Suppression Difficulty Index

Firefighting is an inherently hazardous occupation, and responder safety is the primary concern on all incidents. Fire managers must weigh the potential hazards of fire against their ability to position people and resources where they are likely to be effective.

The Suppression Difficulty Index (SDI) is a tool that provides managers with more accurate information about the hazards and effort required to suppress an active wildfire at any given location. The Suppression Difficulty Index provides a map with “watch out” situations as well as less risky areas where managers can direct strategic operations. Managers can produce Suppression Difficulty Index maps with real-time weather forecasts to track changes in risk to firefighters throughout a wildfire incident.  

The Suppression Difficulty Index factors in topography, fuels, expected fire behavior under severe fire weather conditions, firefighter line production rates in various fuel types, and accessibility (distance from roads/trails) to assess relative suppression effort. For this dataset, severe fire behavior is modeled with 15 mph up-slope winds and fully cured fuels. 

Users can find the latest version of the national Suppression Difficulty Index product on the Risk Management Assistance (RMA) Dashboard. It is part of the Potential Control Locations (PCL) Suitability model but can also be used as a stand-alone product.

Purpose

The Suppression Difficulty Index provides a map with “watch out” situations as well as less risky areas where managers can direct strategic operations during wildfire response. The tool supports firefighter safety and more effective wildfire response.

Application and Overview