News & Updates
News
New maps of social vulnerability & updated interface!
March 2023
For the first time, Wildfire Risk to Communities includes interactive maps of social vulnerability, providing community leaders with immediate insights about the neighborhoods where social and economic factors may make it harder for people to prepare for and recover from wildfire. Users can now download customized reports with detailed data for every tribal area, community, county, and state. Find these features in the Explore section.
The update also features new resources about equitable risk reduction, being smoke-ready, and preventing ignitions. All new features were developed based on user feedback and expert input, creating a more holistic and accessible perspective of wildfire risk.
Coming soon!
The Wildfire Risk to Communities team is hard at work developing improved wildfire risk models. Data are expected to be published in the Explore section in late 2023. Subscribe for updates.
Media Featuring Wildfire Risk to Communities
Washington Post: How to protect your home from wildfires
The threat of wildfires is growing due to climate change. Safety measures are particularly important for those in high-risk areas, but experts say that fire preparedness is a good idea everywhere. Here are the steps you can take.
September 29, 2021
NBC News: The Covid-wildfire link: The Oregon Bootleg Fire bodes ill for our post-pandemic wild spaces
During the pandemic we’ve moved to warmer places, to be closer to family and to have greater access to nature — largely to the West and the South. Moving, essentially, to the very regions at greatest risk of wildfire, putting more of the population and their housing at risk (you can find your community’s risk here).
July 12, 2021
Idaho Statesman: ‘A matter of when’ it burns: Boise growth reaches areas at extreme wildfire risk
A U.S. Forest Service map of wildfire risk shows most of Idaho is extremely likely to burn. The agency also found homes across Idaho are at high risk.
June 6, 2021
ESRI ArcGIS Blog: Improving the Understanding of Wildfire Community Risk
GIS and spatial analysis are a powerful tool to be able to understand and plan for these risks. Fortunately there are a series of 15 new layers in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World to help map and analyze risk from wildfires in your community.
May 12, 2021
KOIN Podcasts: Beyond the Headlines: Defending the home front
Many people live closer to wildfire danger than they might expect
April 27, 2021
Investigate West: Visualizing Climate-Vulnerable Communities
This sort of mapping adds information that tells us who lives nearby, and how they live. It identifies communities where environmental threats compound each other and where they may cause the greatest harm.
February 24, 2021
NPR: Is Your Home At Risk of Wildfire In A Changing Climate? 6 Questions To Ask
What’s the risk of this neighborhood burning in a wildfire? This searchable U.S. Forest Service map shows wildfire risk across the country.
October 18, 2020
NPR: Undisclosed: Most Homebuyers and Renters Aren’t Warned About Flood or Wildfire Risk
Like millions of people every year who move, the families had access to a wide variety of information about everything from schools to public transit to lead paint. What they never learned, until it was too late, was that their homes all were in areas that are increasingly prone to flooding or wildfires.
October 18, 2020
NFPA Journal: Giant Step: The view from the NFPA’s Wildfire Division
A government-led effort results in a powerful new online tool to help communities evaluate—and act on—their wildfire risk.
September 1, 2020
Science Spotlight: Wildfire Risk to Communities
As wildfires increase in frequency and severity across the country, Wildfire Risk to Communities is designed to inform the public about wildfire risk and to connect communities with resources to mitigate risk.
September 11, 2020
Eyes on Earth Podcast
In this episode, we hear from Frank Fay of the USDA Forest Service, who describes a new website that represents the first national tool on wildfire risk designed with communities and the general public in mind.
May 4, 2020
USDA Radio: A new online tool in community wildfire risk mitigation
A new U.S. Forest Service website contains data and technology assisting communities in wildfire prevention and protection efforts.
April 4, 2020
News Release: USDA Forest Service releases community wildfire risk website
For the first time, community wildfire risk has been mapped nationwide to help community leaders mitigate risk. The USDA Forest Service today announced the free, interactive, easy-to-use website, Wildfire Risk to Communities. This website is designed to help community leaders nationwide understand how wildfire risk varies across a state, region, or county and allow them to prioritize actions to protect their communities.
April 9, 2020