A new tool sheds light on the impact of wildfires across California.
The California Vegetation Burn Severity Online Viewer, launched by CAL FIRE’s Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP), is an interactive public mapping tool that people can use to see where wildfires have impacted vegetation.
The online tool displays burn severity data for all wildfires over 1,000 acres in California from 2015 to 2023.
CAL Fire says the tool enables post-recovery planning and makes the information easily accessible to landowners, planners, scientists, and the general public.
“This tool helps Californians see and understand how fire affects our landscapes,” said Chris Keithley, Assistant Deputy Director for FRAP. “It gives communities data to support efforts to plan prescribed burns, guide restoration work, and reduce future wildfire risk.”
After a wildfire, the data can be used to identify areas needing reforestation or active restoration and inform habitat management by identifying changes to wildlife habitat and supporting conservation work.
It can also be used to improve fire preparedness and help determine treatments based on past burn severity and fuel changes.
The tool’s development is guided by a Technical Advisory Committee with experts from the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force-Science Advisory Panel, California Air Resources Board, NASA, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S.D.A. Forest Service.
The launch of the online viewer and annual updates is phase 1 of a multi-phase project and falls under the remit of Senate Bill 1101. Phase 2 will include downloadable datasets as CAL FIRE continues to refine methods, especially for non-forested landscapes.
What is included in the online tool
The new online tool features interactive maps showing burn severity across all land ownerships.
Users can search fires by name, year, cause, or size; view multiple data layers, including fire perimeters and severity classifications; add custom data layers; and generate downloadable, georeferenced maps for field use.
The viewer will be updated annually to include new qualifying fires.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: New tool sheds light on California wildfires
Reporting by Roseann Cattani, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
