Headwaters Economics has developed a free data visualization tool that shows state and national structure losses by wildfires over time. The accompanying article argues that structure losses are a more useful metric for understanding wildfire impacts than ‘acres burned.’ Measuring wildfires by assessing ‘acres burned’ does not discern the positive impacts of wildfires in terms of fuel reduction, ecosystem restoration and wildlife habitat from the negative impacts of wildfire. In comparison, tracking structures lost, while imperfect due to reporting processes, can provide a more nuanced measure of the human and economic toll of wildfires.
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Neighborhoods at Risk Tool
Neighborhoods at Risk is designed to meet community planning needs to protect people and property from the impacts of climate change. A free, web-based tool, Neighborhoods at Risk generates customized, interactive maps and reports that describe characteristics of potentially vulnerable neighborhoods (by census tract). Additionally, Neighborhoods at Risk provides community-level climate projections for temperature and precipitation.
Neighborhoods at Risk can be used to prioritize capital improvements, conduct vulnerability assessments, inform land use and policy decisions, and support FEMA Hazard Mitigation Plans and Carbon Disclosure Project reporting.
Neighborhoods at Risk reports are based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, FEMA, Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium, First Street Foundation, and the Northeast Regional Climate Center’s Applied Climate Information System.
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