Reference Projects:

This product was further upgraded in 2018 within the framework of the EU funded ARDAC project. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the University of Balamand and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.

Acknowledgements

This product is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The content is the sole responsibility of the University of Balamand and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Forecasted Fire Weather Index data are provided by the European Forest Fire Information System – EFFIS of the European Commission Joint Research Centre. The automation of the product was made possible with the technical support of GIS/Transport, Ltd.

For more information visit FireLab:

ioe-firelab.balamand.edu.lb

Disclaimer

Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. However, Balamand University accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to the information on this report. This information is:

• of a general nature only and is not intended to address the specific circumstances of any particular individual or entity;
• not necessarily comprehensive, complete, accurate or up to date;
• sometimes linked to websites over which Balamand University has no control and for which the university assumes no responsibility;
• not professional or legal advice (if you need specific advice, you should always consult a suitably qualified professional).

It is our goal to minimize disruption caused by technical errors. However some data or information on our site may have been created or structured in files or formats that are not error-free and we cannot guarantee that our service will not be interrupted or otherwise affected by such problems. Balamand University accepts no responsibility with regard to such problems incurred as a result of using this site or any linked external sites.

FireLab normally operates using Fire Weather Index (FWI) data generated by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). EFFIS generates FWI data by employing meteorological forecast data received daily from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) and French Meteo-France (MF) meteorological services.

The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) network has adopted the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System as the method to assess the fire danger. FWI forecast data provided by EFFIS is mapped in 6 classes (very low, low, medium, high, very high and extreme) with a spatial resolution of about 16 km (ECMWF data), 10 km (MF data). The presented Fire Danger Index (Mitri, 2015) is based on a cross-tabulation between Lebanon’s fire risk map (Mitri et al., 2015) and the FWI as produced by EFFIS.

Mitri, G., Jazi, M., McWethy, D. 2015 Assessment of wildfire risk in Lebanon using Geographic Object-based image analysis. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing. Vol. 81, No. 6, June 2015, pp. 499–506.
Mitri, G. 2015. Advancing Lebanon’s fire danger forecast. In 10th EARSeL Forest Fire Special Interest Workshop Sensors, multi- sensor integration, large volumes: new opportunities and challenges in forest fire research” (Themistocleous, K., Hadjimitsis, D., Gitas, I., and Boschetti, L. Ed.), 2-5 November 2015, Limassol, P.33.