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FlamMap Project

Status
Ongoing
Start Date
January, 2003
FlamMap-Farsite graphic

FlamMap is a fire analysis desktop application that ONLY runs in a 64-bit Windows Operating System environment. It can simulate potential fire behavior characteristics (spread rate, flame length, fireline intensity, etc.), fire growth and spread and conditional burn probabilities under constant environmental conditions (weather and fuel moisture). With the inclusion of FARSITE it can now compute wildfire growth and behavior for longer time periods under heterogeneous conditions of terrain, fuels, fuel moistures and weather.)

 

The FlamMap fire mapping and analysis system (Finney 2006) describes potential fire behavior for constant environmental conditions (weather and fuel moisture). Fire behavior is calculated for each pixel within the landscape file independently. Potential fire behavior calculations include surface fire spread, flame length, crown fire activity type, crown fire initiation, and crown fire spread. Dead fuel moisture and conditioning of dead fuels in each pixel based on slope, shading, elevation, aspect, and weather. With the inclusion of FARSITE, FlamMap can now compute wildfire growth and behavior with detailed sequences of weather conditions.

The FlamMap fire mapping and analysis system includes FARSITE (Finney 1998, 2004) and FlamMap BASIC (Finney 2006), Minimum Travel Time (MTT, Finney 2002, 2006), Treatment Optimization Model (Finney 2001, 2006, 2007), and Conditional Burn Probability (Finney 2005, 2006). It incorporates the following fire behavior models:

  • Rothermel's (1972) surface fire spread model,
  • Van Wagner's (1977) crown fire initiation model,
  • Rothermel's (1991) crown fire spread model,
  • Albini's (1979) spotting model,
  • Finney’s (1998) or Scott and Reinhardt’s (2001) crown fire calculation method, and
  • Nelson's (2000) dead fuel moisture model. This allows conditioning of dead fuels in each pixel based on slope, shading, elevation, aspect, and weather.

Because environmental conditions remain constant when using FlamMap, MTT, Burn Probability, and TOM it will not simulate temporal variations in fire behavior caused by weather and diurnal fluctuations as FARSITE does. Nor will it display spatial variations caused by backing or flanking fire behavior. These limitations need to be considered when viewing FlamMap output using these models in a relative sense rather than absolute sense. However, these outputs are well-suited for landscape level comparisons of fuel treatment effectiveness because fuel is the only variable that changes. Outputs and comparisons can be used to identify combinations of hazardous fuel and topography, aiding in prioritizing fuel treatments.

The FlamMap software creates a variety of vector and raster maps of potential fire behavior characteristics (for example, spread rate, flame length, crown fire activity) and environmental conditions (dead fuel moistures, mid-flame wind speeds, and solar irradiance) over an entire landscape or for specific modeling applications these same outputs are limited to the simulation footprint (MTT and FARSITE). These raster maps can be viewed in FlamMap or exported for use in a GIS, or image format.

The FlamMap software also creates a variety of vector outputs specific to each modeling system within the application. Gridded wind vectors are produced whenever WindNinja is used within the application and information on spotting (tabular and shapefile format) are also created. MTT creates MTT flow paths and MTT Arrival Contours. Within FARSITE, Wind and Spread Vectors, and FARSITE Perimeters are also produced.

Please see the Resources tab for additional information. To download FlamMap or find technical support information, visit the FlamMap Software page.

FlamMap Software

Principal Investigators:
Mark Finney
Charles McHugh (Retired)

Funding Contributor(s):

Joint Fire Science Program
USDI Bureau of Land Management
USDA Forest Service
USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program
USFS Wildland Fire Management Research, Development & Application
 
Project Years: 2003-present

Principal Investigators & Contacts

Contributors

FlamMap is being developed by: U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program, and Stu Brittan; Alturas Solutions; Missoula, Montana

The following individuals are working on components of the FlamMap project:

  • Mark Finney, U.S. Forest Service, is the project lead and is responsible for program design.
  • Stuart Brittan, Alturas Solutions, is responsible for programing development.
  • Chuck McHugh, U.S. Forest Service, software project management, software development, program testing and online support.
  • Rob Seli, U.S. Forest Service (retired), developed the online help system.
  • Rick Stratton, U.S. Forest Service, conducted program testing.

