WILDLANDURBAN INTERFACE

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WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE RISK ASSESSMENT MATRIX
APPLYING MILITARY COMBAT PREPLANNING TO THE
FIRE SERVICE
BILL CLAYTON DIVISION CHIEF
MIKE ROHDE BATTALION CHIEF

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You have been dispatched to a wildland- urban
interface fire. On arrival, you receive a
structure protection assignment
You have just driven 240 miles code 3, and you
have never fought fire here- never even been here
before
What would you like to know? Would you like to
hear it from a local expert? How fast do you
need to hear it?
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THE INTERFACE-ZONE RISK ASSESSMENT MATRIX (RAM)
PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE The I-Zone
Risk Assessment Matrix Program RAM concept was
first developed by the United States Army for the
rapid briefing of soldiers assigned to combat
missions in Iraq. The program has been modified
for fire service use by two Chief Officers from
the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection and The Orange County Fire Authority,
with input from a number of fire departments, and
Dr. Jack Thorpe, Col., USAF (Ret.). When using
this program, please give credit to the U.S. Army
National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin,
California. The authors wish to thank the staff
at the NTC and the Office of the Secretary of
Defense- Networks and Information Integration for
their permission to modify and use this program.
THE RAM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A PROVEN
RISK VISUALIZATION TOOL TO EITHER SUPPLEMENT YOUR
EXISTING I-ZONE PRE PLANS, OR TO USE WHEN
CREATING NEW PLANS. To employ this program simply
review your existing plans and assign colors to
the boxes in the RAM box. The color RED indicates
high risk for structural ignition, and structures
that are difficult to extremely difficult to
protect. A risk of firefighter entrapment may
exist and extensive resources or complex tactics
may be required. YELLOW indicates a moderate risk
for structural ignition and increased difficulty
to protect structures. Strike teams are required
for neighborhood protection. GREEN indicates low
risk for structural ignition and the ability to
protect neighborhoods with only limited or single
resources. Colored blocks are also numbered for
those that have color definition problems, 1 for
high, 2 for moderate, and 3 for low risk. The
RAM system is a PC created PowerPoint program.
You can cut and paste this file and apply it
elsewhere or simply rename this file and change
the RAMs to your new use. The RAM itself is the
left box on the pages in this presentation. To
color a RAM box or to change text simply right
click on the RAM, select grouping, then select
ungroup. Change the fill color or text as you
desire using the icons on the bottom of your
screen or just delete the existing text and add
new. To save, right click on the RAM box again,
select grouping again, then click on regroup.
Finally, go to the file command on the top
bar of your screen and select save and you are
ready to go. You can add the RAM now to maps,
PowerPoint programs, or print them for inclusion
in plans. The box on the right side of the page
are the characterization descriptions. This
page is standard to all RAMs and should not be
changed. Use it to analyze the area you are
considering and associate its various
descriptions with the area in question and assign
your area the colors and descriptions you believe
best fit. You will notice on the bottom of the
RAM that the developers have left several of the
boxes blank so that special problems may be added
such as fire behavior, rescue, military range
ordinance, and the like. Please however, do not
alter the standard RAM boxes or their position on
the RAM as so that firefighters who use the tool
will be able to always look in the same place for
key information quickly.



