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Publication Details

Title:
Wildfire Risk to Communities: Spatial datasets of wildfire risk for populated areas in the United States (2nd Edition) Data publication contains GIS data
Author(s):
Jaffe, Melissa R.; Scott, Joe H.; Callahan, Michael N.; Dillon, Gregory K.; Karau, Eva C.; Lazarz, Mitchell T.
Publication Year:
2024
How to Cite:
These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:
Jaffe, Melissa R.; Scott, Joe H.; Callahan, Michael N.; Dillon, Gregory K.; Karau, Eva C.; Lazarz, Mitchell T. 2024. Wildfire Risk to Communities: Spatial datasets of wildfire risk for populated areas in the United States. 2nd Edition. Updated 10 September 2024. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2020-0060-2

The datasets presented here are the product of modeling, and as such carry an inherent degree of error and uncertainty. Users are strongly encouraged to read and fully comprehend the metadata and other available documentation prior to data use. No warranty is made by the Originator as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data for individual use or aggregate use with other data, or for purposes not intended by the Originator. These datasets are intended to provide nationally-consistent information for the purpose of comparing relative wildfire risk among communities nationally or within a state or county. Data included here are not intended to replace locally-calibrated state, regional, or local risk assessments where they exist. It is the responsibility of the user to be familiar with the value, assumptions, and limitations of these national data publications. Managers and planners must evaluate these data according to the scale and requirements specific to their needs. Spatial information may not meet National Map Accuracy Standards. This information may be updated without notification.
Abstract:
The data included in this publication depict components of wildfire risk specifically for populated areas in the United States. These datasets represent where people live in the United States and the in situ risk from wildfire, i.e., the risk at the location where the adverse effects take place.

National wildfire hazard datasets of annual burn probability and fire intensity, generated by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station and Pyrologix LLC, form the foundation of the Wildfire Risk to Communities data. Vegetation and wildland fuels data from LANDFIRE 2020 (version 2.2.0) were used as input to two different but related geospatial fire simulation systems. Annual burn probability was produced with the USFS geospatial fire simulator (FSim) at a relatively coarse cell size of 270 meters (m). To bring the burn probability raster data down to a finer resolution more useful for assessing hazard and risk to communities, we upsampled them to the native 30 m resolution of the LANDFIRE fuel and vegetation data. In this upsampling process, we also spread values of modeled burn probability into developed areas represented in LANDFIRE fuels data as non-burnable. Burn probability rasters represent landscape conditions as of the end of 2020. Fire intensity characteristics were modeled at 30 m resolution using a process that performs a comprehensive set of FlamMap runs spanning the full range of weather-related characteristics that occur during a fire season and then integrates those runs into a variety of results based on the likelihood of those weather types occurring. Before the fire intensity modeling, the LANDFIRE 2020 data were updated to reflect fuels disturbances occurring in 2021 and 2022. As such, the fire intensity datasets represent landscape conditions as of the end of 2022. The data products in this publication that represent where people live, reflect 2020 estimates of housing units and 2021 estimates of population counts from the U.S. Census Bureau, combined with building footprint data from Onegeo and USA Structures, both reflecting 2022 conditions.

The specific raster datasets included in this publication include:

Building Count: Building Count is a 30-m raster representing the count of buildings in the building footprint dataset located within each 30-m pixel.

Building Density: Building Density is a 30-m raster representing the density of buildings in the building footprint dataset (buildings per square kilometer [km²]).

Building Coverage: Building Coverage is a 30-m raster depicting the percentage of habitable land area covered by building footprints.

Population Count (PopCount): PopCount is a 30-m raster with pixel values representing residential population count (persons) in each pixel.

Population Density (PopDen): PopDen is a 30-m raster of residential population density (people/km²).

Housing Unit Count (HUCount): HUCount is a 30-m raster representing the number of housing units in each pixel.

Housing Unit Density (HUDen): HUDen is a 30-m raster of housing-unit density (housing units/km²).

Housing Unit Exposure (HUExposure): HUExposure is a 30-m raster that represents the expected number of housing units within a pixel potentially exposed to wildfire in a year. This is a long-term annual average and not intended to represent the actual number of housing units exposed in any specific year.

Housing Unit Impact (HUImpact): HUImpact is a 30-m raster that represents the relative potential impact of fire to housing units at any pixel, if a fire were to occur. It is an index that incorporates the general consequences of fire on a home as a function of fire intensity and uses flame length probabilities from wildfire modeling to capture likely intensity of fire.

Housing Unit Risk (HURisk): HURisk is a 30-m raster that integrates all four primary elements of wildfire risk - likelihood, intensity, susceptibility, and exposure - on pixels where housing unit density is greater than zero.

Keywords:
environment; geoscientificInformation; society; structure; Ecology, Ecosystems, & Environment; Fire; Fire detection; Fire ecology; Fire effects on environment; Fire suppression, pre-suppression; Prescribed fire; Environment and People; Forest management; Landscape management; burn probability; hazard; fuels management; fire likelihood; fire planning; risk assessment; wildfire hazard potential; United States; conterminous United States; CONUS; Alaska; Hawaii
Related publications:
  • Scott, Joe H.; Brough, April M.; Gilbertson-Day, Julie W.; Dillon, Gregory K.; Moran, Christopher. 2020. Wildfire Risk to Communities: Spatial datasets of wildfire risk for populated areas in the United States. 1st Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2020-0060
  • Scott, Joe H.; Dillon, Gregory K.; Jaffe, Melissa R.; Vogler, Kevin C.; Olszewski, Julia H.; Callahan, Michael N.; Karau, Eva C.; Lazarz, Mitchell T.; Short, Karen C.; Riley, Karin L.; Finney, Mark A.; Grenfell, Isaac C. 2024. Wildfire Risk to Communities: Spatial datasets of landscape-wide wildfire risk components for the United States. 2nd Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2020-0016-2
  • Dillon, Gregory K.; Lazarz, Mitchell T.; Karau, Eva C.; Story, Scott J.; Pohl, Kelly A. 2024. Wildfire Risk to Communities: Community Wildfire Risk Reduction Zones for the United States. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2024-0030
  • More (5 total)
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