CWFIS Datamart

Metadata

Large Fire Database fire point data

Large Fire Database fire point data

Description

The Large Fire Database (LFDB) is a collection of forest fire locations as provided by Canadian fire management agencies including provinces, territories, and Parks Canada. The data set includes only fires greater than 200 hectares in final size for years 1959 through 1999. This version was released in May 2002, and a detailed analysis was published by Stocks et al. in 2002. The LFDB is no longer maintained, but it has been replaced by the National Fire Database.

The LFDB can be used for spatial and temporal analyses of landscape-scale fire impacts. For information on smaller fires (up to 200 ha in final size), please contact individual fire agencies.

Supplemental Information
The CNFDB is compiled and maintained by the Canadian Forest Service and includes data from the previously released Large Fire Database (LFDB). The LFDB is no longer maintained separately from the CNFDB.

Note that the data contained in the LFDB are not complete nor are they without error. Locations are approximate. Not all fires have been mapped, and data accuracy varies due to different mapping techniques. This collection includes only data that has been contributed by the agencies. Data completeness and quality vary among agencies and between years.

For analyses for a single province or territory or for Parks Canada, we suggest you contact the appropriate agency. Links to the agency web sites can be found at http://fire.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/links-liens-eng.php, or can be found through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) website at http://www.ciffc.ca

The database is a large collaborative effort by all Canadian fire agencies. We thank the many individuals who contributed to this effort, including fire crews, field personnel, photo interpreters, pilots, digitizers, and analysts. Compilation of the Canada-wide database was partially supported by the Canadian government programs of ENFOR (ENergy from the FORest), the Program on Energy Research and Development, the Climate Change Action Fund, and Action Plan 2000.

The following papers present analyses of this database. We encourage users to read these before attempting further analyses.

Stocks, B.J.; Mason, J.A.; Todd, J.B.; Bosch, E.M.; Wotton, B.M.; Amiro, B.D.; Flannigan, M.D.;Hirsch, K.G.; Logan, K.A.; Martell, D.L.; Skinner, W.R. 2003. Large forest fires in Canada, 1959–1997. Journal of Geophysical Research 108, D1: FFR5, 1-12. doi:10.1029/2001 JD000484

Amiro, B.D.; Todd, J.B.; Wotton, B.M.; Logan, K.A.; Flannigan, M.D.; Stocks, B.J.; Mason, J.A.; Martell, D.L.; Hirsch, K.G. 2001. Direct carbon emissions from Canadian forest fires, 1959 to 1999. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 31:512–525.
Licenses

Open Government Licence - Canada (http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)

Data Resources

For additional information, please see the metadata included with the data itself.