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The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) has been used in Alaska since 1992. The CFFDRS is comprised of two major subsystems: the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System and the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System. The FWI System has six standard components:

  1. the Fine Fuel Moisture Code (FFMC)
  2. the Duff Moisture Code (DMC)
  3. the Drought Code (DC)
  4. the Initial Spread Index (ISI)
  5. the Buildup Index (BUI)
  6. the Fire Weather Index (FWI)

These six components provide relative numerical ratings of wildland fire potential for a standard fuel type on level terrain based on weather inputs. The FBP System provides for actual quantitative estimates of various fire behavior parameters for 16 distinct fuel types and topographic situations based in part on inputs from the FWI System (primarily the ISI and BUI).

Visit the CFFDRS website at Natural Resources Canada.

Download the 2014 assessment of CFFDRS implementation in Alaska (prepared for AWFCG by Dr. Jane Wolken).