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Long Term Fire Analyst

Position Description

Duties

  • Assists in the burn plan development and review before implementing.
  • Provides appropriate historic weather information.
  • Obtains weather forecasts, updates and special advisories; document local weather before and during the fire; and communicate with Meteorologist.
  • Establishes and maintains effective communications with appropriate personnel, such as supervisors, Fire Effects Monitor, crewmembers, or adjoining forces.
  • Establishes a system to monitor fire behavior, first order fire effects, weather data before (if possible), during and after ignition.
  • Assesses real-time observations of fire behavior and immediate fire effects, and recommend tactical adjustments.
  • Identifies fuels outside of standard models because of depth, loading arrangement, or kind of fuel; and adjust predictions accordingly.
  • Analyzes observed and predicted fire behavior to make adjustments to fuel models or the assumptions used in the fire behavior calculations.
  • Estimates wind speed and direction at any time and location over a large area of varying topography, given a fire weather forecast.
  • Assembles information and calculate fire growth from a line source of fire over an extended time period.
  • Recognizes and describes special conditions that promote extreme fire behavior.
  • Calculates the rate of spread, flame lengths (fireline intensity), heat per unit area, burn size (area and perimeter) for selected time periods for a burn starting from a point source and be able to plot the burn area and perimeter on a map.
  • Predicts the rate and direction of fire spread on slope with winds at various angles on the slope.
  • Employs appropriate solutions for burns of extended durations.
  • Provides assessment of risk of a rare fire spread, significant smoke, and/or season ending event for long duration fires.
  • Synthesizes the data sets from a number of local weather stations for useful inputs to fire behavior calculations for various locations.
  • Monitors smoke emissions for health, safety, and vista impairment.
  • Locates proper sites for, and identify appropriate equipment for weather data collection.
  • Prepares written prescribed fire behavior forecast within the time frame specified by the supervisor.
  • Provides formal briefing to appropriate personnel.
  • Provides fire behavior and fire effects summary for the fire(s).

Position Knowledge and/or Requirements

  • S-390, Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior Calculations
  • S-490, Advanced Wildland Fire Behavior Calculations
  • S-590, Advanced Fire Behavior Interpretations
  • S-492, Long Term Fire Risk Assessment
  • S-493, FARSITE: Fire Growth Simulation

 

Listed in 310-1
Yes

NWCG Latest Announcements

2025 Professional Reading Program

Date: February 18, 2025
Contact: Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program (WFLDP)

The Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program is announcing the 2025 Professional Reading list! The goal of the annual reading list is to promote the reading and discussion of the books throughout the year.

The five books chosen for this year are: Surf When You Can by Brett Crozier, Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke, Simply Managing by Henry Mintzberg, and Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Metcalf.

References:

Professional Reading Program

Task Group Volunteers Needed to Update the Property Loss or Damage Report, OF 289

Date: February 5, 2025
Contact: Julie Bennett, Incident Business Committee Chair

The Incident Business Committee (IBC) is requesting volunteers for a new task group to revise the 1981 version of the Property Loss or Damage Report, OF 289 and create an incident replacement job aid. The volunteers may be recruited from within or outside the Geographic Area Incident Business Committees.

References:

IBC Memorandum 25-02

IBC Correspondence

2025 Updates to the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1

Date: February 4, 2025
Contact: Incident and Position Standards Committee

The NWCG Incident and Position Standards Committee has updated the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1. 

These updates address changes to incident position names and requirements for qualification, training, and experience. Updates related to the implementation of Complex Incident Management (CIM) are also included.  

The NWCG Wildland Fire Position Qualification Flowchart, PMS 308 has also been updated to reflect the recent changes.

References:

NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Position Qualifications, PMS 310-1

NWCG Wildland Fire Position Qualification Flowchart, PMS 308

NWCG Memo: 2025-01 January 2025 Updates to the NWCG Standards for Wildland Fire Positions Qualifications, PMS 310-1

NWCG Equipment Technology Committee Releases Safety Warning: 25-001 Non-specification fire shelters

Date: January 15, 2025
Contact: Equipment Technology Committee

The Equipment Technology Committee (ETC) has released Safety Warning: 25-001 Non-specification fire shelters. Non-specification fire shelters claiming to meet Forest Service (FS) fire shelter specification 5100-606 were first found in February of 2023. As of September 2024, non-specification shelters are again being advertised and sold on the open market.

This Safety Warning outlines details and recommended procedures to purchase FS specification shelters made with materials and components that meet performance criteria and toxicity testing requirements outlined in FS Specification 5100-606. 

For additional information on identifying non-specification shelters, please view ETC Safety Warning 23-01.

References:

ETC Safety Warning 25-001: Non-specification fire shelters

NWCG Equipment Technology Committee

ETC Safety Warning 23-01