Spatial autocorrelation and spatial weighting
functions are examined in relation to the distribution of
wildland fires. Records of fire activity and vegetation for
the Idyllwild 15-minute quadrangle of the San Jacinto
Mountains, San Bernardino National Forest, California,
are processed in a geographic information system to
generate six spatial weighting functions: contiguity, area,
boundary length, distance, area-distance combined, and
boundary-distance combined. The weighted coefficients
and significance tests show that contiguity best represents
the spatial relationship in the distribution of wildand
fires. Distance introduces a scaling effect which enhances the magnitude of Moran's I coefficient of spatial
autocorrelation.