January 2023
Wildland Fire
Executive Briefing
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 4
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 5
Current Capabilities ................................................................................................. 6
Spatial Analytics ....................................................................................................... 6
Imagery and Remote Sensing ................................................................................. 6
Mapping and Visualization ....................................................................................... 6
Real-Time GIS ......................................................................................................... 6
3D GIS ..................................................................................................................... 6
Data Collection and Management............................................................................ 6
Preparedness ........................................................................................................... 7
Mitigation .................................................................................................................. 7
Recovery and Rehabilitation .................................................................................... 8
Public Information .................................................................................................... 8
Public Utilities Coordination ..................................................................................... 9
Esri Support ............................................................................................................. 10
Future Capabilities ................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 12
Additional Resources ............................................................................................... 12
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Executive Wildfire incidents have claimed lives and destroyed thousands of
Summary structures. The expansion of the wildland urban interface (WUI)—
areas designated at greater risk for catastrophic wildfires—and
more frequent extreme weather conditions have magnified the
impact of these incidents. The response and recovery to these
increasingly complex events impact budgets, economies, and the
communities we serve. Esri appreciates the opportunity to provide
information related to our support of global wildland fire efforts.
Esri has supported the wildland community for decades. Using the ArcGIS® system,
stakeholders can enhance collaboration across jurisdictions and agencies with
shared situational awareness.
ArcGIS offers a unique set of capabilities that apply location-based analytics to
preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery practices. Agencies gain greater
insights using contextual tools to visualize and analyze their data, collaborate with
others, and share insights via maps, apps, and reports.
The ArcGIS system supports emergency response activities of multiple federal, state,
and local agencies. The use of the ArcGIS system by these cooperating agencies
provides seamless data sharing, improved communications, and more efficient
resource management.
Recovery efforts to restore services are critical for communities. The ArcGIS system
is leveraged to manage and report on damage assessment, monitor critical
infrastructure restoration, and coordinate repopulation programs after an incident.
The future of geographic information system (GIS) applications for public safety
includes the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and 3D products.
Esri has several important partners doing work in fire predictive modeling and early
fire detection as well as those that focus on improving the response cycle through
preparedness and mitigation work. Each of these capabilities saves lives, property,
critical infrastructure, and the environment.
Esri is focused on supporting our users by helping to build safer communities and a
more resilient landscape. Esri supports wildland fire programs and a multifaceted
approach to this significant problem.
The complex problem that wildfire poses will require a comprehensive solution.
These solutions must be developed collaboratively by all stakeholders. This
challenge also requires continued efforts in preparedness, mitigation, and response
and recovery. Esri provides solutions to support these activities. Agencies can
leverage ArcGIS, a foundational system most national and state governments
already own, to perform data collection and analysis, provide operations support, and
coordinate rehabilitation activities. Esri personnel are available to support the
planning process at no additional cost.
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Introduction Saving lives, preserving property, and protecting the environment are the primary
responsibilities of every hierarchy of government and a variety of other
organizations. Achieving these goals requires collaboration across agencies,
organizations, and industries. This is evidenced by the multistakeholder
approach that is critical to reaching the levels of community and environmental
resilience that saves lives and property and preserves important environmental
features like watersheds. Esri provides innovative solutions that help support
governments, organizations, and others across the entire life cycle of a wildland
fire.
Top to bottom: Firefighters work at night to contain a wildfire; satellite imagery of an active wildfire;
public information meeting.
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
An enterprise license agreement (ELA) with Esri An enterprise license
provides the use of Esri® ArcGIS software and agreement can
advanced technical assistance. Agencies have
unlimited access to ArcGIS software, along with • Reduce complexity.
Unite software licensing into a single,
timely and expert assistance from Esri, that organization-wide agreement.
enables them to successfully implement their
enterprise GIS. This has greatly enhanced the • Optimize technology spending.
Lower the costs of software
capabilities of GIS users across all spectrums of compliance and asset management.
an agency including resource coordination,
mapping, and emergency data records. Two • Increase flexibility.
Build a scalable system that aligns
areas of note are the improvements to damage with your agency's objectives.
assessment activities and real-time data
collection. These programs provide actionable • Maximize value.
Provide mapping and GIS services
intelligence to decision-makers at the where and when needed.
appropriate time.
Current ArcGIS offers a unique set of capabilities for applying location-based analytics for
Capabilities your organization. You can gain greater insights using contextual tools to
visualize and analyze your data. You can collaborate with others and share
incident intelligence via maps, apps, and reports.
Spatial Analytics Spatial analytics is the heart and soul of ArcGIS. You use it to find the areas at
highest wildfire risk, plan for smarter communities, and even determine where
postfire disasters like landslides are likely.
Imagery and Remote ArcGIS gives you everything you need to manage and extract answers from
Sensing imagery and remotely sensed data. It includes imagery tools and workflows for
visualization and analysis and access to the world's largest imagery collection.
