Glossary
Aspect:
The direction toward which the slope faces (e.g. south - or north-facing)
CDF:
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Chimneys:
Canyons and draws that funnel heated air, creating strong upslope drafts. This accelerates the rate of fire spread up the canyon.
Conflagration:
A large disastrous fire or catastrophic fire.
Conifers (softwoods):
Sugar Pine, Ponderosa Pine, Grey Pine, Douglas Fir, and Incense Cedar
Crowning:
Explosive fire spreading through tree tops.
Defensible Space:
An area which lies between the house and an oncoming wildfire, where the vegetation has been modified to reduce the wildfire threat, and which provides the opportunity to safely defend the structure.
Fire Brands:
Pieces of burning building or plant material.
Fire Break:
An area cleared to bare mineral soil, used to stop the spread of fire.
Fire Environment:
Fuel, weather, topography and other surrounding conditions which influence or modify fire behavior.
Fire Resistant:
Material less likely to burn, producing a small amount of heat and fire spread.
Fire Season:
The period of mid-May through October when the vegetation cures, dries out, and is most flammable.
Fire Weather:
Hot, dry, windy weather usually in late summer and early fall.
Flammable:
Anything that ignites easily and burns rapidly.
Flame length:
From the base of the flame to the average flame tip.
Fuel:
Any combustible material, typically referring to the living and dead vegetation.
Fuel Break:
Area cleared of flammables, may contain well-maintained plants.
Hardwoods:
Blue Oak, Black Oak, Live Oak, Alder, Willow, Madrone, Cottonwood.
Ladder Fuel:
Fuels which provide vertical continuity allowing fire to spread from the surface fuel into shrubs and brush, and up into tree crowns.
Low Fuel:
Any plant with little fuel to burn.
Low Growing:
Any plant that stays within 18 inches of the ground.
Mediterranean Climate:
Mild winter and long dry summers.
OES
Govenor's Office of Emergency Services
Receptive Fuel Bed:
An arrangement of combustible material that is likely to produce a fire when ignited.
Slash:
Debris generated from creating defensible space, or timber harvest.
Spotting:
Fire-producing sparks or embers carried long distances by winds.
Tree crown:
Upper branches and foliage of a tree, also called canopy.
Wildfire:
An uncontrolled fire spreading through vegetation and structures.
Wildland Interface or Wildland Intermix:
Where many structures are present in a random pattern throughout large areas which are covered with contiguous brush and trees.
