Wildland Fire Management Plan Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

Appendix H - Definitions

Appropriate Management Response — Specific actions taken in response to a wildland fire to implement protection and fire use objectives. This term is a new term that does not replace any previously used term.

Daily revalidation — A process named the periodic fire assessment, which evaluates the continued capability of the local unit to manage the fire for resource benefits, and to determine if the fire is escalating in complexity and operational needs. This process is completed as frequently as specified by the local unit.

Decision Criteria Checklist (Initial Go/No-Go Decision) — A set of standards evaluation criteria to determine if the current wildland fire meets criteria to be managed for resource benefits. The completion of these criteria will lead to a decision to "Go/Not-Go" with management of the fire for resource benefits.

Expected Weather Conditions — those weather conditions indicated as common, likely, or highly probable based on current and expected trends and their comparison to historical weather records. These are the most probable weather conditions for this location and time. These conditions are used in making fire behavior forecasts for different scenarios (one necessary scenario involves fire behavior prediction under "expected weather conditions").

Experienced Severe Weather Conditions — those weather conditions that occur infrequently, but have been experienced on the fire site area during the period of weather records. For example, rare event weather conditions that significantly influence fires may have occurred only once, but their record can be used to establish a baseline for a worst-case scenario. These are the most severe conditions that can be expected. These conditions are used in making fire behavior forecasts for different scenarios (one necessary scenario involves fire behavior prediction under "experienced severe weather conditions").

Fire Complexity Analysis — A process for assessing wildland fire organizational needs and relative complexity in terms of ICS types (I, II, III etc.).

Fire Management Areas (FMA) — a sub-geographic area within an FMU that represents a pre-defined ultimate acceptable management area for a fire managed for resource benefits. This pre-defined area can constitute a Maximum Manageable Area (MMA) and is useful for those units having light fuel types conducive to very rapid fire spread rates. Pre-definition of these areas removes the time-lag in defining an MMA after ignition and permits pre-planning of the fire area, identification of threats to life, property, resources, and boundaries, and identification of initial actions.

Fire Management Plan (FMP) — A strategic plan that defines a program to manage wildland and prescribed fires and documents the Fire Management Program in the approved land use plan. The plan is supplemented by operational plans such as preparedness plans, preplanned dispatch plans, prescribed fire plans and prevention plans.

Fire Management Unit (FMU) — any land management area definable by objectives, topographic features, access, values-to-be-protected, political boundaries, fuel types, or major fire regimes, etc., that sets it apart from management characteristics of an adjacent unit. FMUs are delineated in Fire Management Plans (FMP). These units may have dominant management objectives and pre-selected strategies assigned to accomplish these objectives.

Fire Use — the combination of wildland fire use and prescribed fire application to meet resource objectives.

Holding Actions — planned actions required to achieve wildland and prescribed fire management objectives. These actions have specific implementation timeframes for fire use actions but can have less sensitive implementation demands for suppression actions. For wildland fires managed for resource benefits, an MMA may not be totally naturally defensible. Specific holding actions are developed to preclude fire from exceeding the MMA. For prescribed fires, these actions are developed to restrict the fire inside the planned burn unit. For suppression actions, holding actions may be implemented to prohibit the fire from crossing containment boundaries. These actions may be implemented as firelines are established to limit the spread of fire.

Initial Attack — An aggressive suppression action consistent with firefighter and public safety and values to be protected.

Management Action Points — also called "trigger points." Either geographic points on the ground or specific points in time where an escalation or alteration of management actions is warranted. These points are defined and the management actions to be taken are clearly described in an approved Wildland Fire Implementation Plan (WFIP) or Prescribed Fire Plan. Timely implementation of the actions when the fire reaches the action point is generally critical to successful accomplishment of the objectives.

