The association between the occurrence of major fires and a synthetic soil moisture index

An attempt has been made to assess the quantity of grass-fuels and their time of curing from records of monthly rainfall and evaporation, and from the occurrence of major fires in the Wagga-Riverina districts during 1948 to 1955. In simulating a soil-moisture conservation approach the results-seem promising but, for lack of certain data, any conclusions are still very subjective. Further development and modification of the procedures used will be necessary to produce a satisfactory forecasting aid. A brief review of some of the published methods for assessing soil-moisture conservation is included. From these it may be possible to devise a more satisfactory means for assessing the state of grass-fuels from meteorological data.