Turning Data into Defense

I began my professional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) journey in 2020 working for county government before transitioning to the professional environmental consulting world. These two worlds involved very different types of work but they both had me dealing with the risks and destruction of wildfires. 

No matter how many burned structures or leveled towns I look at, I never get used to the absolute destruction a wildfire can cause: It leaves a lasting impression. So, I wanted to make this post about how GIS and mapping tools can inform members of the public on wildfire risks and provide some concrete examples of tools you can use to track wildfires and stay safe. 

In my professional career, I have worked on several fires helping map their destruction and accurately measuring the damage caused by them. At Napa County, I was involved in recovery operations on the Glass and LNU Complex fires in 2020 working to map fire-affected structures throughout the county. In my consulting role, I worked on Hawaii’s Lahaina Fire in 2023, making use of drone-based LiDAR scans for surveying damage assessments and creating digital elevation models for hydrologic modeling of the post-fire landscape. 

In the past, wildfire season in California  lasts from June through November with a peak fire risk in October . However, weather extremes have begun to shift this timeline and extend the fire season. Having assisted with wildfire recovery efforts at the local government level and working with other emergency services professionals, many consider the new fire season in California to be year-round.

For many agencies tasked with managing forests and combating wildfires they now prepare for fire years instead of fire seasons. We can see this pattern continuing this year: we’re  well into the last month of the year  and should be outside of the traditional fire season, but we are already staring at a relatively dry December.

GIS involves a suite of software and coding that allows the storage, processing, and (most importantly) the visualization of geospatial data. Geospatial data can be thought of as anything that has spatial coordinates like points on a map. It allows us to link location data (where something is) with attribute data (what something is).  

As one can imagine, being able to link large amounts of information with locations and display that information on an easy-to-read map is an exceptionally useful tool. Virtually all fire response operations make use of some kind of GIS tool. 

GIS professionals like myself use these tools to share information with a wide variety of audiences from technical professionals, emergency services personnel, and even members of the public. GIS helps tell a data story and can help emergency services personnel make informed decisions on the status and circumstances of an emergency. 

Some of the products built for fire response involve maps showing active fire boundaries and burn areas, or provide demographic information such as population in a threatened area or number of structures destroyed or in danger of being destroyed. GIS is an extremely powerful tool that can relay a vast amount of information at a glance. 

Public Tools You Can Use Right Now

Much of the data involved in wildfire response is publicly available and there are even easy to use GIS tools and data that the public can make use of including:

Cal Fire Incident Map: The Cal Fire Incident map is useful for finding official information on ongoing fire incidents. The map provides updates on fire boundaries and burn areas.  The built-in dashboard gives useful information on wildfire statistics such as acres burned, or structures destroyed. It is a useful tool for monitoring wildfires across the whole state and even keeps track of mitigation efforts like prescribed burns. The website also provides data on past wildfire years, so you can become informed about previous burn areas.

Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ): The FHSZ viewer from the California Office of the State Fire Marshall (OSFM) is a useful GIS web viewer. You can look up your address and see what severity zone you land in and even who is responsible (State or Local) for preventing and fighting wildfires for your area. It is important to know when looking at this map, that these are recommended zones for an area provided by OSFM and represent hazards not risks to an area . In other words, these maps tell us about the current conditions and likelihood of a future fire, not the amount of damage that will be done if a fire occurs.

Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Map: California suffers from a housing market with high demand and low supply, pushing housing prices to nation-leading highs. Housing pressures are pushing more and more developments in high hazard fire zones on the fringes of urban areas. The WUI is where housing and other developments meet the wildlands and it is increasingly becoming where new housing developments are being built. Already naturally occurring wildfires, lands that have not been closely managed, and increased fuel loads are all risks that come with existing in a WUI. It is important to know the risks of where you live.  Use the WUI web map to check if your area is within a WUI.

Bigger and more destructive fires are becoming more and more common in California.  State and local governments have begun to take measures to mitigate wildfire risks but there are things the public can do to be proactive and work to protect themselves from wildfire dangers.

Staying Informed When Every Minute Counts

Download Watch Duty

Watch Duty is a free-to-use website and app that provides real-time wildfire mapping and alerts. It launched in 2021, and although it began in a few Northern California counties, its monitoring services have now spread to all 50 states. 

Watch Duty uses a network of local volunteers who monitor fires using radio traffic, wildfire monitoring cameras, and updates from local fire and emergency services authorities to provide live updates on wildfire boundaries, evacuation notices, and containment progress all viewable on an easy to navigate web map. Living in an area prone to brush fires myself, I have personally found the app a major stress reliever that helps keep me updated and informed on wildfire threats.

Know Your Zone (Zonehaven) & Similar Services

For California residents, many counties and cities partner with the genasys Project to provide updates on the status of evacuation orders and warnings for wildfires and other natural disasters or emergencies. You may have heard of the system as ‘Know Your Zone’ or previously as ‘Zonehaven’. 

Genasys has an easy-to-use website where you can search for your location and see what zone you fall under. Once you know your zone name you should memorize it and write it down somewhere. When disasters occur, emergency services authorities will often refer to the zone name when issuing alerts and updates. 

The genasys Project is a useful tool for keeping up-to-date on information for your zone but be aware that some counties are not a part of the system and instead rely on their own plans or have other systems in place. Be sure to look up your location ahead of time and whether you fall under an area serviced by genasys or a local government system, know your zone!

Mass Alert Systems

Whether it’s a wildfire, another natural disaster – or any situation that requires alerting the public to potential safety hazards – many local governments make use of Mass Alert Systems. There are several companies that provide these services and depending on where you live or work, your local government can have a partnership with any one of them to provide mass alert services. 

For instance, where I live in Solano County, the county and cities have partnered with Everbridge to provide the Alert Solano service. It is important to note that these are not like state or national wireless alert systems where you may automatically get a text message about alerts based on where you live. You must sign up for these alert systems yourself, and you can register multiple devices when you do so. Be sure to do an internet search or look on your local county or city government website to see what alert system they use and make sure you and your whole family are registered for alerts!

In the future, I want to dive into the details of the tools and coding I’ve used to create some of the mapping products and tools for a variety of projects. But for now, I hope this post provides some useful information and helps others stay informed on wildfire risks and safety. Please take the time to keep updated on the tools available to you, and if you don’t happen to live in an area at high risk for wildfires, feel free to share what you’ve learned with others who do!

‌Peter Flores, M.S., is COEH's GIS Analyst. He specializes in spatial data analysis, automation, and the development of custom web-based GIS tools designed to make complex data accessible to non-technical stakeholders. He has worked in the private and public sectors, including assisting in recovery efforts after the 2023 Maui wildfire.