The Wildfire Risk to Structures polygon map for the three-county area provides a spatially explicit ranking for 10-acre hexagons, assigning each hexagon with a ranking for wildfire hazard and a ranking for housing density. Hexagons with high housing density and high wildfire hazard are of greatest concern. The Wildfire Risk to Structures and Classified Wildfire Hazard data products presented here are designed for land managers and fire responders who are interested in relative rankings of wildfire risk and wildfire hazard. The risk and hazard map products are modeled outputs based on the best available data. As such, they provide one interpretation of risk and hazard that is based on a set of input variables and decision rules (see the methods section below). Though we are using the best available input data, modeling wildfire risk and hazard is not an exact science, and these data should be used with this in mind. These data are meant to be used as reference datasets for planning purposes. Appropriate uses for Wildfire Risk to Structures dataset is to help to identify areas that have structures at risk from wildfire. This information can be used for prioritizing fuel reduction projects, for planning suppression activities, and for targeting areas for activities to increase ignition resistance of structures. In addition, the Classified Wildfire Hazard raster can be used to assess the risk to other values (such as evacuation routes, sensitive natural or cultural resources, and water storage/delivery infrastructure). These are screening level data products created from remotely sensed data and modeling. On the ground knowledge and local expertise (where available) should take precedence over these data products for the detailed work of site-specific planning and implementation of fuel reduction projects in the three-county area.Table 1 shows the locations for downloading the three-county wildfire hazard raster and the wildfire risk to structures polygon dataset.Table 1. Data availability for three-county wildfire hazard and wildfire risk to structuresDescriptionRelative Wildfire Hazard (raster)Wildfire Risk to Structures (polygon)ArcGIS Pro Map Packagehttps://fuelsmapping.com/3country_risk_mpkhttps://fuelsmapping.com/3country_risk_mpkFeature Servicehttps://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_fsArcGIS Online Web Maphttps://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_webmaphttps://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_webmap11x17 PDF Maps for Each Countyhttps://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_pdfsDisclaimerTukman Geospatial makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of these data. Tukman Geospatial makes no warranty of merchantability or warranty for fitness of use for a particular purpose, expressed or implied, with respect to these products or the underlying data. Any user of this data, accepts same as is, with all faults, and assumes all responsibility for the use thereof, and further covenants and agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold Tukman Geospatial harmless from and against all damage, loss or liability arising from any use of these data products, in consideration of Tukman Geospatial and its partners having made this information available. Independent verification of all data contained herein should be obtained by any user of these products, or the underlying data. Tukman Geospatial disclaims, and shall not be held liable for, any and all damage, loss, or liability, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, which arises or may arise from these products or the use thereof by any person or entity.

The full technical report for the Classified Wildfire Hazard raster and the Wildfire Risk to Structures map (this product) is available here (still in draft): https://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_report

The Classified Wildfire Hazard map is a 20-meter raster that classifies wildfire hazard into 6 classes (1=Lowest Hazard, 6=Highest Hazard).

The Wildfire Risk to Structures polygon map for the three-county area provides a spatially explicit ranking for 10-acre hexagons, assigning each hexagon with a ranking for wildfire hazard and a ranking for housing density. Hexagons with high housing density and high wildfire hazard are of greatest concern. Note that the risk to structures polygon layer is symbologized by default in this feature service such that only hexagons with moderate hazard and above AND hexagons with at least one structure are shown. The user can modify the symbology to show low hazard and hexagons without mapped structures.

The Wildfire Risk to Structures and Classified Wildfire Hazard data products presented here are designed for land managers and fire responders who are interested in relative rankings of wildfire risk and wildfire hazard. The risk and hazard map products are modeled outputs based on the best available data. As such, they provide one interpretation of risk and hazard that is based on a set of input variables and decision rules (see the methods section below). Though we are using the best available input data, modeling wildfire risk and hazard is not an exact science, and these data should be used with this in mind.

These data are meant to be used as reference datasets for planning purposes. Appropriate uses for Wildfire Risk to Structures dataset is to help to identify areas that have structures at risk from wildfire. This information can be used for prioritizing fuel reduction projects, for planning suppression activities, and for targeting areas for activities to increase ignition resistance of structures. In addition, the Classified Wildfire Hazard raster can be used to assess the risk to other values (such as evacuation routes, sensitive natural or cultural resources, and water storage/delivery infrastructure).

