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Type: Report
Author(s): John J. Keetch; George M. Byram
Publication Date: 1968

The moisture content of the upper soil, as well as that of the covering layer of duff, has an important effect on the fire suppression effort in forest and wildland areas. In certain forested areas of the United States, fires in deep duff fuels are of particular concern to the fire control manager. When these fuels are dry, fires burn deeply, dam-age is excessive, and fire extinguishment unduly expensive. Even rela-tively small fires are costly; the larger fires may be disastrous. As an example, in 1955 and 1956, four fires in the Southeast each burned more than 100,000 acres. During these years, normally moist areas which usually served as good fire barriers, such as branch heads and bays, became so dry that the fires accelerated through the heavy fuel instead of slowing down.

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Citation: Keetch, John J.; Byram, George M. 1968. A drought index for forest fire control. Research Paper SE-RP-38. Asheville, NC: USDA Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 35 p.

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    National
Keywords:
  • drought
  • drought index
  • duff depth
  • duff moisture content
  • fire control
  • fire suppression
  • fuel moisture
  • statistical analysis
Tall Timbers Record Number: 6546Location Status: In-fileAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 12307

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.