Identify Community Risk

Data products are important tools to help you research your community's wildfire risk.

The U.S. Forest website Wildfire Risk to Communities has data and other resources that you can use to explore wildfire risk. Interactive maps and charts show risk to homes, exposure types, wildfire likelihood and vulnerable populations. Geospatial and tabular data are available for download.

Landfire™ data can also help identify your community's risk. This website offers products for landscape assessment, analysis and management, including geospatial data, maps and decision-making tools.

You will also want to:

• Research the condition of local infrastructure and vegetation as well as response capabilities.
• Identify key components of risk in local home and infrastructure construction, such as roofs, eaves, decks and vents.
• Identify landscaping elements such as dead/dry vegetation close to homes, overhanging limbs, and dried leaves/pine needles that can accumulate on the roof and under decks, for removal.
• Work with state and local foresters, land managers, fire service, emergency managers, and planners to create healthier forests within and surrounding a community and identify the condition of the natural environment. You may also consider opportunities to use prescribed fire or other means to mitigate wildfire risk.

Additional data products

• City-Data.com. Find demographic information about your community to help you identify capabilities and better understand how to work residents.
• National Fire Situational Awareness Map. Provides users with the ability to query, research and download wildland fire occurrence data.
• Headwaters Economics. Free analysis tools help rural users better understand socioeconomic data and trends for their communities, counties, states or regions.
• National Geospatial Program. Current and historical topographic maps that you can download for free.