October 2008

Get ready to catch the second and third waves! Fire Planning Units should:

• Set up the FPU team and determined system access for team members
• Determine staffing seasons for resources
• Define dispatch logic
• Define attributes associated with Fire Workload Areas (FWAs)
• Gather data on dispatch locations for fire resources, types of fire resources, delays, staffing, annual operating costs for resources including staffing and vehicles costs

Refer to the FPA User guide for details.

FPA Deployment Wave 1: The 55 Fire Planning Units (FPUs) in the first deployment wave have been working in the system for the past month. Wave 1 FPUs are focusing on entering data, defining various attributes, and understanding system assumptions. All of this work is preparing them for their "validation" runs.

Validations runs are used to "fine tune" the model to better represent the unit's program on the ground. Fire planners can use validation runs to determine if adjustments need to be made to their fire workload area inputs. Why would FPUs make adjustments to their analysis?

• To better portray the unit's typical fire workload scenario.
• To have a foundation to compare relative changes between investment options.

"Validation" runs are completed before FPUs begin developing their fuels and preparedness options to ensure the correct parameters are input into the model to derive more accurate results.

Helping Hands: FPA's Implementation Coordination Group (ICG) is helping fire planners navigate through the FPA system by hosting a weekly LiveMeeting session. These sessions allow participants to dial in and log in to a live internet event to view a presentation, or the actual FPA system. Participants interact with the FPA specialists to learn about the new FPA user interface and how to use it.

FPUs will have 5 months, from start to finish, to complete their analyses.

• Wave 1 began October 1 with analyses due March 1, 2009.
• Wave 2 began November 1, 2008 with analyses due
  April 1, 2009.
• Wave 3 begins December 1, with analyses due May 1, 2009.

Latest FPA Version 2.03 includes these new features:

• Adjusting the diurnal coefficient allows the user to adjust the rate of spread to more closely approximate the local fire behavior at various times of the day. Planners can refine the FPU's fire behavior rate-of-spread relative to the 1300
  (1 p.m. local) time of day spread.  Talk with your local fire managers to gain expert knowledge about how fires tend to burn in your FWAs.
• Administrator access by designated planner(s) in and FPU, allows those planners to give other FPU participants additional administrative or editor access to their FPU's data.

FPA Web Updates

• Understanding FPA and the Performance Metrics used in Analyzing Investment Alternatives (white paper)
• Naming Convention for FPA Options & Analyses (technical paper)
• National FPU Shapefile
• National Fire Planning Unit Map

Existing FPA References:

• FPA "Quick Start" instruction guide. The Quickstart instruction guide walks FPUs through the initial FPA process with reference and instructional links.
• FPA User Guide will be available on the FPA web site as it is completed.
• FPA system helpdesk at fire_help@fs.fed.us
• Contact your GA lead or FPA representative

The Early-adopter PowerPoint presentations and questions and answers for earlier Live Meetings are also available on the FPA web site.

What's Next: Geographic Area Workshops! These workshops are being coordinated by FPA Geographic Area Leads. As details and locations are determined they will be announced.

• November 10, 2008: Southwest Geographic Area Workshop
• November 17, 2008: Southern Area Geographic Area Workshop
• December 1, 2008: California Geographic Area Workshop
• December 8, 2008: Southwest Geographic Area Workshop
• December 15, 2008: Northern Rockies Geographic Area Workshop

FPA Online Training! The first four of six online training modules are expected to be posted to the web in early November. Topics include: "Defining Resources", "Dispatch Logic", "Managing Delays", and Managing Preparedness".