North Carolina has released two new tools related to fire management and air quality:
The North Carolina Forest Service Wildfire Public Viewer
North Carolina Climate Office Ambient Air Information Reporter
Continue Readingonline tools
FEMA Launches National Risk Index Map
A new mapping tool from FEMA allows communities to identify their risk to 18 natural hazards, including wildfire.
Continue ReadingNIDIS Launches New Interactive Maps on Drought.gov
NIDIS has released two new interactive features on Drought.gov that will make it easier for decision makers and the public across the U.S. to share timely, reliable drought information.
First, new customization and sharing options for all maps make it easier than ever to create custom, high-quality maps to include in drought or risk mitigation plans, share on social media or in media briefings, communicate with stakeholders, or report on drought impacts across the United States.
Second, interactive economic sector maps including one focused on wildfire management show sector-specific information alongside key drought and climate indicators provide vital information for private and public sector decision makers to monitor, plan for, and mitigate the impacts of drought.
View the Wildfire Risk mapping tool here.
Watch a tutorial video for the mapping tools here.
Continue ReadingNational Fire Scar Survey
The Missouri Tree Ring Lab has launched a National Fire Scar Survey tool. This new tool allows fire managers, foresters, and land managers to submit information and the location of fire scars. Submitting fire scars can help researchers to identify potential new fire scar collection sites to help understand historical fire patterns.
Access the National Fire Scar Survey here.
Continue ReadingIFTDSS Version 3.4 – Compare Weather
The latest version of the Interagency Fuel Treatment Decision Support System includes a new Compare Weather feature. A video covers the capabilities of the feature.
Continue ReadingHeadwaters Economics: Structures Destroyed by Wildfires Data Visualization
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.
Continue ReadingNeighborhoods 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.
Continue Reading
