To be of any use, observational data on forest fire
behavior must be related to the prefire and present burning conditions (e.g., Stocks and Walker 1972;
Quintilio et al. 1977). The Canadian Forest Fire
Weather Index and its component codes and indexes
(Van Wagner 1974; Van Wagner and Pickett 1975;
Anonymous 1978; Turner and Lawson 1978) are effective
integrators of past and current weather influences on
burning conditions. By quoting these values (preferably
calculated from on-site or nearby weather observations)
for experimental fires (e.g., Methven and Murray 1974;
Kiil 1975), operational prescribed fires (e.g., Chrosciewicz
1976) or wildfires (e.g., Walker and Stocks
1972) one can understand and (or) duplicate the burning
conditions that have occurred. It is possible to calculate
values for past fires if suitable historical data are
available (e.g., Methven et al. 1975).