NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire, PMS 205

A specific value. A subpart of the Functional Landscapes value.

An elongated area of relatively low atmospheric pressure, usually extending from the center of a low pressure system.

Substantial transportation route for fire suppression motor vehicles, built prior to a fire. Also known as a fire road.

Velocity of an aircraft in its flight path relative to the air through which it is moving.

Bearing by true north rather than magnetic north.

An event dealing with response to a tsunami.

Irregular motion of the atmosphere usually produced when air flows over a comparatively uneven surface such as the surface of the earth; or when two currents of air flow past or over each other in different directions or at different speeds.

Contain a fire along a flank of the fire and begin containing it across the head. Refers to ground or air attack.

Time used by an airtanker or helitanker to reload and return to the fire.

A coat with a fire resistant outer shell and a thermal and moisture barrier liner. Used primarily by structure firefighters.

The twisting of a hose when hydrostatic pressure is applied. The twisting is either left or right as observed in the direction of flow.

Radio equipment with transmitters in mobile units on the same frequency as the base station, permitting conversation in two directions using the same frequency in turn.

A thin membrane separating the middle ear from the inner part of the external auditory canal that vibrates in response to sound energy and transmits the resulting mechanical vibrations to the structures of the middle ear—called also eardrum, tympanum.

Lowest-level, categorization used to classify specific actions planned and implemented to address threats mitigated by the wildland fire management program.

A NIMS resource classification that refers to capability of a specific kind of resource to which a metric is applied to designate it as a specific numbered class.

Radio frequencies from 300 Megahertz (MHz) to 3,000 MHz with a normal range of less than 50 miles. Radio frequency common to military aircraft and used in the logistics radio system. The most common frequencies used by fire and public safety are from 406 MHz to 512 MHz. 

Level of risk as determined by the risk management process which cannot be mitigated to an acceptable safe level.

All personnel who are not official or unofficial passengers are considered unauthorized passengers and are not authorized to be transported in any aircraft owned or operated by or on behalf of the government.

The resource is not available to fill a resource order request.

The resource has been transferred to another dispatch, but the transfer has not been completed.

Airport not having an approved agency with radio communications to direct aircraft take-offs and landings.

Any fire which threatens to destroy life, property, or natural resources, and (a) is not burning within the confines of firebreaks, or (b) is burning with such intensity that it could not be readily extinguished with ordinary tools commonly available.

A fire that consume surface fuels but not the overstory canopy.

A fireline below a fire on a slope. Should be trenched to catch rolling material.

Prescribed burning under a forest canopy.

Refers to wildfire incidents where an investigation did not identify a clear or definitive cause of origin.

A unified area command is established when incidents under an area command are multijurisdictional.

Established when more than one agency has incident jurisdiction or when incidents cross political jurisdictions. This is accomplished by establishing a common set of incident objectives and strategies, without losing or abdicating authority, responsibility, or accountability.

Single location through which all incident resource orders are processed.

The wetting and close up period of a dry unlined hose.

A unique identifier assigned to each wildland fire.

A code that uniquely identifies a particular fire report.

lowest in hierarchy, Relates to Agencies, Regions

The organizational element with functional responsibility for a specific activity within the Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration Sections in ICS.A generic term that represents an organizational entity that only has meaning when it is contextualized by a descriptor, e.g. jurisdictional.

A code used within the interagency incident management community to uniquely identify a particular governmental or non-government organizational unit recognized by NWCG as a wildland fire or all-risk cooperator.

A NIMS guiding principle stating that each individual involved in incident management reports to and takes direction from only one person.

A command philosophy that encourages leaders to work together to find common ground and act in the best interest of those responding to the incident, the public, and the resources that are threatened.

Grid coordinates expressed as a distance in meters to the east.

Coordinates measured relative to the equator.

A division of the Earth's surface into 60 north-south zones, each 6 degrees of longitude wide.

Used when the actual value is unavailable, uncertain or yet to be determined. It indicates that the information is missing or not applicable rather than representing an error or invalid entry.

Hose commonly of cotton, linen, or synthetic fiber construction without rubber tube or lining, often used for wildfires because of its light weight and self protecting (weeping) characteristics; such hose is attached to first-aid standpipes in buildings. At a specified flow, friction loss in unlined hose of a stated diameter is about twice that of lined fire hose. 

A woven hose that does not incorporate a tube. Designed to seep, and manufactured of linen yarn. Normally used as emergency hose, but used in wildland fires due to its resistance to hot spots that would burn through other types of hose.

Areas for which no fire organization has responsibility for management of a wildfire authorized by law, contract, or personal interest of the fire organization (e.g., a timber or rangeland association). 

Upper Level Disturbance, Cold Low Aloft: A circulation feature of the upper atmosphere where pressure, at a constant altitude, is lowest. Winds blow counter-clockwise around the center in an approximately circular pattern. Upper level lows are usually quite small. The mechanics of these upper lows is such that a pool of cool moist air always accompanies their development. There is often no evidence of low pressure at the earth's surface. An upper low may exist above a surface high pressure system. 

Trough, Trough Aloft, Upper Level [Cold] Low: An elongated area of relatively low pressure, at constant altitude, in the atmosphere. The opposite of an upper level ridge. Upper level troughs are usually oriented north-south with the north end open. That is, air currents moving from west to east around the earth flow around three sides of the trough then turn eastward rather than toward the west, as in the case of a closed circulation. A large upper level trough may have one or more small upper level closed low circulation systems within it.