A fire characteristics chart is a graph that presents primary related fire behavior characteristics-rate of spread, flame length, fireline intensity, and heat per unit area. It helps communicate and interpret modeled or observed fire behavior. The Fire Characteristics Chart computer program plots either observed fire behavior or values that have been calculated by another computer program such as the BehavePlus fire modeling system. Program operation is described in this report, and its flexibility in format, color, and labeling is demonstrated for use in a variety of reports. A chart...

Rothermel's surface fire spread model was developed to use a value for the wind speed that affects surface fire, called midflame wind speed. Models have been developed to adjust 20-ft wind speed to midflame wind speed for sheltered and unsheltered surface fuel. In this report, Wind Adjustment Factor (WAF) model equations are given, and the BehavePlus fire modeling system is used to demonstrate WAF calculation and effect on modeled fire behavior. There are differences in implementation of the same basic wind adjustment models in various fire behavior applications, including the Fireline...