Wildland Fire

Decision Support System

July 2025

As we pass the 90-day mark of the implementation of WFDSS NG as the system of record for Federal wildland fire incidents, the WFDSS team has been as busy as ever with a focus on improving user experience and adding functionality.

WHAT'S NEW?

On June 12th, WFDSS v1.0.2 was released, marking the second minor release after the initial v1.0 release. Minor releases generally address identified bugs and application maintenance and updates. The Release Notes can be found on the WFDSS Homepage under What’s New. The team is working to provide new releases every 4-6 weeks going forward to be responsive to the field.

WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON

The development team is working on the automated system validation of required elements of the decision, incorporating the Fire Modeling Services Framework v2 for more agile modeling, updating URLs, displaying FSPro status updates, coverage validation for LANDFIRE data layers, and an upgrade to the ArcServer. The first pieces of the second fire behavior model (FARSITE) are also starting to move through the system.

The features we are excited to release later in 2025 include approving decisions with multiple approvers, incorporating the remaining fire behavior models (FlamMap and MTT), the ability to copy an analysis, User and System Notifications, Incident History, creating an incident in EDU (Non-IRWIN records), ERC climatology graphs, and more!

The services that WFDSS relies on are also undergoing enhancements and we look forward to connecting to FMSF v2, FEMS 3.2 and LFPS upgrades. It takes a lot of communication between the teams to keep the systems and services aligned - we couldn’t do it without them!

FAQS

I'd like to add supporting information, charts and maps to my Decision. What's the best way?

The rich-text fields through out the application accommodate both the upload of image files as well as simple cut and paste from other sources. The application can accept almost any image file type (png, jpg, etc) but cannot accept pdf files. We also have great news - bulleted lists are accepted again!
To add a map from the application, you can use the Print Map Widget and Export the Layout or Map only - make sure your file format is NOT pdf - and then upload the map to the desired rich-text field. Using snipping or screen-shot program on your computer is also a great way to get an image of the map you'd like included.
Maps and charts available in the application are not automatically included in Decisions at this time.

When I create an incident in WFDSS EDU using the New Incident widget, I am unable to start the Decision.

To create an incident and start a decision, users will have to utilize a connected system that writes to IRWIN OAT/next. Users may have to work with their local dispatch to create incidents for WFDSS EDU. Facilitating user-created incidents directly in the WFDSS EDU application remains a high priority and is expected to be part of the v1.1 release.

I'm trying to add a user as a Collaborator or Approver on my incident and I can't find them using the User Search or the Edit Collaborators list.

Users with approved access and roles through FAMAuth still need to access the application instance (EDU and PROD) to create a user record in the application. Best practice is to log in to each instance of WFDSS when roles have been approved and complete the User Profile information, including self-certifying as approver, where appropriate.
Users requesting access and roles should view the System Access help topic and work with your GAE to ensure that you are requesting the proper role for your needs and that role approval is timely.

How do I get Help?

It is always recommeded that users follow Agency, Area, or Unit protocols for getting Decision Support.

For self-service application support, Check out this short video ! The WFDSS Icon in the upper left or the User Support link in the header banner of any WFDSS NG instance will open the WFDSS NG Home page in a new window on the User’s browser. Users can use the search box in the upper right of the screen, navigate to topics on the left-hand panel or select resources from the Quick Links section.

For application access and role requests, please reach out to your local GAE.

As the application is currently in development, these user support topics will continue to evolve.

User Support Tools in Action!

During the first 90 days, Users made excellent use of the online user support tools available! Check out the 90-day analytics below for the WFDSS Home Page, Office Hours and the Wildland Fire Management Research, Development and Application

YouTube Channel.

With formalized trainings winding down across the country, the WFDSS team will be focusing on creating more micro-videos (<5 minute videos), prioritizing the topics identified through the analytics from the Homepage controls, user feedback, and IIA helpdesk tickets as well as new features they are rolled out.

Top Clicks

WFDSS Homepage (4,723 clicks)

User Support (1,325 clicks)

System Access

Application Field level help

Top Searches

Management Action Points

GAE

Strategy

16 hour-long Sessions since

February 2025

Recordings

Rated 4.2 stars

(rounded up 😉)

Fill out the survey and add your rating!

3.1K views of the

Wildland Fire Management Research, Development and Application

YouTube Channel

75% of views

WFDSS playlists and WFDSS Workshop

20% of views

Spatial Fire Planning Service playlist

WFDSS Homepage

WFDSS Tutorial Playlist

Office Hours - Tell us how we're doing!

The WFDSS team has been supporting weekly/biweekly Office Hours, hosted in MS Teams since February.

We're STILL looking for feedback on how we can best meet the needs of the user community going forward. Please take a few minutes to fill out this SHORT survey.

Office Hours are held on the First and Third Wednesday, 1300 mtn.

The next Office Hours will occur on July 16, 2025.

Recordings of Office Hours can be found on our Playlist. (We really do try to post them promptly!)

WFDSS Classic

WFDSS Classic was officially taken offline on Tuesday, June 10^th – WFDSS Classic Training can no longer be utilized to create incidents for use in WFDSS EDU. For more information on interim solutions, check out the WFDSS Alerts on the WFDSS Homepage.

WFDSS Classic “Legacy data”, including decisions, are not yet available for download through the WFDSS Reports Tab; users looking for published decisions from WFDSS Classic to inform active incidents should coordinate with the local unit to locate records in the interim.

Why WFDSS?

WFDSS is designed to improve the user experiencing by being Scalable, Map-Focused and Intuitive, while providing users with authoritative data and “as near to” real-time information as possible to facilitate informed and rapid decision making. WFDSS integrates various applications into a single risk-informed, collaborative system to streamline the analysis and reporting process.