Unit 3H, Tools, Activity 3
(Unit 3H Act. 3 .pdf) - (Unit 3H Act. 3 .doc)
Web-Hosted Shared Applications
Large shared inter-agency databases and data intensive applications run on remote servers accessed by authorized users through web connections. Examples include the Weather Information Management System (WIMS), Resource Ordering and Status System (ROSS), and the Incident Qualifications and Certification System (IQCS).
Access to these sites is usually controlled with user id's issued by an agency or interagency contact to these personnel who have demonstrated a need to access the information. Controls can be implemented as to the privileges allowed each type of user, for example one user may control the entering and manipulation of weather data for a unit while several other users from the unit can access that information for viewing and downloading only.
The Weather Information Management System (WIMS) is a critically important data warehouse of archived fire weather observations and calculated fuel moistures and fire danger indices. Many units dispatch center manages the weather station and daily observation archiving during fire season. Fire managers should also maintain access to weather data collected on their unit and routinely visit WIMS to ensure data integrity.
You must have a WIMS ID to access the historical database. Federal and non-Federal personnel can obtain one in several ways. Contact the USFS National Information Systems Help Desk to get you through the process at 1-800-253-5559.
Access to WIMS is through the National Fire and Aviation Management Web Applications site FAMWEB at http://fam.nwcg.gov/fam-web/. In addition to access directly into WIMS, data sets from across the country are available at this web portal without accessing the WIMS application. This site contains fire weather data sets by weather station in .fwx file format along with unit specific fire occurrence data in .fpl format. These files can be downloaded and the utilized in fire management applications such as Fire Family Plus and many others.
Go to the FAMWEB main page and scroll to the bottom, click on the US Federal Wildland Fire Management Data link. From the "Fire and Weather Data" page select the Florida from the list on the left. Scroll through the weather files table until you locate the Cache weather station, NWS Station #086702.
Download both the station catalog file (086702.txt) and the weather data file (086702.fwx). Take the time to note where on your computer you are downloading this.
When you have completed Lesson 3H, the unit test will ask the following questions:
Do you have a user ID assigned to you or have access to a shared log-in at your unit to the WIMS database?
What is the period of record for this station (how many years of data are available)?
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