Letters

Jim Saveland Research Forester Associate Editor, AI Application in Natural Resource Management United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Southern Forest Fire Laboratory Route 1, Box 182A Dry Branch, GA 31020 Editor: Mr. Saveland's letter focuses our attention on the important distinction between accuracy and realism. We believed the Phoenix fire simulator to be accurate (with the provisos noted in our article). Mr. Saveland believes otherwise, and he is certainly better qualified than us to judge! We can allay some doubts (e.g., firefighting objects actually do move at variable rates, depending on ground cover, as Mr. Saveland notes they should), but basically we agree with Mr. Saveland that the Phoenix fire simulator is not accurate. But we do claim it is realistic.