Fire Values Guide
Fire Risk Levels
How the INFERNIS API calculates and communicates overall wildfire risk for any location.
Understanding Risk Scores
The INFERNIS API returns wildfire confidence on a 0.00–1.00 scale for a geographic coordinate. This composite value combines current weather, fuel moisture, terrain, and historical fire frequency.
Risk Level Scale
| Confidence | Level | Colour | What It Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00–0.05 | Very Low | 🟢 | Negligible risk. Wet or snow-covered conditions. |
| 0.05–0.15 | Low | 🔵 | Minor risk. Fires are unlikely under current conditions. |
| 0.15–0.35 | Moderate | 🟡 | Elevated risk. Fires are possible with an ignition source. |
| 0.35–0.60 | High | 🟠 | Significant risk. Fires are likely to spread if ignited. |
| 0.60–0.80 | Very High | 🔴 | Severe risk. Aggressive fire behaviour is expected. |
| 0.80–1.00 | Extreme | 🔴 | Extreme fire risk and dangerous fire behaviour. |
Factors in the Risk Calculation
🌡️ Weather Conditions
Temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and precipitation. Hot, dry, windy conditions drive risk upward rapidly.
💧 Fuel Moisture
Derived from the FWI system's FFMC, DMC, and DC codes. Drier fuels = higher risk of ignition and spread.
⛰️ Terrain
Slope, aspect, and elevation affect fire behaviour. South-facing steep slopes dry faster and can accelerate fire spread dramatically.
🌲 Fuel Type
The Canadian FBP system classifies 16 fuel types. Coniferous stands (C-1 through C-7) carry higher risk than deciduous or mixed types.
📊 Historical Data
Areas with high historical fire frequency are weighted accordingly. Fire return intervals help predict future risk patterns.
🌬️ Atmospheric Stability
The C-Haines index measures atmospheric instability. Unstable atmospheres promote extreme fire behaviour including pyrocumulonimbus development.
Risk vs. Hazard: A Practical Distinction
Hazard is the potential of a fire to occur and spread; risk is the probability that it will, combined with the consequence if it does.
A remote, low-fuel area may have high hazard (a fire could burn intensely there) but low risk (nothing of value is threatened). Conversely, a wildland-urban interface zone may have moderate hazard but extreme risk because of homes, infrastructure, and people. Fire Aware combines both into a composite Risk Score that drives alert prioritization.