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NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire (PMS 205)

Term Steward Status Definition
spot fire technique FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved A method of lighting prescribed fires where ignition points are set individually at a predetermined spacing and with predetermined timing throughout the area to be burned.
spot weather forecast IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved A special forecast issued to fit the time, topography, and weather of a specific incident. These forecasts are issued upon request of the user agency and are more detailed, timely, and specific than zone forecasts. Usually, on-site weather observations or a close, representative observation is required for a forecast to be issued. 
spotter RWSC Rotor Wing Subcommittee Approved In smokejumping, rappelling, and paracargo operations, the individual responsible for selecting drop target and supervising all aspects of dropping smokejumpers, rappellers, or cargo.
spotting FASC Fire Analysis Subcommittee Approved Behavior of a fire producing sparks or embers that are carried by the wind and which start new fires beyond the zone of direct ignition by the main fire.
spray IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved Water applied through an orifice in finely divided particles to absorb heat and smother fire, to protect exposures from radiated heat, and to carry water toward otherwise inaccessible fire.
spread component FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved A rating of the forward rate of spread of the head of a fire.
spread index FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved A number used to indicate relative (not actual) rate of spread.
spread index meter FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved Device for combining measured ratings of various fire danger factors into numerical classes or rates of spread.
spun yarn MFES Mobile Fire Equipment Subcommittee Approved A textile yarn spun and twisted from staple-length fiber, either natural or synthetic.
spur ridge PMC Fire Planning Management Committee, FESC Fire Environment Subcommittee Approved A small ridge which extends finger-like from a main ridge.
squall IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Sudden increase in wind speed to at least 17 mph (15 knots) that is sustained for at least 1 minute but not more than 5 minutes.
squall line IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Any nonfrontal line or narrow band of active thunderstorms extending across the horizon. It is of importance to fire behavior due to accompanying strong gusty winds and the possibility of such a line passing between regular weather observation stations without being reported.
stable atmosphere IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Condition of the atmosphere in which the temperature decrease with increasing altitude is less than the dry adiabatic lapse rate. In this condition, the atmosphere tends to suppress large-scale vertical motion.
stable layer of air IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved A layer of air having a temperature change (lapse rate) of less than dry adiabatic (approximately -5.4 degrees F per 1,000 feet) thereby retarding either upward or downward mixing of smoke.
stack ASSC Aerial Supervision Subcommittee Approved Aircraft orbiting the rendezvous area; usually refers to vertical deployment at 500-foot (150 m) altitudinal separation between aircraft.
staff ride QMC Qualifications Management Committee, LTSC Leadership Training Subcommittee, LDSC Leadership Development Subcommitte Approved A case study of a previous incident that is conducted on the actual physical site where the incident occurred. A staff ride is an experiential learning method that involves three distinct parts: a preliminary study, a site visit, and a post-visit integration session. 
staffing index FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved A NFDRS component, index or related indicator (ignition component, spread component, energy release component, burning index, Keetch-Byram drought index) whose outputs are correlated to the local fire problem, used to determine staffing levels.
staffing level FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved The basis for decision support for daily staffing of initial attack resources and other activities. A level of readiness and an indicator or daily preparedness.
Staging Area QMC Qualifications Management Committee, NISC NIMS Integration Subcommittee Approved A temporary location for available resources in which personnel, supplies, and equipment await operational assignment.
stagnant conditions FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee, IWSC Incident Weather Subcommittee Approved Atmospheric conditions under which pollutants build up faster than the atmosphere can disperse them.
stand replacing fire FMSC Fuels Management Subcommittee Approved Fire which kills all or most of the living overstory trees in a forest and initiates forest succession or regrowth. Also explicitly describes the nature of fire in grasslands and some shrublands.
stand-by crew IOSC Incident Operations Subcommittee Approved A group of trained firefighters stationed at a dispatch point for quick, rapid deployment.
standard coupling ETSC Equipment/Technology Subcommittee Approved Fire hose coupling with American National Standard (NH) threads.
standard drying day FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved Day which produces the same net drying as experienced during a 24-hour period under laboratory conditions in which dry-bulb temperature is maintained at 80º F and relative humidity is maintained at and relative humidity is maintained at 20%.
Standard Hydrologic Exchange Format (SHEF) code FDSC Fire Danger Subcommittee Approved A two-character code to describe each measurement taken at a weather station.
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