From the introduction: The purpose of the Symposium on Wildland Fire 2000 was to examine the 'possible, preferred, and probable status of wildland fire management and research in the year 2000 and beyond' (David and Martin 1987). A half-day 'futuring' session was an integral component of the program. Attendees were divided into nine topic-oriented task groups. This paper is adapted from the report submitted by futuring group 8 (fire occurrence and behavior analysis) which eventually appeared in the symposium proceedings following preparation during the working session and presentation to the entire conference delegation on the final day of the program (Davis and Martin 1987).