These are screening level data products created from remotely sensed data and modeling. On the ground knowledge and local expertise (where available) should take precedence over these data products for the detailed work of site-specific planning and implementation of fuel reduction projects in the three-county area.Table 1 shows the locations for downloading the three-county wildfire hazard raster and the wildfire risk to structures polygon dataset.Table 1.
Data availability for three-county wildfire hazard and wildfire risk to structures

Description

Relative Wildfire Hazard (raster)

Wildfire Risk to Structures (polygon)

ArcGIS Pro Map Package

https://fuelsmapping.com/3country_risk_mpk

https://fuelsmapping.com/3country_risk_mpk

Feature Service

https://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_fs

ArcGIS Online Webmap

https://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_webmap

https://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_webmap

11x17 Maps for Each County

https://fuelsmapping.com/3county_risk_pdfs

This dataset represents the spatial extent of wildfires that occurred in Nova Scotia during the spring of 2023. It includes polygon features delineating wildfire areas, as well as polygon and point features of emergency shelters and network accessibility affected by the wildfires. The burned area features were produced through a combination of supervised classification of satellite imagery and manual digitization. Initial fire locations and ignition dates were obtained from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) interactive map (https://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/interactive-map). Only fire events larger than 5 hectares were included. These dates informed the acquisition of Sentinel-2 Level-2A imagery via the Copernicus Open Access Hub. A threshold of less than 15% of cloud cover was set. Image classification was conducted in ArcGIS Pro version 3.1.2 using a supervised, pixel-based approach. Training samples were collected for the following land cover classes: "burned", "developed", "undeveloped", and "water". Classification was performed on false-color composite imagery (bands 8-4-3) to enhance burn detection. Raster outputs were converted to vector format, followed by a consistency check using visual inspection. Where classification results were insufficient, manual digitization of burned areas was performed to improve spatial accuracy, particularly in smaller or heterogeneous burn scars. The final wildfire perimeter layer is a merged product of the classified and manually digitized features. Each polygon includes attributes for fire name, ignition date, and burned area in hectares. The socioeconomic dataset includes census-based attributes aggregated at the dissemination area (DA) level for the province of Nova Scotia (Statistics Canada). The DA boundary shapefiles were obtained from Statistics Canada (2021 Census Boundary Files), and the corresponding tabular socioeconomic variables were retrieved from the CHASS Data Centre (University of Toronto) based on the 2021 Census of Population. Each DA polygon is attributed with the total population (2021), population density (persons per square kilometre), and average after-tax household income (2020 CAD). The coordinate system of shapefiles is NAD83 CSRS UTM Zone 20 N, EPSG: 2961. This dataset supports research on wildfire impact assessment, emergency preparedness planning, vegetation change analysis, and spatial network modeling.

Parcels affected by the adoption of the 2015 International Wildland Urban-Interface Code (WUIC), which was adopted by Austin City Council April9, 2020, and implementation beginning January 1st, 2021. Parcels that are within 1.5 miles of a wildland area greater than 750 acres and parcels within 150 feet of a wildland area greater than 40 acres are wildland_urban_interface_code parcels. Parcels designated as "preserves" have been removed and are not subject to the WUI code.Dataset was created in 2020 by Austin Fire Department Wildfire Division. It was derived from the most recent Travis County Appraisal District (TCAD) Parcels, and queried based upon their planar distance to wildland areas. Wildlands are defined as undeveloped continuous areas,. The wildlands feature class is maintained by the Austin Fire Department and is derived from the City of Austin Planimetric dataset, also known as impervious cover data, and are updated every two years. ArcGIS Pro version 2 software was used to create this dataset. The data is meant to be ingested by a GIS system. Changes to the City of Austin & LTD jurisdiction warrant an update to this dataset. The data is scheduled to be updated every two years.Included in the attributes are parcel condition variables that determine the parcel's "fire hazard severity' class. These include the composite score of three variables: slope score, fuel score, and WUI class (proximity). Slope score was determined by the average degree slope of the area within each parcel and classified as less than 10%, 10% to 25%, or greater then 25%. Fuel score was determined by the average fuel class area within each parcels as defined by the Austin Travis County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and classified as light, medium, or heavy fuels. Proximity class was defined by the proximity of each parcel to wildlands, either as within 1.5 miles of wildlands greater than 750 acres, or within 150 feet of wildlands greater than 40 acres.Description of data fieldsGLOBALID_1 = Used for Global IdentificationOBJECTID = Object IdentificationSLOPE_DEGREE = The average slope of each parcel in degreesFIRE_HAZARD_SEVERITY = The "fire hazard severity" class of each parcelPROXIMITY_CLASS = The proximity class of each parcelSLOPE_CLASS = The slope classification of each parcelFUEL_CLASS = The fuel class of each parcelCREATED_BY = Creators nameCREATED_DATE = Date createdMODIFIED_BY = Modifiers nameMODIFIED_DATE = Date modifiedUNIQUE_ID = Unique Identification number (mirror object id)Shape_Area = Shape areaShape_Length = Shape lengthIteration ID: Parcels_AustinLTD4 2020Contact: Steven Casebeer at Steven.casebeer@austintexas.gov | Austin Fire Department Wildfire Division