Fire Severity Index
Fire at Chobham Common National Nature Reserve
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The Fire Severity Index (FSI) is issued daily by the Met Office for England & Wales and is something we keep a close eye on.
It’s important to note that it’s an indication of how severe a fire could become if one were to start. It’s not an assessment of the risk of wildfires occurring, that’s an ever present danger on the heaths and heathland plantations of the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.
It uses information such as wind speed, temperature, time of year and rainfall to make an assessment for the current day and a forecast for the coming five days.
Values 1 to 5 represent an increasing degree of severity as follows:
- FSI level 1 = Low fire severity
- FSI level 2 = Moderate fire severity
- FSI level 3 = High fire severity
- FSI level 4 = Very high fire severity
- FSI level 5 = Exceptional fire severity
You can keep an eye on the index yourself at: Met Office Fire Severity Index. It’s forecast to climb to ‘very high’ by the weekend.
For advice on how to #BeWildfireAware this season, click here.
Thames Basin Heaths Partnership
#BeWildfireAware