Case in Point
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Using GIS To Combat Forest Fires
In many forested areas of the U.S., the fuel load (i.e., the amount of potentially combustible material per acre) is reaching hazardous levels that could lead to catastrophic wildfires in the forest/urban interface. In order to take preventative action, land managers need tools to classify, estimate, and monitor fuel loading, and to predict wildfire risk based on inputs of fuel loads, weather and topography.
The GIS area in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources is addressing this problem in conjunction with the Forest Service, the National Park Service and the NC Division of Forest Resources. It is developing protocols for mapping fire fuel loads using digital aerial photography, satellite remote sensing, vegetation maps and field data.
This initiative has already made significant progress and produced:
- Digital fire fuel maps for high risk parks in the Eastern US that are aiding in fire management planning;
- A new set of high resolution road and water source maps that are serving as a reference for pre-suppression fire planning statewide;
- These same maps have been adopted by the NC Department of Agriculture for bio-terrorism planning;
- New applications of GIS techniques that are being extended to the Alligator Wildlife Refuge and Dare County Bombing ranges to aid the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Defense in fire protection planning in this environmentally-sensitive area.
