Alphabetical reference · defined terms

Glossary of wildfire, maps and aerial response

Concise multilingual definitions for terms used in Fire Maps, explicitly separating observation, model, tactics and official status.

33 terms shown

A

ADS-B: Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast: an aircraft broadcasts identity, position and other flight data that ground receivers may collect; coverage is not guaranteed.
Air attack: The airborne supervision function that develops the aerial plan, coordinates aircraft and connects their work to incident command and ground operations.
Air tanker: A fixed-wing aircraft equipped to release water, foam or retardant; land-based tankers return to a runway base to reload.
Amphibious water bomber: A fixed-wing tanker able to alight on water or scoop a load while planing across a suitable water surface.
Anchor point: A secure place from which line construction begins, chosen to minimize the chance that the fire can work around the starting point.

B

Backburn / tactical fire: A deliberately ignited fire used by authorized specialists under command to consume fuel from a prepared line toward the wildfire; it is never a public self-protection technique.

C

Containment: The state in which a control line has been completed around the fire and associated spot fires, with a reasonable expectation that spread can be stopped.
Control line: A barrier used to contain or control a fire, combining natural breaks and constructed or treated edges from which fuel has been removed or altered.

D

Direct attack: Suppression work applied at or very near the burning edge, such as cooling flames and constructing line immediately behind the edge.
Drop: The controlled release of water, foam or retardant from an aircraft along a target selected within the aerial plan.

F

Fire behavior: The way a fire ignites, spreads and releases energy, including direction, rate of spread, flame length, intensity and spotting.
Fire danger: A rating of the potential for fire ignition, spread and difficulty of control under current or forecast conditions, not evidence of an active fire.
Fire front: The actively burning edge or part of the perimeter where the fire is advancing; it is not necessarily a single continuous line.
Fire Weather Index (FWI): The Canadian Fire Weather Index system combines weather-derived codes and indices to describe fuel moisture and potential fire behavior; it does not detect fires.
Flank: Either side of a fire between its head and rear, named left or right when viewed from the rear toward the head.
Fuel: Any living or dead vegetation or other combustible material available to burn, described by its type, load, arrangement, continuity and moisture.
Fuel break: A natural or modified strip where vegetation is absent, reduced or changed to help slow fire spread and support suppression work.

H

Head of the fire: The portion of a fire perimeter spreading most rapidly, commonly downwind or upslope under the current conditions.
Helicopter bucket: A collapsible or rigid container suspended below a helicopter and filled from a water source; “Bambi Bucket” is a common trade name.
Hover refill: A helicopter refill performed while hovering, using a snorkel or pump to draw water into an installed tank without landing.

I

Indirect attack: Suppression work conducted away from the active edge, using a selected control line and, when authorized, managed fire to remove fuel between the line and wildfire.

L

Lead plane: A tactical aircraft that evaluates visibility, hazards and the drop path, then demonstrates or leads a safe run for an air tanker when required.
Long-term retardant: A long-term chemical mixture dropped mainly ahead of or beside a fire to reduce fuel flammability and help crews build or hold a control line.

M

Mode-S: A secondary-surveillance transponder mode identified by a 24-bit aircraft address. A Mode-S signal may be received without carrying a complete ADS-B position.
Mop-up: Work after the main spread is checked to extinguish or secure heat near the control line and reduce the chance of escape or rekindling.

O

Observation orbit: Repeated circling that may let an observation or coordination aircraft maintain a view and radio contact; a track pattern alone does not prove its purpose.

P

Parallel attack: Line construction a short distance from and roughly parallel to the fire edge, with the intervening fuel dealt with as conditions and command allow.
Probable fire zone: In Fire Maps, an area inferred from converging low-level aircraft activity. It is a clue for investigation, not an observed or official fire perimeter.

R

Rate of spread: The speed at which a fire edge advances, usually expressed as distance per unit of time and always dependent on direction and conditions.

S

Scooping: The high-speed water pickup made by an amphibious tanker while it planes across a sufficiently long, deep and unobstructed water surface.
Spot fire: A separate fire ignited outside the main perimeter by wind-carried embers or burning material.

T

Thermal hotspot: A satellite or sensor indication of anomalous heat within a footprint at a stated acquisition time; it may represent active fire but is not a precise perimeter.

W

Wildfire: An unplanned or uncontrolled fire burning vegetation, forest, scrub, grass or other land fuels and capable of spreading beyond its origin.

