CFES--The California Fire Economics Simulator: A Computerized System for Wildland Fire Protection Planning

The University of California's Department of Forestry and Resource Management, under contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has developed and released the first version of the California Fire Economics Simulator (CFES). The current release is adapted from the Initial Action Assessment component of the USFS's National Fire Management Analysis System and features a greatly enhanced user interface. Research priorities include exploring alternatives to per acre net value change to better account for localized values at risk, addressing the issue of determining final sizes of escaped fires and developing enhancements to the Initial Attack Module to improve its realism. The University of California, Berkeley, in cooperation with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF), is developing the California Fire Economics Simulator (CFES), it is a package of computer programs designed to evaluate the CDF's wildland fire protection organization and alternative protection strategies. The first component of this simulator, the Initial Attack Module (CFES-IAM version 1.11), has been released and is outlined in this paper. Some improvements Presented at the Symposium on Wildland Fire 2000, April 27-30. 1987. South Lake Tahoe, California. Associate Specialist, Assistant Professor, and Professor, Department of Forestry and Resource Management, University of California, Berkeley. envisioned for the next version of CFES-IAM and an outline of proposed large fire and economics modules are also presented.