The Fire Records Database is updated each year by personnel from the resources management division of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. This list describes the codes used.
BI
Two digits for the Burning Index the day the fire was ignited. Obtained from the afternoon Weather (Wx) forecasts.
BRUSH
Three digits for the percent of the fire covered by brush.
CAUSE
Two digits for the cause of the fire. If there is any doubt, code 15 for unknown is used.
10 = campfire
11 = smoking
12 = arson
13 = debris/pile
14 = children
15 = unknown
20 = lightning: no suppression (i.e. PNF)
21 = lightning: suppressed
22 = lightning: suppression zone no action (i.e. confine/contain)
30 = Prescribed Management Ignited
37 = Support Action outside the park
50 = Mutual Aid Fire
51 = False Alarm
DETECTDAY
Two digits for the day that the fire was detected.
DETECTMO
Two digits for the month that the fire was detected.
ELEVATION
Four digits for the elevation of the fire to the nearest meter (1 meter = 3.28 feet).
FIRENAME
Twenty characters for the name the fire was given.
FIRENO
Four characters for the fire number. Older fire numbers contained letters to distinguish between Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park fires. Modern fire numbers are just that (numbers).
GISNO
The Geographic Information System (GIS) Number is the link between our mapped fires and the Fire Management Office (FMO)'s Individual Fire Reports (1202's). The 7 digit GIS number contains the year (the first 4 digits) and the fire number (the last 3 digits). For example 1957050 is for the fiftieth fire in the year 1957. Fires that are issued a number by FMO but are irrelevant to the parks' fire history (& are not mapped) are given a Nine Hundred Series fire number in the database (ex: 1957902 for an out-of-park fire crew dispatch in the year 1957). Other examples that warrant a 900 series fire number include: Support Actions, False Alarms, Mutual Aid Fires more than one mile outside the park boundary, and fires with insufficient data to map. (This last category is mostly for older fires, 1921-1970, and should not happen in modern times due to better documentation protocols).
GRASS
Three digits for the percent of the fire covered by grass.
IGNITDAY
Two digits for the day that the fire was ignited. This field is usually left blank unless it was known that the fire was detected on a different day than when it was ignited.
IGNITMO
Two digits for the month that the fire was ignited. This field is usually left blank unless it was known that the fire was detected in a different month than when it was ignited.
INFO
Forty characters for all the information stored in the MISC_INFO field for pre-1993 fire records. The field was changed to a "memo" type after the 1992 fire seasons fires were added.
LAL
One digit for the Lightning Activity Level the day the fire was ignited. Obtained from the afternoon Wx forecasts.
LAT
Ten characters for the latitude of the fire to the nearest tenth of a minute (current 1202's only require to the nearest minute).
LONG
Ten characters for the longitude of the fire to the nearest tenth of a minute (current 1202's only require to the nearest minute).
MAP
Twenty characters to identify what information source the fire was mapped from and contains one of the following listings:
a. BLANK = The fire was mapped from fairly reliable information obtained from the source listed in source field.
b. "TRS" = In cases where no map was given for size class A & B fires the Township, Range & Section were used if they appeared reasonable. The "x" denoting the fire was then copied from its position in the section square on the fire report form to the same position on the mapped section. Each fire not mapped on the section outline on the report form was mapped in the center of that section.
c. "ATLAS" = The fire was mapped from the atlas series located in FMO. This method was used primarily for fires from 1968-1971 for which no IFR's were found. In these cases the fire chronology was used with the Atlas as a guide.
d. "GUESS" = In cases where no T,R & S were given for size class A & B fires or were given but obviously were incorrect or for land not surveyed, the fire was mapped as a "guess" in the center of the area relating to the fire name.
e. "NOT MAPPED"= Insufficient data from which to map the fire and the fire was given a 900 series GISNO.
MAP_NUMBER
Two characters for the 7.5 minute USGS Topo Quad map number for the fires location. If a fire is located on more than one map, this field takes the map number for the map containing the largest portion of the fire.
MISC_INFO
Memo field for any significant information pertaining to the fire, for instance why a 900 series fire was not mapped (Support Action, False Alarm, # Issued in Error etc.).
OUTDAY
Two digits for the day that the fire was declared out.
OUTMO
Two digits for the month that the fire was declared out.
RANGE
Three characters for the range the fire is located in.
SECTION
Two digits for the section the fire is located in. This field is optional since most of the park is unsurveyed.
SIZE
Ten digits for the size of the fire to the nearest tenth of an acre.
SIZECLASS
One character for the size class in acres.
A = 0-.25 ACRES
B = .26-9.9 ACRES
C = 10-99.9 ACRES
D = 100-999.9 ACRES
E = 1000-4999.9 ACRES
F = 5000+ ACRES
SOURCE
Twenty Characters for the source of the information.
a. BLANK = The fire information was obtained from an IFR (1202). This field should be blank for all modern era fires.
b. CHRONOLOGY = The fire information was obtained from the fire chronology notebook - a note book containing a one line listing of each fire filed by year of its occurrence kept in FMO.
c. "FMO" = Fire information found from miscellaneous sources FMO reports but never listed in the Fire Chronology and for which no other information was found.
d. Personal communication = Sources listed by last name & include: Nichols, T.; Stohlgren, T.; Nelson, E.; Cannarozzi, M.; Castro, C. The fire history atlas compiled by Jason Greenlee was used in cases where source information is no longer located at the park, and is listed as "Greenlee" for the source.
e. "FMO Rx" = Information found in a series of folders on prescribed burns filed in FMO. The file does not include every prescribed burn, and does contain some folders for burns that were never carried out.
TIMBER
Three digits for the percent of the fire covered by timber.
TOWNSHIP
Three characters for the township the fire is located in.
UTME
Six characters for the Universal Transverse Mercator grid system's Easting reading to the nearest meter. The reading is obtained from the GIS printout after the fires have been digitized.
UTMN
Seven characters for the Universal Transverse Mercator grid system's Northing reading to the nearest meter. The reading is obtained from the GIS printout after the fires have been digitized.
YEAR
Four digits for the year the fire started (ex: 1927).
