Wildfires
What is wildfire?
- what is wildfire
- causes of wildfire
- What are needed to sustain the wildfire: heat, drought, and wind
Impacts of wildfire
Wildfires under climate change
Wildfire data
Historical data
Real-time monitoring data
Forecast data (or called "daily to seasonal scale forecast")
Future projection
How does fire make an impact?
Wildfires, also known as forest fires or bushfires, typically occur when a combination of factors creates conditions conducive to the ignition and rapid spread of flames.
Wildfires occur due to combination of the following:
1. Wildfires begin with an ignition source, which can be human-caused or natural. Common human-caused ignition sources include discarded cigarettes, campfires left unattended, equipment sparks, power lines, and arson. Natural ignition sources include lightning strikes.
2. Fuel- Fuel refers to the vegetation, such as grass, shrubs, trees, and other flammable materials, that provides the substance for the fire to burn. The type, amount, and moisture content of the fuel play a crucial role in determining the intensity and spread of a wildfire.
3. Weather conditions strongly influence the behavior of wildfires. Factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction play significant roles.
- Low Humidity: Low humidity levels dry out vegetation, making it more susceptible to ignition and promoting the rapid spread of fires.
- High Temperatures: Hot temperatures contribute to the drying of vegetation, creating favorable conditions for fires.
- Wind: Wind can carry embers over long distances, accelerate the spread of flames, and make firefighting efforts more challenging.
Wildfires at Umatilla National Forest
Wildfire Data Analysis
U.S. Wildfire statistics:
- Wildfires and Acres (burned areas and number of fires)
- Suppression Cost
- (Incident management situation report) by National Interagency Coordination Center has a lot of statistics. LLM or even some simple coding is useful in extracting this resources
Global fire statistics:
- burned area by country
- number of fires by country
- seasonal trend
Geospatial Data:
- Active fires (MODIS and VIIRS)
- Burnt Areas (MODIS and VIIRS NRT)
- Monthly and seasonal forecast of temperature and precipitation by regions
- Fire danger forecast (+1 day)
- Historical data:
- ourworldindata
- combined wildfire datasets for the US and certain territories 1878-2019
- wildfire risk data: EFFIS Wildfire Risk Viewer (copernicus.eu)
- EU and LAC collaboration
Fire forecast:
- fire weather outlook
- 7-day fire potential forecast
- 7-day fire outlook; documentation of the fire potential model
- fire danger forecast by USGS
Current Situation Viewer: [1]
Resources:
- National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)
- Description: Provides comprehensive information on wildfire management and coordination among various agencies in the United States, including useful maps of the historical and current fires.
- U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
- Description: Offers extensive resources on wildfire prevention, suppression, and research, including detailed reports and data.
- Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Description: Uses satellite data to provide near real-time active fire data and tools for monitoring wildfires globally.
- Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS): A joint initiative by the European Commission and partners providing global wildfire information, including risk assessments, historical data, and monitoring tools.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Wildfire
- Description: Offers information on wildfire weather, satellite imagery, and forecasting tools to support wildfire management and research.
The Wildfire dataset encompasses occurrences of wildfires across the USA spanning from 2000 to 2023. The dataset includes information on the total count of deaths and the number of individuals affected, providing quantitative insights.
Sample Data
| Disaster Type | Disaster Subype | Location | Total Deaths | Total Affected |
| Wildfire | Forest fire | Gainesville, Alachua areas (Alachua district, Florida province), Lafayette, Gulf districts (Florida province) | 0 | 600 |
| Wildfire | Forest fire | Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe districts (New Mexico province) | 0 | 25400 |
| Wildfire | Forest fire | Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Florida, North Dakota provinces | 14 | 1000 |
Access the whole dataset here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1L_EbjiHZYTChjEllwEG0LX_4HavbomD3/edit#gid=1887285575
