Fire Research » Fire Environment » CFFDRS

Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System

General Overview

The current form of the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) has been under development by the federal forestry service in Canada since 1968, although its roots date back to research that began in the 1920s. The system is made up of two major subsystems that have been formally documented and disseminated and two less formalized subsystems that are still under development.

The two major CFFDRS subsystems, the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System and the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction System have been used operationally throughout the country for a number of years. The two less formalized systems, the Canadian Forest Fire Occurrence Prediction System and the Accessory Fuel Moisture System have been under development by individual CFS researchers for a number of years although they have not been formally developed into a national framework.