Frequently Asked Questions

Why Free Open-Source?

I'm often asked why I'm giving the CPS Wildfire Management Tool software away for free.

I've volunteered for many organizations over the years and I strongly believe that the more you contribute, the more you get back. This has been true of my involvement in church, the volunteer fire department, and all other agencies and organizations that I've served. I initiated the CPS Software project as a vehicle to contribute to both the fire service and to the software development community.

I believe The Campbell Prediction System is an important tool for the safety of wildland firefighters, and I hope this project helps to promote that. Furthermore, the software can be used by land managers and homeowners to evaluate the wildfire risks within the wildland urban interface (WUI).

This project has benefited greatly from other free open source software (FOSS) projects. Thus, it is only fitting to contribute back to and carry on with the FOSS movement.