Incident Meteorologists

When a large wildland fire occurs, incident meteorologists are called to the scene by incident commanders to provide specialized local weather forecasts that help firefighters fight the fire and, most importantly, stay safe while doing so. Their work identifies potential meteorological conditions such as high winds, lightning, and flash flooding that can be dangerous to firefighters and other first responders. Incident firefighters are also called on to provide their meteorological expertise for other large-scale incidents such as hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes.

Once requested, incident meteorologists must be ready to leave for a wildland fire or other disaster site within an hour or so. They travel to remote sites by vehicle, boat, all-terrain vehicle, or other forms of transportation. Since they must work away from the comforts and advanced technology of a meteorological office, they bring an all-hazards meteorological response system kit. The kit includes a computer and printer, an upper-air kit (complete with an inflation kit, radiosondes, and weather balloons), weather belt toolkit and Kestrel (a tool for precise monitoring of relative humidity and temperature), and power adapters. Incident meteorologists sleep in tents, the back of their vehicles, or local motels during their deployment.

A typical workday for an incident meteorologist can last 10 to 16 hours. They spend much of their day collecting weather data (including information gathered from weather balloons, radar, and satellite imagery) and evaluating the terrain and other conditions that the firefighters and other first responders are working so that they can create specialized weather forecasts. These forecasts especially focus on weather elements such as wind speed and direction and humidity that fuel fire activity. Incident meteorologists participate in operational briefings with firefighters, other first responders, and pilots to provide the latest forecast information. They also update the media, elected officials, local ranchers and farmers, and other stakeholders.

Incident meteorologists also prepare micro forecasts for a ridgetop or a valley where a fire is occurring or expected to spread to, so they travel to the scene of a fire to study the terrain, gather meteorological data, and observe fire behavior and the fuels (e.g., dry grasses, scrub brush, dense trees) that are burning. A fire behavioral analyst sometimes accompanies them. In areas that are too dangerous for a return visit, they may leave incident remote automatic weather stations that gather and relay meteorological data to the incident command center.