Download Data
Wildfire Risk to Communities data are available for download in several formats, including spreadsheets to support Community Wildfire Defense Grants and as complete tabluar and GIS files.
Data to support Community Wildfire Defense Grants
The Wildfire Risk to Communities team has developed data to support the Forest Service’s Community Wildfire Defense Grant program. These data can be used by communities to evaluate eligibility and prepare applications. Available data include:
Data about eligibility for all U.S. communities, tribal areas, and counties. This spreadsheet can be used to help identify “at-risk” communities.”
Data to demonstrate scoring prioritization and “underserved” match waiver requirements. This spreadsheet can be used to help prioritize places that are “low income,” have “been impacted by a severe disaster,” and have “high or very high wildfire hazard potential.” These data can also be used to demonstrate that a community is “underserved” in support of a match waiver request.
Documentation of methods used to develop the data. This PDF document describes the data sources and methods used to generate the eligibility and scoring prioritization datasets.
Tabular and GIS data
Wildfire Risk to Communities data are available for download as tables and GIS files through the Forest Service Research Data Archive. Fifteen data layers are available: eight depicting components of risk for all lands in the U.S., and seven depicting risk specifically for populated areas. Each is described further below. Data formats include:
- Raster GIS data. Fifteen GIS data layers are available for download in zip files by state. Brief descriptions of these layers appear below.
- Tabular summaries by state, county, and community. Spreadsheets are bundled into the zip filed called data publication support files.
- Methods white paper. Document with details about the underlying data is bundled into the zip filed called data publication support files.
All data layers can also be accessed via ESRI’s Living Atlas. Please contact us if you need all data for all states or with other questions about downloading and using Wildfire Risk to Communities GIS data.
Data for All Lands
The following eight data layers are available for all lands in the U.S. (i.e., “wall-to-wall”). They can be accessed here.
Risk to Potential Structures
(or Risk to Homes)
A measure that integrates wildfire likelihood and intensity with generalized consequences to a home on every pixel. For every place on the landscape, it poses the hypothetical question, “What would be the relative risk to a house if one existed here?” This layer is visible as the “Risk to Homes” tab in the Explore section and is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Burn Probability
(or Wildfire Likelihood)
The annual probability of wildfire burning in a specific location. This layer is visible as the “Wildfire Likelihood” tab in the Explore section and is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Exposure Type
For every pixel on the landscape, this layer delineates whether a structure at that location would be directly exposed to wildfire from adjacent wildland vegetation, indirectly exposed to wildfire from indirect sources such as embers and home-to-home ignition, or not exposed to wildfire due to distance from direct and indirect ignition sources. This layer is visible as the “Exposure Type” tab in the Explore section and is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Conditional Risk to Potential Structures
(or Wildfire Consequence)
The potential consequences of fire to a home at a given location, if a fire occurs there and if a home were located there. This layer is referred to as Wildfire Consequence in the Wildfire Risk to Communities web application. It is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Conditional Flame Length
Most likely flame length at a given location if a fire occurs, based on all simulated fires; an average measure of wildfire intensity. It is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Flame Length Exceedance Probability – 4ft
Probability of having flame lengths greater than 4 feet if a fire occurs; indicates the potential for moderate to high wildfire intensity. It is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Flame Length Exceedance Probability – 8 ft
Probability of having flame lengths greater than 8 feet if a fire occurs; indicates the potential for high wildfire intensity. It is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Wildfire Hazard Potential
An index that quantifies the relative potential for wildfire that may be difficult to control, used as a measure to help prioritize where fuel treatments may be needed. It is available for download in the Research Data Archive.
Data for Populated Areas
The following seven data layers are available for populated areas in the U.S. They can be accessed here.
Housing Unit Density
A measure of residential housing units per square kilometer generated using 2018 population and housing unit count and data from the U.S. Census Bureau, building footprint data from Microsoft, and land cover data from LANDFIRE. In Alaska, LandScan 2018 data were used instead of Microsoft data, which were not available for the whole state. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.
Population Density
Residential population density generated using 2018 population count data from the U.S. Census Bureau, building footprint data from Microsoft, and land cover data from LANDFIRE. In Alaska, LandScan 2018 data were used to identify approximate population locations because Microsoft data were not available across the whole state. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.
Building Coverage
Building density measured as the percent cover of buildings within an approximately 5-acre area around each pixel. It includes all buildings and can be used to complement the Housing Unit Density data, which just reflects residential buildings. Not available in Alaska. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.
Building Exposure Type
A delineation of whether buildings at each pixel are directly exposed to wildfire from adjacent wildland vegetation, indirectly exposed to wildfire from indirect sources such as embers and home-to-home ignition, or not exposed to wildfire due to distance from direct and indirect ignition sources. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.
Housing Unit Exposure
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. It is calculated as the product of wildfire likelihood and housing unit count. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.
Housing Unit Impact
An index that represents the relative potential impact of fire to housing units at any pixel, if a fire occurs there. It incorporates the general consequences of fire on a home as a function of fire intensity, using flame length probabilities from wildfire modeling. It does not include the likelihood of fire occurring, and it does not reflect mitigations done to individual structures that would influence susceptibility. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.
Housing Unit Risk
An index that integrates all four primary elements of wildfire risk—likelihood, intensity, susceptibility, and exposure—on pixels where housing unit density is greater than zero. It is conceptually similar to Risk to Potential Structures (i.e., Risk to Homes), but also incorporates housing unit count. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.
Expanded Areas
Expanded Areas include populated areas outside of official community boundaries that are closer to the selected community than to any other community. They are based Community Zone Polygons, which are derived from U.S. Census populated places and travel time. Get this layer in the Research Data Archive.