see next page
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Notice that the RAM is organized in three
columns, SAFETY, STATIC, and ATTACK. Conditions
in the RAM relating to SAFETY will always be on
the left column, Structural conditions will be
found in the middle column under STATIC, and
items like water supply and communications will
be found on the right under ATTACK. Two sizes of
RAM boxes are included here. We recommend you
include both in your preplans. Use the larger RAM
and the characterization box as a stand-alone
page in your preplan. You will likely want to
include maps with your preplans. This is where
the smaller RAM fits in. Take a smaller RAM box
and modify it to look like the larger RAM and add
it directly onto maps and displays as a quick
reminder to area risks. The chief benefit of
this tool is its ease of use by the firefighter
who is dirty, tired, hungry and must make command
or tactical decisions in a very short period of
time under the worst of firefighting conditions.
Its recommended that you limit additional
preplan data to as few pages of text and as few
maps as are essential. The RAMs military
designers identified simplicity in presentation
as key to this tools success. Put your skill
and knowledge into the RAM. Consider that it may
be used by someone who is unfamiliar with your
local terrain and risks, and that it may even be
key to their survival. Make this tool as
available as you can to firefighters working
incidents in your preplanned areas. The RAMs
included in this presentation were created for
Laguna Canyon near Orange Countys City of Laguna
Beach and the Palomar Mountain area of northern
San Diego County. Both of these sites are in
Southern California, the Orange County site being
metropolitan in nature and Palomar Mountain being
more rural. Simply pick either RAM and make your
own modifications to them, add your own
jurisdictional information, and youre
good-to-go. We believe the RAM applies best to
Structure Protection Group sized geographic
areas. Field testing for this program has been
accomplished by U.S. Army combat units in Iraq
and Afghanistan. The system has helped bring
success to our troops in the dusty streets of
Fallujah and Baghdad. The RAM system is being
implemented statewide by the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and is
in use in Orange County and the City of San Diego
at the time of writing. Please download this
file, get started, and good luck! Bill Clayton,

Mike Rohde
Division Chief

Battalion Chief California Department of
Forestry
Orange County (CA) Fire Authority and
Fire Protection, San Diego Unit
mikerohde_at_ocfa.org
bill.clayton_at_fire.ca.gov



January, 2005
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LAGUNA CANYON- BIG BEND AREA
SPECIFIC SITE RISK
RISK COLOR CODE
S A F E T Y -- S T A T I C -- A T T A C K

LAGUNA CANYON- BIG BEND AREA RISK ASSESSMENT
MATRIX SAFETY STATIC ATTACK
Access 2
Fuels 2
FF Safe 1
Water 3
Topog 1
Civ Safe 1
Comm 2
Clear 1
Air Safe 1
Tac Air 2
Const 2
Hazmat 1
DENSE TIGHT
STRUCTURAL SPACING
Density 1
Fire Whirl Favored Location
COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY-NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
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The smaller map-sized RAM may be overlaid onto
any kind of map.
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Palomar Mountain- East Grade Road
SPECIFIC SITE RISK
RISK COLOR CODE
S A F E T Y -- S T A T I C -- A T T A C K

EAST GRADE ROAD RISK ASSESSMENT MATRIX SAFETY
STATIC ATTACK
Access 2
Fuels 1
FF Safe 2
Water 1
Topog 2
Civ Safe 1
Comm 3
Clear 1
Air Safe 2
Tac Air 2
Const 1
Hazmat 2
DENSE TIGHT
STRUCTURAL SPACING
Density 2

COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY-NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
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PALOMAR MOUNTAIN I-ZONE (M-P)
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• EXAMPLES OF RED
• CONDITIONS
• Poor access with no
• clearance or structures
• extremely dense
• tight
• Poor Safety Zones
• Predominance of
• wood shake roofs
• No defendable space
• Beetle, drought or
• frost killed fuel beds
• Structures above

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EXAMPLES OF YELLOW CONDITIONS

• Subdivision tracts with clearance issues,
• isolated defendable structures
• Moderate defendable space
• Some wood roofs and exterior, but
• not the majority
• Structures moderately fire resistive but
• exposed to heavy or problem fuels
• Safety Zones present but may be
• marginal
• Paved access
• Moderate water supply

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• EXAMPLES OF GREEN
• CONDITIONS
• Non-combustible roofs/
• construction
• Wide and maintained
• green belt around
• structures
• Good paved access
• Good water supply
• Abundance of Safety
• Zones
• Little direct exposure to
• native fuels, little

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Example of U.S. Army Use- Ft. Irwin National
Training Center
Medina Maakl
Medina Wasl
Shia 40 / Sunni 50 / Kurd 10
Shia 30 / Sunni 70
Medina Jabal
Abar Layla
Mezraa Mazik Ahmar
Shia 50 / Sunni 40 / Kurd 10
Shia 60 / Sunni 40
Shia 70 / Sunni 30