THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT IS TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE HAZARDOUS RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH WILDLAND FIRES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OF NEW DECISION SUPPORT AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TOOLS. THESE NEW TOOLS WILL FOCUS ON RENDERING THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF WEATHER AND FUEL CONDITIONS IN ADDITION TO THE TWO-WAY INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FIRE BEHAVIOR LOCAL WEATHER AND SMOKE WHICH DO NOT CURRENTLY EXIST IN OPERATIONAL FIRE MANAGEMENT. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND SUPPORT DECISIONS ESPECIALLY FOR WILDLAND FIRE INCIDENTS THAT ARE IMPACTED BY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER VARIABILITY. SUCH INCIDENTS ARE DIFFICULT TO HANDLE WITH THE CURRENT SYSTEM WHICH UTILIZES HOURLY WEATHER STATION DATA OFTEN LOCATED MILES AWAY FROM THE FIRE. THE PROPOSED PROJECT WILL BE BASED ON THE WRFX FORECASTING SYSTEM DEVELOPED AS PART OF A NASA ROSES 2011 GRANT. IT WILL BE CONDUCTED WITH ACTIVE PARTICIPATION FROM THE USFS WILDLAND FIRE-MANAGEMENT RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT&APPLICATION (WFM RD&A) UNIT THE FS ROCKY MOUNTAIN CENTER FOR FIRE-WEATHER INTELLIGENCE (RMC) AND THE NATIONAL PREDICTIVE SERVICES. THESE FEDERAL ENTITIES WILL FACILITATE AND ENSURE THE TRANSITION OF THE PROJECT S FINAL PRODUCTS INTO OPERATIONS. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WILL SERVE AS A CORE FACILITATING THE NEW DECISION SUPPORT TOOLS DEVELOPED TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL PREDICTIVE SERVICES AND THE MANDATORY WILDLAND FIRE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (WFDSS) UTILIZED BY US LAND-MANAGEMENT AGENCIES. NOT ONLY WILL IT OFFER AN INTEGRATED TOOL FOR COUPLED WEATHER FIRE AND SMOKE MODELING BUT IT WILL ALSO DRIVE FIRE RISK AND LIGHTING PROBABILITY PRODUCTS THAT REQUIRE CUSTOM HIGH-RESOLUTION WEATHER FORECASTS ACCOUNTING FOR THE FIRE-ATMOSPHERE INTERACTIONS.