News from the Enterprise Program

About FBAT

Contributed by Alicia Reiner and Chris Barrett

The Fire Behavior Assessment Team (FBAT) is a unique rapid response fire crew that specializes in real-time monitoring of fire behavior on active fires. FBAT has grown from an AMSET offering into a collaborative group.

For the 2016 fire season the Pacific Southwest Region asked FBAT to answer the question "What is the actual fire behavior in tree mortality areas?" In 2016, FBAT focused on collecting short-turnaround intelligence on fire behavior conditions to support fire behavior predictions in tree mortality fuels.

FBAT is made up of six to twelve experienced fire fighters, researchers or wildland fire module members who place fire behavior sensors and special video camera set-ups to measure fuel conditions and fire behavior as fire passes through landscapes. The crew uses fire-resistant boxes for video cameras and a heat trigger device to safely videotape fire behavior inside fire areas. They also place electronic data collectors that measure temperature and time which helps the team determine how hot and how fast the fire is moving.

FBAT collected data on the Cedar Fire, on the Sequoia National Forest, CA and the Tatanka Complex at Yellowstone National Park last fire season. The Cedar Fire report can be viewed at http://www.fs.fed.us/adaptivemanagement/projects_main_fbat.php

Although strong conclusions cannot be gathered from the Cedar Fire data alone, fire managers were happy with the work FBAT began to accomplish: “I am always amazed with . . . the breadth and depth of knowledge and experience to rapidly assess a wildfire like the Cedar Fire and a well thought out and professional document like this. Kudos to you and your team!” – Kelly Martin, National Park Service, Operations Section Chief Trainee on the Cedar Fire.