Funding Contributor(s):

  • Joint Fire Science Program
  • RMRS Fire, Fuel, and Smoke Science Program
  • USDI Bureau of Land Management
  • US Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management
  • USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station
  • USFS Wildland Fire Management Research, Development & Application
  • Alturas Solutions

FlamMap Software

  • Tool
    FlamMap-Farsite graphic

    FlamMap

    https://research.fs.usda.gov/firelab/products/dataandtools/flammap

Related Tools and Software

Multimedia

Additional Publications

Guides for Spatial Fire Behavior Analysis

Scott, J. H.; Burgan, R. E. 2005. Standard fire behavior fuel models: a comprehensive set for use with Rothermel's surface fire spread model. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-153. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. (1,359 KB; 80 pages)

Green, K.; Finney, M. A.; Campbell, J.; Weinstein, D.; Landrum, V. 1995. Fire! Using GIS to predict fire behavior. Journal of Forestry 93(5): 21-25. (271 KB; 5 pages)

FlamMap Background Material

Finney, M. A. 1995. FARSITE: A fire area simulator for fire managers. In: Weise, D. R.; Martin, R. E. (tech. coords.). The Biswell Symposium: Fire issues and solutions in urban interface and wildland ecosystems. 1994 February 15-17; Walnut Creek, California. General Technical Report PSW-GTR-158. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: 55-56. (647 KB; 13 pages)

Finney, M. A. 1999. Mechanistic modeling of landscape fire patterns. In: Mladenoff, D. J. and Baker, W. L. eds. Spatial modeling of forest landscape change: approaches and applications. Cambridge University Press: 186-209.

Finney, M.A. 2001. Design of regular landscape level fuel treatment patterns for modifying fire growth and behavior. For. Sci. 47(2):219-228.

Finney, M.A. 2002. Fire growth using minimum travel time methods. Can. J. For. Res. 32(8):1420-1424.

Finney, M. A. 2005. The challenge of quantitative risk analysis for wildland fire. Forest Ecology & Management 211: 97-108.

Fuel Treatment Location Simulations using FlamMap

Ager, A. A.; Finney, M. A.; Kems, B. K.; Maffei, H. 2007. Modeling wildfire risk to northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) habitat in Central Oregon, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 246: 45-56. (2,040 KB; 12 pages)

Stratton, R. D. 2004. Assessing the Effectiveness of Landscape Fuel Treatments on Fire Growth and Behavior.  Journal of Forestry. Pp 32-40 October/November 2004

Finney, M.A. 2004. Chapter 9, Landscape fire simulation and fuel treatment optimization. IN: J.L. Hayes, A.A. Ager, J.R. Barbour (tech. eds). Methods for integrated modeling of landscape change: Interior Northwest Landscape Analysis System. PNW-GTR-610. p 117-131.

Finney, M.A. 2001. Design of regular landscape level fuel treatment patterns for modifying fire growth and behavior. For. Sci. 47(2):219-228.

Fire Growth Simulations using FARSITE

Finney, M. A. 2000. Efforts at comparing simulated and observed fire growth patterns. Missoula, MT: Systems for Environmental Management; Final Report INT-95066-RJVA. (71 KB; 20 pages)

Finney, M. A.; Andrews, P. L. 1999. FARSITE: Fire Area Simulator—a program for fire growth simulation. Fire Management Notes 59(2): 13-15. (71 KB; 3 pages)

Finney, M. A.; Andrews, P. L.. 1998. Application and status of the FARSITE fire area simulator. In: Proceedings of the III International Conference on Fire and Forest Meteorology; 1998 November 16-20; Luso, Coimbra-Portugal: 755-760. (4,154 KB; 6 pages)

Finney, M. A.; Andrews, P. L. 1998. The FARSITE Fire Area Simulator: fire management applications and lessons of Summer 1994. In: Close K. and Bartlette R. A.,eds. Fire management under fire (Adapting to Change), Proceedings of the Interior West Fire Council Meeting and Program, International Association of Wildland Fire: 209-215. (9,705 KB; 7 pages)

Finney, M. A. 1995. Fire growth modeling in the Sierra Nevada of California. In: Brown, J. K.; Mutch, R. W.; Spoon, C. W.; and Wakimoto, R. H., eds. Proceedings of a Symposium on Fire in Wilderness and Park Management; 1995 March 30 - April 1; Missoula, MT. (4,424 KB; 3 pages)

Finney, M. A.; Ryan, K. C. 1995. Use of the FARSITE fire growth model for fire prediction in U.S. National Parks. In: Proceedings of the International Emergency Management and Engineering Conference; 1995 May; Sofia Antipolis, France: 183-189. (11,469 KB; 7 pages)

Finney, M. A. 1994. Modeling the spread and behavior of prescribed natural fires. In: Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Fire and Forest Meteorology. 1993 October 26-28; Jekyll Island, GA. (589 KB; 6 pages)

Fuel Treatment Evaluation using FARSITE

Stratton, R. D. 2004. Assessing the effectiveness of landscape fuel treatments on fire growth and behavior. Journal of Forestry. 102(7): 32-40. (550 KB; 9 pages)

Van Wagtendonk, J. W. 1996. Use of a deterministic fire growth model to test fuel treatments. In: Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project: Final Report to Congress. Davis, CA: University of California, Centers for Water and Wildland Resources: volume II, chapter 43. (783 KB; 12 pages)

Finney, M. A.; Sapsis, D. B.; Bahro, B. 2002. Use of FARSITE for simulating fire suppression and analyzing fuel treatment economics. In: Symposium on fire and California ecosystems: integrating ecology, prevention and management; 1997 November 17-20, San Diego, CA. (1,132 KB; 16 pages)

Last updated December 4, 2025
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