Wildfire Hazard Management

Wildfires are a serious and growing threat for communities, property owners, and insurers. In 2005, more than 8.5 million acres burned, nearly double the ten-year average. And the number of people exposed to brush fires is steadily increasing. From 1970 to 2000, that exposure in affected brushfire regions doubled.

ISO has developed the only model in the United States that combines satellite imagery and information about soil, slope, vegetation, road access, and fire response to assess risk associated with wildfire. The model is based on research by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in cooperation with ISO. Read “Trial by Fire” to learn how companies are using GIS technology to manage wildfire risk.

ISO can identify and measure the potential risk of wildfire to specific properties located in or near danger areas in nine states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington). You get hazard data for fuels, slope, and road access, as well as composite hazard scores.

ISO can provide highly accurate potential loss assessment using predictive modeling, computer imaging, risk methodologies, and proprietary formulas that analyze the fuel available to wildfire, slope of the ground, and ability of the fire department to access the area.

In California, ISO can identify properties located in Special Hazard Interface Areas — risks outside accepted fuel areas but exposed to wind-borne embers and high heat from nearby fuels.

Wildfire damage up close
In 2003, wildfires in California’s San Diego and San Bernardino Counties caused more than $2 billion in losses to property and placed a heavy demand on regional emergency-response resources. A study of the damage caused by those wildfires shows that ISO’s model classified 97.5 percent of the geographic area burned as fuels. Fuels include tall grass, trees, dense brush, and forested areas — vegetation that can feed a wildfire. The system also correctly identified 95.7 percent of the homes and commercial properties affected by the fires as exposed to the wildfire hazard. Virtually all the affected properties (99 percent) were within 2,500 feet of areas identified by the model as heavy or medium fuels.

Here’s a map that shows the high correlation between the actual burn areas (inside the black lines) and areas classified by the model as fuels. The color key shows the fuel type classifications.

For more information on how the model correlated with the burn areas in the 2003 California fires, request ISO’s complete study.