{"id":577598,"date":"2025-07-29T19:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T19:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/?post_type=blog&p=577598"},"modified":"2025-09-04T18:01:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T18:01:06","slug":"the-backbone-of-wildfire-intelligence-foundational-layers-for-analysis-and-action","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/the-backbone-of-wildfire-intelligence-foundational-layers-for-analysis-and-action","title":{"rendered":"The Backbone of Wildfire Intelligence: Foundational Layers for Analysis and Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our first post<\/a> of this series<\/a>, we explored the apps and dashboards that answer the question, \u201cWhat\u2019s burning and where?\u201d Those tools wouldn\u2019t exist without the data feeds behind them. In this installment, we\u2019re going to pull back the curtain on those feeds, sharing some data sources like the Integrated Reporting of Wildfire Information (IRWIN)<\/a> data and other national datasets that power your favorite wildfire apps.<\/p>\n\n

IRWIN and USA Current Wildfires Layer<\/h2>\n\n

Maybe you\u2019re more of a DIY mapmaker and need to integrate fire information into your own application or enrich it with your own data. Enter the USA Current Wildfires layer<\/a>\u2014a wildfire location and perimeter feed that you can drop into any map or dashboard. This data is likely what you\u2019ve seen as part of any traditional-media maps or other mapping information and applications. That\u2019s because it\u2019s the most authoritative data we have and it\u2019s updated by agencies and firefighters managing the incidents. The points in this layer come straight from IRWIN while the fire perimeters are sourced by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).<\/a> In plain language, this means the layer is pulling information from the same data that the interagency fire community uses to track incidents, so you\u2019re getting official info without any manual effort on your part.<\/p>\n\n

Great\u2014how does it work? Functionally, as firefighters update the data for a specific fire, those updates are recorded and shared via IRWIN\u2014and no, this IRWIN isn\u2019t like your uncle\u2019s friend sharing outdated fire information on Facebook. IRWIN was designed as an end-to-end wildland reporting capability. If you used the Wildfire Aware<\/a> or Watch Duty<\/a> apps mentioned in our last post, you\u2019ve already been consuming this data\u2014those apps update automatically whenever IRWIN records a new fire or perimeter.<\/p>\n\n

IRWIN has been in operation since 2014 and represents a major leap in wildland firefighting technology and data sharing. In this author\u2019s humble opinion, IRWIN has contributed to the United States being at the forefront for data sharing, maturity, and management and fire reporting across the globe. Anytime I hear people talk about how wildland firefighters don\u2019t innovate, leverage technology, or lag behind the times, I just reply, \u201cIRWIN.\u201d To be fair, we can always do better and there are many, many areas for improvement (location sharing, anyone?). So, those who criticize have a valid point, but: IRWIN.<\/p>\n\n

OK, rant over\u2014you can read more about IRWIN<\/a>. Anyhow, ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World<\/a> makes this data available and is updated every 15 minutes with the latest fire data as agencies post their updates. Check out the data<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

What can you do with the USA Current Wildfires layer? A lot, it turns out. Geographic information system (GIS) analysts can use it to quickly stand up a custom map of fires affecting their jurisdiction. For example, if you\u2019re in a state or county GIS department, you can mash up this layer with your local data, such as critical infrastructure, evacuation routes, or shelter locations, to get a common operating picture. It\u2019s also a building block for dashboards: Many fire agencies and emergency operations centers embed this layer in ArcGIS Dashboards<\/a> to monitor fires alongside weather warnings, evacuation orders, and resource statuses. If you\u2019re feeling fancy, you can even combine it with satellite hot spot layers (like the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite [VIIRS] thermal hot spots) to see heat detections beyond just the mapped perimeters\u2014useful for understanding the hottest spots within ongoing wildfires.<\/p>\n\n

In terms of audience, the USA Current Wildfires layer is a gem for technical folks: GIS specialists, developers, and anyone who needs to incorporate live fire data into their own products. It\u2019s also handy for analysts in fire agencies who might be using ArcGIS Pro<\/a> or ArcGIS Online<\/a> to do analysis or create briefing maps. By using the live layer, you ensure that your analysis is based on the latest available data (no more looking for the newest perimeter shapefile).<\/p>\n\n

Wildfire Hazard Potential Maps<\/h2>\n\n

Believe it or not, most activities surrounding wildfire season shouldn\u2019t be reactive. A big part of preparation is understanding hazards and planning, ideally long before there is smoke in the air. This is where fire hazard potential layers can be useful. ArcGIS Living Atlas (noticing a theme yet?) offers access to authoritative datasets like the wildfire hazard potential (WHP)<\/a> map from the US Forest Service<\/a>. In a nutshell, the WHP map is an index that shows where wildfires are most likely to occur. It\u2019s based on factors like fuel models, historical fire frequency, terrain, and climate. Think of it as a heat map (no pun intended) of where the landscape has the ingredients for wildfire. The data can be coarse, but it\u2019s a good measure of hazard potential at landscape scale.<\/p>\n\n

With hazard potential layers and a mix of your local data, you can start to prioritize your preseason efforts. Fire mitigation specialists and planners use these maps as a building block to identify communities at greatest risk. For instance, if you see a town bordered by a \u201cVery High\u201d wildfire hazard on the map, that\u2019s a flashing red sign to focus fire fuel-reduction projects and community outreach there.<\/p>\n\n

It is important to note that the WHP map by itself isn\u2019t a full picture of risk, as defining risk is subjective. However, when you pair it with data about homes, infrastructure, or other values, you can gain a relative sense of wildfire risk to those assets. In other words, combine the hazard map with information about the things we care about protecting, then you can start to understand true problem areas for wildfire risk. To help, here\u2019s a graphic from wildfirerisk.org<\/a> to describe how to think about risk\u2014just click on the graphic to read more about the different elements of wildfire risk.<\/p>\n\n

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For emergency managers and GIS analysts, these hazard layers are great for targeted planning, scenarios, and exercises. These maps are also useful for communication. Showing local officials or the public a hazard map can be an eye-opener: \u201cSo that entire<\/em> area west of town is rated high hazard? Maybe we should do something about those overgrown open spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Many people only think about wildfires when there\u2019s one burning, but hazard maps quietly remind us of where the dangers are lurking year-round. On the tech side, ArcGIS Living Atlas makes these layers easily accessible, sometimes even enriched with demographics or other data. We hope that by making these layers easily discoverable and usable, you\u2019ll be able to leverage WHP data to help inform grant applications, mitigation plans, and policy decisions by providing a foundational building block to help quantify risk.<\/p>\n\n