Skip to main content

CAL FIRE Launches Online Viewer to Monitor Vegetation Burn Severity from California Wildfires; Interactive Public Mapping Tool Shows How Wildfires Have Impacted Vegetation Across the State



Sacramento – CAL FIRE’s Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) has launched the new California Vegetation Burn Severity Online Viewer, an interactive public mapping tool that shows how wildfires have impacted vegetation across the state. This resource supports California’s commitment to transparency and wildfire resilience under Senate Bill 1101.


The Burn Severity Viewer displays burn severity data for all wildfires over 1,000 acres in California from 2015 to 2023. With this information easily accessible, landowners, planners, scientists, and the public are empowered to better understand postfire conditions, support ecological recovery, and plan for future fire resilience.


“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.”

The Burn Severity Viewer has several benefits to post fire recovery planning: 1) helps identify areas in need of reforestation or active restoration; 2) improves fire preparedness by assisting prescribed fire practitioners in planning treatments based on past burn severity and fuel changes; 3) enhances safety by offering insights for fire suppression planning and understanding how previous burns might influence future fire behavior; 4) informs habitat management by identifying changes to wildlife habitat and supporting conservation work.


This new 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.


Burn severity is measured using advanced remote sensing techniques and translated into both the Composite Burn Index (CBI) for forested areas and a continuous severity scale for all vegetation types. Data are derived from satellite imagery processed one year after each fire to account for vegetation recovery and delayed tree mortality.


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.


This marks Phase 1 of the project, focused on the online viewer with planned annual updates. Phase 2 will deliver downloadable datasets as CAL FIRE continues to refine methods, especially for non-forested landscapes.

The viewer is now live and available to the public online at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/aff840a6cd8d4e49958f2b61982b5b11

For more information about CAL FIRE’s Fire and Resource Assessment Program go online to https://www.fire.ca.gov/what-we-do/fire-resource-assessment-program

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

King City Man Arrested on January 6 for Rape, Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a Minor and Kidnapping

  According to King City Police Department, on December 30, 2024 a 17-year-old minor female victim reported that she had attended a party on the 100 Block of Bedford Circle on December 24, 2024. During the party, the suspect provided her with alcohol. He then pulled the victim into a bedroom, forcibly removed her clothing and had sexual intercourse with her against her will. This case was investigated by the King City Police Department Investigations Unit which resulted in the apprehension and arrest on January 6, 2025 of the suspect identified as 21-year-old Jesus Oseguera Briseno of King City. Briseno was also booked into the Monterey County Jail charged with Rape, Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a Minor and Kidnapping. Anyone with further information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the King City Police Department at (844) 844-3382; Sergeant Josh Partida (831) 385-4848 or jpartida@kingcity.com; or the WeTip line at 1-800-78-CRIME. Your call may remain completely ano...
Post a Comment
Read more

Monterey County DA Releases Preliminary Information Concerning an Officer Involved Shooting Incident that Occurred Outside of Soledad on December 16

  SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni on December 19 released preliminary information concerning the officer involved shooting (OIS) which occurred at about 1:20 a.m. outside the city of Soledad on December 16, 2025. Just before 1:00 a.m., Monterey County Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Pina, who has been a peace officer for 10 years all with MCSO, and Deputy Blain Councilman, each in separate patrol cars, were dispatched to 32097 McCoy Road. A resident at the farm labor camp reported a suspicious individual with a handgun whose white Honda 4 door sedan was parked in space 18 at the complex. Before parking there, the suspect drove around and around, stopped in front of the reporting party’s (RP’s) truck, and got out. The RP could hear music. Deputy Pina drove the lead patrol car and arrived just after 1:20 a.m. His dashcam video, which does not record sound but which he installed on his own and at his own expense, depicts the following: He drove down ...
Post a Comment
Read more

King City CHP is searching for person of interest who fled the scene of a fatal crash in Greenfield

On Monday, September 16 at approximately 3:50 pm, a fatal traffic collision occurred on Metz Road south of Elm Avenue in Greenfield.  The driver who caused the collision fled on foot and is currently outstanding.  The California Highway Patrol King City Area is currently seeking the whereabouts of 31-year-old Agustin Santana-Moncada of King City who has been identified as a person of interest in the case.  The King City Area is requesting assistance from the public in locating Santana-Moncada.  Anyone with information is asked to contact the King City Area office at (831) 385-3216.
1 comment
Read more