As part of the California Fire Plan, the Fire and Resource Assessment Program (FRAP) compiles fire perimeters and has established an on-going fire perimeter data capture process in order to update vegetative fuel rank maps. CAL FIRE/FRAP, the USDA Forest Service Region 5 Remote Sensing Lab, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service jointly develop the comprehensive fire perimeter GIS layer for public and private lands throughout California.

The fire perimeter database represents the most complete digital record of fire perimeters in California. However it is still incomplete in many respects. Fire perimeter database users must exercise caution to avoid inaccurate or erroneous conclusions. For more information on potential errors and their source please review the methodology section of these pages.

There are many uses for fire perimeter data. For example it is used on incidents to locate recently burned areas that may affect fire behavior (see map left). Other uses include: Improving fire prevention, suppression, and initial attack success. Reduce and track hazards and risks in urban interface areas. Provide information for fire ecology studies for example studying fire effects on vegetation over time.

This page last updated on 1/9/09.