Abstract:
From: A Brief Introduction to Fire History Reconstruction
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/impd/impd_data_intro.html Fire history information is provided through two types of proxy data; tree-ring
based records and sediment based records. These data sources describe fire
regimes at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Tree-ring data provide
temporally precise, short-term reconstructions of fire
... events, usually spanning
the last 400 years or less. By carefully crossdating and examining the tree
rings, the exact year and often even the season in which the fire occurred can
be determined. These data offer a high level of spatial resolution in a fire
reconstruction in that the location of fire-scarred trees identifies the exact
location of particular fires. Although tree-ring methods extend back to the age
of the oldest living tree, the records attenuate back through time as older
trees are less abundant.
Charcoal records from sediments can reconstruct much longer fires histories,
but with less temporal and spatial precision than tree-ring records. Because
charcoal particles can be carried aloft to great heights and transported great
distances, the source of the charcoal may be from distant fires as well as
local fires. Charcoal accumulation may continue for a few years after a fire
because of transportation and redeposition of secondary charcoal. This process
tends to blur the exact age of a fire, even when the charcoal particles are
directly dated by radiocarbon dating, which itself has a dating precision of
+/- 5%. Additionally, the charcoal deposited may represent more than one fire
within the area, or fires from more than one year. As a result, fire episodes
are referred to as one or more fires occurring in the time interval of
interest, rather than individual fires.
Data can be obtained through the Fire History Search Engine
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ftp-firehistory.html
or through the IMPD WebMapper
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ftp-firehistory.html
or directly through ftp:
ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/
Scientists can also contribute fire history data to the IMPD. 