Maximum Manageable Area (MMA) — MMA defines the firm limits of management capability to accommodate the social, political, and resource impacts of a wildland fire. Once established as part of an approved plan, the general impact area is fixed and not subject to change. MMAs can be developed as part of the FMP and described as a FMA. They can also be developed as part of the planning and implementation of management actions after a fire has ignited. If they are developed after the ignition, their definition will occur during the Wildland Fire Implementation Plan Stage III process. In the event a fire occurs in a pre-planned MMA or FMA and the local unit determines that this MMA is not the best-suited alternative for the present conditions, a new MMA can be developed as part of the Stage III process. Once this occurs, the Stage III MMA becomes the firm limits of the fire and is fixed.

Mitigation Actions — Mitigation actions are considered to be those on-the-ground activities that will serve to increase the defensibility of the MMA; check, direct, or delay the spread of fire; and minimize threats to life, property, and resources. Mitigation actions may include mechanical and physical non-fire tasks, specific fire applications, and limited suppression actions. These actions will be used to construct firelines, reduce excesssive fuel concentrations, reduce vertical fuel continuity, create fuel breaks or barriers around critical or sensitive sites or resources, create "blacklines" through controlled burnouts, and to limit fire spread and behavior.

Normal Fire Year — The normal fire year for suppressed wildland fires is the year with the third highest number of wildland fires in the past ten years of record. The normal wildland fire managed for resource benefits year is the year with the third highest number of acres burned by wildland fire managed for resource benefits in the past ten years of record.

Preparedness — Activities that lead to a safe, efficient and cost effective fire management program in support of land and resource management objectives through appropriate planning and coordination. This term replaces presuppression.

Prescribed Fire — Any fire ignited by management actions to meet specific objectives. A written, approved prescribed fire plan must exist, and NEPA requirements must be met, prior to ignition. This term replaces management ignited prescribed fire.

Prescribed Fire Plan — a plan required for each fire application ignited by managers. It must be prepared by qualified personnel and approved by the appropriate Agency Administrator prior to implementation. Each plan will follow specific agency direction and must include critical elements described in agency manuals. Formats for plan development vary among agencies, although content is the same.

Prescription — Measurable criteria which define conditions under which a prescribed fire may be ignited, guide selection of appropriate management responses, and indicate other required actions. Prescription criteria may include safety, economic, public health, environmental, geographic, administrative, social or legal considerations.

Trigger points — see Management action points.

Wildfire — An unwanted wildland fire. This term was only included to give continuing credence to the historic fire prevention products. This is NOT a separate type of fire.

Wildland and Prescribed Fire Complexity Analysis — The formal process to determine the full complexity rating for wildland and prescribed fires. It utilizes 12 variables having numerically weighted importance combined with user identified complexity values.

Wildland Fire — Any non-structure fire, other than prescribed fire, that occurs in the wildland. This term encompasses fires previously called both wildfires and prescribed natural fires.

Wildland Fire Implementation Plan (WFIP) — A progressively developed assessment and operational management plan that documents the analysis and selection of strategies and describes the appropriate management response for a wildland fire. A full WFIP consists of three stages. Different levels of completion may occur for differing management strategies (i.e., fires managed for resource benefits will have two - three stages of the WFIP completed while some fires that receive a suppression response may only have a portion of Stage I completed).

Wildland Fire Management Program — The full range of activities and functions necessary for planning, preparedness, emergency suppression operations, and emergency rehabilitation of wildland fires, and prescribed fire operations, including non-activity fuels management to reduce risks to public safety and to restore and sustain ecosystem health.

Wildland Fire Situation Analysis (WFSA) — A decision-making process that evaluates alternative management strategies against selected safety, environmental, social, economic, political, and resource management objectives.

Wildland Fire Suppression — an appropriate management response to wildland fire that results in curtailment of fire spread and eliminates all identified threats from the particular fire. All wildland fire suppression activities provide for firefighter and public safety as the highest consideration, but minimize loss of resource values, economic expenditures, and/or the use of critical firefighting resources.

Wildland Fire Use — the management of naturally ignited wildland fires to accomplish specific pre-stated resource management objectives in pre-defined geographic areas outlined in Fire Management Plans. Operational management is described in the Wildland Fire Implementation Plan (WFIP). Wildland fire use is not to be confused with "fire use," which is a broader term encompassing more than just wildland fires (see definition below):

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