Wildfire Hazard Potential, Version 2023 Continuous (Image Service)

This dataset is the 2023 version of wildfire hazard potential (WHP) for the United States. The files included in this data publication represent an update to any previous versions of WHP or wildland fire potential (WFP) published by the USDA Forest Service. WHP is an index that quantifies the relative potential for high-intensity wildfire that may be difficult to manage, used as a measure to help prioritize where fuel treatments may be needed. This 2023 version of WHP was created from updated national wildfire hazard datasets of annual burn probability and fire intensity generated by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station with the large fire simulation system (FSim). Vegetation and wildland fuels data from LANDFIRE 2020 (version 2.2.0) were the primary inputs to the updated FSim modeling work and therefore form the foundation for this version of the WHP. As such, the data presented here reflect landscape conditions as of the end of 2020. LANDFIRE 2020 vegetation and fuels data were also used directly in the WHP mapping process, along with updated point locations of fire occurrence ca. 1992-2020. With these datasets as inputs, we produced an index of WHP for all of the conterminous United States at 270-meter resolution. We present the final WHP map in two forms: 1) continuous integer values, and 2) five WHP classes of very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. On its own, WHP is not an explicit map of wildfire threat or risk, but when paired with spatial data depicting highly valued resources and assets such as structures or powerlines, it can approximate relative wildfire risk to those specific resources and assets. WHP is also not a forecast or wildfire outlook for any particular season, as it does not include any information on current or forecasted weather or fuel moisture conditions. It is instead intended for long-term strategic fuels management.

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
bureauCode {005:96}
catalog_@context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
catalog_describedBy https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
identifier https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=7cea729c213e409aade5a2838293f09e
issued 2024-05-06
landingPage https://data-usfs.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/usfs::wildfire-hazard-potential-version-2023-continuous-image-service
license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
metadata_type geospatial
modified 2024-05-22
old-spatial -180.0000,18.8388,180.0000,71.5630
programCode {005:059}
progressCode onGoing
publisher U.S. Forest Service
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 511e56749574fc3c6152b554ab83f3840a5bdf7d1222d2e2f07a89808a688beb
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0000, 18.8388], [-180.0000, 71.5630], [180.0000, 71.5630], [180.0000, 18.8388], [-180.0000, 18.8388]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • AmeriGEO
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • CKAN
  • GEO
  • GEOSS
  • National
  • North America
  • United States
  • alaska
  • burn-probability
  • conus
  • ecology
  • ecosystems
  • environment
  • environment-and-people
  • fire-ecology
  • fire-effects-on-environment
  • fire-likelihood
  • fire-modeling
  • fire-planning
  • fire-supression
  • forest-management
  • fuels-management
  • gtac
  • hawaii
  • hazard
  • landscape-management
  • living-atlas
  • open-data
  • pre-suppression
  • prescribed-fire
  • risk-assessment
  • united-states
  • us-forest-service
  • wildfire-hazard-potential
  • wildland-fire-potential
isopen True
license_id cc-by
license_title Creative Commons Attribution
license_url http://www.opendefinition.org/licenses/cc-by
maintainer USFSEnterpriseContent
maintainer_email SM.FS.data@usda.gov
metadata_created 2025-09-24T06:58:21.898321
metadata_modified 2025-09-24T06:58:21.898332
notes This dataset is the 2023 version of wildfire hazard potential (WHP) for the United States. The files included in this data publication represent an update to any previous versions of WHP or wildland fire potential (WFP) published by the USDA Forest Service. WHP is an index that quantifies the relative potential for high-intensity wildfire that may be difficult to manage, used as a measure to help prioritize where fuel treatments may be needed. This 2023 version of WHP was created from updated national wildfire hazard datasets of annual burn probability and fire intensity generated by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station with the large fire simulation system (FSim). Vegetation and wildland fuels data from LANDFIRE 2020 (version 2.2.0) were the primary inputs to the updated FSim modeling work and therefore form the foundation for this version of the WHP. As such, the data presented here reflect landscape conditions as of the end of 2020. LANDFIRE 2020 vegetation and fuels data were also used directly in the WHP mapping process, along with updated point locations of fire occurrence ca. 1992-2020. With these datasets as inputs, we produced an index of WHP for all of the conterminous United States at 270-meter resolution. We present the final WHP map in two forms: 1) continuous integer values, and 2) five WHP classes of very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. On its own, WHP is not an explicit map of wildfire threat or risk, but when paired with spatial data depicting highly valued resources and assets such as structures or powerlines, it can approximate relative wildfire risk to those specific resources and assets. WHP is also not a forecast or wildfire outlook for any particular season, as it does not include any information on current or forecasted weather or fuel moisture conditions. It is instead intended for long-term strategic fuels management.
num_resources 3
num_tags 36
title Wildfire Hazard Potential, Version 2023 Continuous (Image Service)