter to which a sling load is attached.

Net attached to the cargo hook of a helicopter, used to carry cargo.

Externally mounted rack for transporting supplies or cargo aboard a helicopter.

A remote hook attached to the end of a longline. It has four or more individual hooks which can be independently released, allowing the pilot to fly cargo loads to different locations without landing.

Booster hose carried full of water during mild weather to speed discharge of water on fire without filling or priming from tank.

The fuels that support the flaming front of the moving fire.

A person hired and compensated under the Pay Plan for Emergency Workers.

Mid-level, parent grouping to sort and filter actions planned and implemented to address threats mitigated by the wildland fire management program.

A numerical index related to the ability of the atmosphere to disperse smoke. Different agencies use different scales [e.g., in South Carolina, the current scale is based on ventilation factor and ranges from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent)].