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Virginia Forest Cover Map 2005: Level 1 Classification

VDOF_FIRE_INCIDENTS_07AND08

Frequently-asked questions:

What does this data set describe?

VDOF_FIRE_INCIDENTS_07AND08
Title:
Abstract:
This data set is derived from the Virginia Department of Forestry's internal fire incident reports for the time period from 2007-2008 inclusive. Wildland fires in Virginia occuring outside of the VDOF's jurisdiction are nor included. In addition, the dataset is limited to those points for which accurate locational data was reported, therefore it should not be regarded as a complete report of all VDOF reported fires for the period in question.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Nathan Stinnette, 02/11/09, VDOF_FIRE_INCIDENTS_07AND08.
    Online links:
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    Bounding coordinates:
    West: -83.517167
    East: -75.538500
    North: 39.440000
    South: 36.542667
  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Calendar date: 2007-2008
    Currentness reference:
    publication date

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial data presentation form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (4774)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.
      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    VDOF_FIRE_INCIDENTS_07AND08
    FID
    Internal feature number.
    (Source: ESRI)
    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    Shape
    • Feature geometry.
    • (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    OBJECTID
    ID field retained from uncorrected Fire Incident Data.
    COUNTY
    3 digit code for the county listed on the Fire Report.
    DATE_
    Date of the fire. Identical w/ DATE_START in most cases.
    LATDEG
    Latitude degrees of the fire incident as reported on the fire incident report.
    LATMIN
    Latitude minutes of the fire incident as reported on the fire incident report.
    LONGDEG
    Longitude degrees of the fire incident as reported on the fire incident report.
    LONGMIN
    Longitude minutes of the fire incident as reported on the fire incident report.
    LATDEC
    Latitude converted to Decimal Degrees.
    LONGDEC
    Longitude converted to Decimal Degrees.
    NAME
    The name of the fire as declared by DOF personnel. Only fires over 50 acres are typically named.
    TOT_ACRES
    The total number of acres, forest or non-forest, burned during the wildfire incident.
    TOT_DMG
    The total monetary amount of damage (US Dollars) caused by the incident (frequently estimated)
    DATE_START
    The date on which the fire incident began.
    DATE_OUT
    The date on which the fire was extinguished.
    Name_1
    The full name of the county as reported on the fire incident report, helps with understanding 3 digit county codes. NOTE: In some instances the location given for the fire is in an adjacent county to the one reported. These records were allowed to stand if the fire location was within 1 mile of the border of the reported county. In such cases this field notes the discrepancy as in the following example: "ALBEMARLE - WITHIN 1 MILE OF NELSON", indicating that the GPS location given is in Albemarle although the fire was reported as being in Nelson county.
    UNIQUE_
    An ID field created by concatenating the 3 Digit County Code, Fire start date, and Latitude

    ORIGIN
    3 digit code for the county the fire originated in.
    YEAR_
    Year in which the fire incident occurred, based on the DATE_START field.
    TOT_SAV
    The total monetary value (USD-frequently estimated) of the homes, buildings or other personal property that fire control efforts directly protected.

    CLASS_DAY
    A 1 to 5 scale of fire danger on the day of the incident. 1 = low; 2 = moderate; 3 = high; 4 = very high; 5 = extreme. See <http://www.dof.state.va.us/fire/fire-danger-rating.htm> for more specific information.
    DIRECTION
    Wind direction during the incident.
    SPEED
    The wind speed during the incident.
    TEMP
    The air temperature during the incident.
    RH
    The relative humidity during the incident.
    GEN_CAUSE
    The general description of the incident's cause. 1=Lightning. 2=Campfire. 3=Smoking. 4=Debris Burning. 5=Incendiary. 6=Equipment Use. 7=Railroad. 8=Children. 9=Miscellaneous
    SPF_CAUSE
    A more specific description of the incident's cause: a=Camper. b=Hunter.c=Fisherman. d=Person in Car. e=Smoking Game. f=Woodworkers. g=Dump. h=Prescribed Burn. i=Urban Burner. j=Rural Burner. k=Farmer. l=Hot Ashes. m=mental cases. n=Utility ROW. o=Welfare Case. p=Electric Fence. q=Land Clearing. r=Children Under 7. s=Juvenile under 18. t=Railroad. u=other

    OTR_CAUSE
    An text elaboration on the incident's cause.
    REPORTDATEDate the Fire Incident Report was submitted.

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Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

    • Nathan Stinnette

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Nathan Stinnette, Natural Resources Technician, Virginia Department of Forestry
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Nathan Stinnette
    Virginia Department of Forestry
    Natural Resources / GIS Technician
    434.296.2369 ext 3385 (voice)
    Hours of Service: 8-5 Monday through Friday
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Why was the data set created?

The VDOF fire incident data may be used to identify areas of the State where fire incidents are numerous and to facilitate spatial analysis of wildfire causes, areas burned, response activities, or other variables in Virginia.


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How was the data set created?
  1. Where did the data come from?

  2. What changes have been made?

    (change 1 of 4) 
    Dataset copied.

    Data sources used in this process:
    • C:\NLSFIRE_temp\IMSFireIncidentData\VDOF_FIRE_INC_010107

    (change 2 of 4) 
    Dataset copied.

    Data sources used in this process:
    • H:\NLS_temp\FIREINCINVA\VDOF_FIRE_INCIDENTS_02THRU06

    Date: 20090211 (change 3 of 4) 
    Dataset copied.

    Data sources used in this process:
    • C:\NLS Documents\VA_FIRE_INC\VDOF_FIRE_INCIDENTS_02THRU06

    Date: 20090211 (change 4 of 4) 
    Metadata imported.

    Data sources used in this process:
    • C:\DOCUME~1\STINNE~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\xml8C8.tmp

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How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The dataset contains 2553 projected points out of 2811 incidents reported for the 2007-2008 period, or 90.82% of the reported fire incidents.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology? 

    Fire Incidents 2007-2008 Stats	

Total Fire Incidents Reported:	2811
Number Initially Projected: 2435

Missing Coordinates: 42
Projected Outside VA Errors: 118
Projected In Waterbodies: 33
Projected In Wrong County: 183

Positions Successfully Corrected: 118
Number Unable To Correct: 258

Total Number After Correction: 2553
Percent of Total Reported Fires: 90.82%

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How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Distributor 1 of 1

  1. Who distributes the data set?

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

  4. How can I download or order the data?

    • Availability in digital form:


    • Data format:
      Size: 0.128

  5. Is there some other way to get the data?

  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

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Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 20090211

Metadata author:

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Metadata extensions used:

  • http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html
  • http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html

    • Last modified: Monday, 19-Oct-2009 14:43:51 EDT