Mapping and Maps help you spot spatial patterns in your data so you can make better
Visualization decisions and act. Maps also break down barriers and facilitate collaboration.
ArcGIS gives you the ability to create, use, and share maps on any device.
Real-Time GIS Real-time GIS empowers you with location monitoring of any type of sensor or
device—accelerating response times, optimizing safety, and improving situational
awareness through a common operating picture across all assets and activities,
whether in motion or at rest.
3D GIS Three-dimensional GIS brings real-world context to your maps and data. Instantly
transform your data into smart 3D models and visualizations that help you
analyze and solve problems and share ideas and concepts.
Data Collection and With ArcGIS, you can easily collect, crowdsource, store, access, and share your
Management data efficiently and securely. You can integrate data stored in your information
systems and geoenable any type of data from any source.
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Preparedness An agency's approach to wildfire preparedness can leverage multiple Esri
solutions and technologies to be successful. An example of a wildfire
preparedness activity is Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPPs).
Agencies can utilize an Esri-provided CWPP template that makes use of ArcGIS
Hub℠ technology to coordinate the activities of agencies, communities, and
organizations around wildfire planning efforts. Embedded in ArcGIS Hub are a
variety of web maps and applications that help communicate the risk to critical
infrastructure, residences, and the environment. Hub also acts as a digital center
where residents and other stakeholders can monitor progress on projects that
reduce wildfire risk, communicate the next meeting dates and locations, and
even schedule executive briefings. ArcGIS Dashboards can be used for decision
support, situational awareness of the program metrics, and mobile applications
that allow field teams to conduct inspections and submit reports in real time from
anywhere in the state.
Community Wildfire Protection Plan template.
Wildfire risk visualized with ArcGIS tools.
Mitigation At its core, mitigation work is meant to reduce the severity and consequence of
wildfire occurrence. This may happen through several avenues including, but not
limited to, hazardous fuel reduction programs, the implementation of prescribed
fire, and community initiatives such as defensible space and home-hardening
efforts.
Each of these mitigation strategies leverages ArcGIS in a multitude of ways. ArcGIS
mobile applications allow users to collect and verify data about wildfire risk variables
such as vegetation type and density. This provides more accurate insight into a given
community or the level of risk of certain environmental features. Mobile applications
also enable agencies and organizations to crowdsource data collection about
residences and critical infrastructure, helping to drive the adoption of defensible
space and home-hardening programs. ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Living Atlas of the
World offer the products and data that aid fire managers in determining the safe
return and use of fire through carefully planned prescribed burns. ArcGIS system and
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
solutions support emergency response activities of multiple federal, state, and local
agencies. The use of the ArcGIS system by these cooperating agencies provides
seamless data sharing, improved communications, and more efficient resource
management. Esri supports emergency operations centers daily with resource
management and operational response solutions. As seen above, mapping and
dashboard products are prominent in a state emergency operations center where
they provide real-time decision support for ongoing incidents.
Recovery and Recovery efforts leverage the ArcGIS system to collect damage assessment
Rehabilitation information, identify areas at high risk from negative postfire impacts like
landslides, and help rehabilitate environments.
Top to bottom: ArcGIS StoryMaps℠ stories display structure damage data; aerial view of damage
from a wildfire; and the remains of a residence postwildfire.
The importance of postfire recovery efforts and documentation of fire impacts
continues to increase, especially considering the severity of recent incidents. Esri is
helping to provide cutting-edge solutions that leverage imagery, machine learning,
and artificial intelligence to help automate damage assessment workflows.
Additionally, postfire risk can be mitigated through emergency stabilization actions
targeting areas prone to postfire flooding, debris flows, and landslides. Esri's mobile
field data collection applications, ArcGIS Field Maps, Survey123, and QuickCapture,
are being used to create a common operating picture during fire response and collect
data during damage assessment and postfire workflows. It is a valued tool for
agencies to help conduct operations in the field, update other mobile workers and
decision-makers on the status of operations, and gather information used for disaster
declaration thresholds. The use of Field Maps continues to be refined to improve both
the quality and quantity of data collected before, during, and after an incident. The
speed and accuracy of this application have allowed real-time data to be provided to
fire managers and have enabled public information products to deliver critical
information in a timely manner, using accurate and validated data.
Esri applications can also be used to develop data for analyzing the effectiveness of
current WUI building codes and fire safety regulations.
Public Providing the public with clear, authoritative information during a disaster can
Information mean the difference between a successful or unsatisfactory incident response.
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Agency resources made available to the public through ArcGIS.
Solutions from Esri provide public information products for pre, active, and postfire
needs. These products are made available to the public to provide information on
prefire planning efforts, mitigation programs, and incident information such as
evacuations, fire perimeters, containment status, and repopulation guidelines. This
information is regularly disseminated through social media and traditional public
information sources like mass media and over the internet.