Alphabetical reference · defined terms

Glossary of wildfire, maps and aerial response

Concise multilingual definitions for terms used in Fire Maps, explicitly separating observation, model, tactics and official status.

33 terms shown

A

ADS-B: Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast: an aircraft broadcasts identity, position and other flight data that ground receivers may collect; coverage is not guaranteed.
Air attack: The airborne supervision function that develops the aerial plan, coordinates aircraft and connects their work to incident command and ground operations.
Air tanker: A fixed-wing aircraft equipped to release water, foam or retardant; land-based tankers return to a runway base to reload.
Amphibious water bomber: A fixed-wing tanker able to alight on water or scoop a load while planing across a suitable water surface.
Anchor point: A secure place from which line construction begins, chosen to minimize the chance that the fire can work around the starting point.

B

Backburn / tactical fire: A deliberately ignited fire used by authorized specialists under command to consume fuel from a prepared line toward the wildfire; it is never a public self-protection technique.

C

Containment: The state in which a control line has been completed around the fire and associated spot fires, with a reasonable expectation that spread can be stopped.
Control line: A barrier used to contain or control a fire, combining natural breaks and constructed or treated edges from which fuel has been removed or altered.

D

Direct attack: Suppression work applied at or very near the burning edge, such as cooling flames and constructing line immediately behind the edge.
Drop: The controlled release of water, foam or retardant from an aircraft along a target selected within the aerial plan.

F

Fire behavior: The way a fire ignites, spreads and releases energy, including direction, rate of spread, flame length, intensity and spotting.
Fire danger: A rating of the potential for fire ignition, spread and difficulty of control under current or forecast conditions, not evidence of an active fire.
Fire front: The actively burning edge or part of the perimeter where the fire is advancing; it is not necessarily a single continuous line.
Fire Weather Index (FWI): The Canadian Fire Weather Index system combines weather-derived codes and indices to describe fuel moisture and potential fire behavior; it does not detect fires.
Flank: Either side of a fire between its head and rear, named left or right when viewed from the rear toward the head.
Fuel: Any living or dead vegetation or other combustible material available to burn, described by its type, load, arrangement, continuity and moisture.
Fuel break: A natural or modified strip where vegetation is absent, reduced or changed to help slow fire spread and support suppression work.

H

Head of the fire: The portion of a fire perimeter spreading most rapidly, commonly downwind or upslope under the current conditions.
Helicopter bucket: A collapsible or rigid container suspended below a helicopter and filled from a water source; “Bambi Bucket” is a common trade name.
Hover refill: A helicopter refill performed while hovering, using a snorkel or pump to draw water into an installed tank without landing.

I

Indirect attack: Suppression work conducted away from the active edge, using a selected control line and, when authorized, managed fire to remove fuel between the line and wildfire.

L

Lead plane: A tactical aircraft that evaluates visibility, hazards and the drop path, then demonstrates or leads a safe run for an air tanker when required.
Long-term retardant: A long-term chemical mixture dropped mainly ahead of or beside a fire to reduce fuel flammability and help crews build or hold a control line.

M

Mode-S: A secondary-surveillance transponder mode identified by a 24-bit aircraft address. A Mode-S signal may be received without carrying a complete ADS-B position.
Mop-up: Work after the main spread is checked to extinguish or secure heat near the control line and reduce the chance of escape or rekindling.

O

Observation orbit: Repeated circling that may let an observation or coordination aircraft maintain a view and radio contact; a track pattern alone does not prove its purpose.

P

Parallel attack: Line construction a short distance from and roughly parallel to the fire edge, with the intervening fuel dealt with as conditions and command allow.
Probable fire zone: In Fire Maps, an area inferred from converging low-level aircraft activity. It is a clue for investigation, not an observed or official fire perimeter.

R

Rate of spread: The speed at which a fire edge advances, usually expressed as distance per unit of time and always dependent on direction and conditions.

S

Scooping: The high-speed water pickup made by an amphibious tanker while it planes across a sufficiently long, deep and unobstructed water surface.
Spot fire: A separate fire ignited outside the main perimeter by wind-carried embers or burning material.

T

Thermal hotspot: A satellite or sensor indication of anomalous heat within a footprint at a stated acquisition time; it may represent active fire but is not a precise perimeter.

W

Wildfire: An unplanned or uncontrolled fire burning vegetation, forest, scrub, grass or other land fuels and capable of spreading beyond its origin.