Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System
A User's Guide
By K.G. Hirsch
Canadian Forest Service, Northern Forestry Centre
The Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System provides a systematic method of assessing fire behavior. The FBP System has fourteen primary inputs that can be divided into five general categories: fuels, weather, topography, foliar moisture content, and type and duration of prediction. In the FBP System these inputs are used to mathematically develop four primary and eleven secondary outputs. Primary outputs are generally based on a fire intensity equation, and secondary outputs are calculated using a simple elliptical fire growth model. This publication provides diagrams, examples, and exercises that explain the FBP System in a user-oriented manner. This guide delineates the interpretation of the FBP System's inputs and outputs and details how the predictions are derived.