With Esri's technology powering these applications, they can scale to handle millions
of hits from the public and the media while integrating the spatial information that
defines these efforts. Esri's geospatial cloud provides an agency with a way to
ensure that critical information is up-to-date and easily accessible.
Public Utilities Multiple agencies are coordinating data exchange with public utilities to ensure
Coordination the safety of residents. This coordination includes notifications and the exchange
of data in GIS formats. This data is used for potential public safety power shutoffs
that may occur during conditions that promote wildfire growth. This allows
responsible agencies to communicate the danger through public information
products that use maps to help convey risk and necessary actions for the public.
Esri partners are also key stakeholders in the utility space as they perform critical
wildfire simulations that reduce the footprint and impact of public safety power
shutoffs.
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Utility monitoring dashboard view.
Esri Support By supporting our users and leveraging partners, Esri is helping to build safer
communities. Esri supports wildland fire programs and a multifaceted approach
to problems caused by wildland fires.
In addition to providing solutions, applications, and data to public safety agencies,
Esri directly supports disaster response through the Esri Disaster Response
Program. This program provides access to the ArcGIS system, technical support, and
implementation assistance and helps with common workflows like damage
assessment or public information provision when an agency's capacity is exceeded.
.
Esri's Disaster Response Program website.
Future The future of GIS applications for public safety includes the development of
Capabilities artificial intelligence, machine learning, 3D products, and early wildfire detection.
Predictive modeling capabilities continue to expand, and Esri has several
partners that provide fire modeling solutions. These solutions not only model fire
spread but account for a wildfire's impact on life, property, critical infrastructure,
and the environment.
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
The geospatial industry is quickly evolving as the capabilities of digital
connectedness and collaboration are moving ahead exponentially. The biggest
trends in GIS technology are centered on early fire detection, determining current
firefighter locations and fire perimeter, and making data more accessible. These
trends are buoyed by the needs now typical of the information age: fast and easy
access to near real-time data.
Spatial analysis is important to any agency that recognizes location as a variable to
success. Data can be overlaid on a map, allowing users to perform statistical analysis
to discover details about the location of an incident or trends in incidents across a
season. Maps communicate this information well, and in a web services environment,
agencies will be able to make maps, graphs, and charts and perform analytics easily.
Accessible from an organization's cloud, the power of GIS and mapping is easier
accessed across the enterprise.
The ability to access vast amounts of data that provide insight into the environment
and human behavior has changed the way all organizations function. That capability
has evolved to include the integration of big data operations with spatial analysis.
Today, anyone in the enterprise can access billions of environmental observations or
tens of thousands of raster images from a spacecraft and analyze them.
Leveraging this vast network of devices and sensors is one of the latest trends and
the number one priority for organizations that want to remain ahead in terms of
having a comprehensive enterprise GIS for the future. Everything from smartphones
to crowdsourced social media feeds is being used to integrate real-time data from the
Internet of Things (IoT) directly into a GIS layer stack, where the data is analyzed,
visualized, and reintegrated into online applications for use by response agencies
and residents.
Another way that GIS is breaking out of its traditional space is by becoming more
consumer friendly. Just as data from mobile devices is liberating responders who
have been accessing GIS online and from the desktop, this same data is being used
to power a new generation of easily accessible applications that tap into the rich
science and analytics that only GIS can deliver. A much simpler user experience is
now possible with the creation of a suite of apps and app builders. People can use
iPhones or Android devices to collect geospatial data or explore it visually, anywhere
and at any time. Responders in the field can use these apps to collect data or for
observation, bringing the data directly into an enterprise services environment in the
cloud. Field information is immediately input and analyzed.
The latest leap in GIS technology and computing is connecting the vast network of
devices that are providing data in real time. It is the most revolutionary change we
have seen since Esri was founded, and it brings fantastic opportunity. The more
accessible and voluminous data is, the more important it will be to understand it, and
maps are the visual language for understanding its context.
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Wildland Fire Executive Briefing
Conclusion The complex problem of devastating wildfire requires comprehensive solutions
spanning all phases of wildland fire. Making progress on wildland fire issues
requires continued efforts in fire risk reduction, prevention, and suppression
operations. Esri provides solutions to support these activities. Organizations can
leverage Esri ArcGIS—a software most land management and public safety
agencies already own—to perform data collection and analysis to support
planning and operations. Esri personnel are eager to partner with you and
increase your organization's capacity to prepare, respond, and recover from
wildfire incidents.
Additional Wildfire Aware
Resources View current U.S. wildfire activity for community awareness.
Wildfire Resource Hub
Get maps, datasets, applications, and more to support wildfire preparedness and
response efforts.
Esri Disaster Response Program
Provides access to the ArcGIS system, technical support, and implementation
assistance and helps with common workflows like damage assessment or public
information provision when an agency's capacity is exceeded.
Additional questions contact: Anthony Schultz, Director of Wildland Fire
Solutions
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For more information, visit
[Link]/fire-exec-brief.