Fire

FIRE

Heartbeat of Earth

Being informed is the key to being prepared.

The dashboards below present different approaches to the issue of fire.

The first is designed to answer these questions:

  • Am I in a Fire Severity Zone?
  • Do I live in the Wildland Urban Interface? What is that? How many people live in the WUI in my town? In my region?
  • How many fires have burned in the past and where? Why does that matter?

Search your address, and zoom into areas of interest to find out more.

CLICK THROUGH THE TABS ABOVE!

Living in a high fire severity zone or the WUI brings special responsibilities and requires an understanding of fire ecology, defensible spaces, and home hardening, as well as the importance of land conservation and smart neighborhood, municipal, and regional planning.

Remember! Instructions, tips, and tricks for making your own map can be found on our Make a Map page.

Flipping the Fire Script

Can fire hazard zones become assets? Can we figure out land-based opportunities for conservation and fire preparedness that enhance biodiversity and build the green economy at the same time?

Did you know that freeways, streams, farms and trails can act as fire breaks? In the map above, fire is a pathway toward regeneration and regrowth, and irrigated land and farming are the ways we create fire free areas.

If you want to put together different data layers, visit our Make a Map page.

 

Check out Esri Fire Resources.

If we plan developments wisely, and maximize green spaces as buffers and firebreaks, we can partner with the earth to minimize our fire risk.

Use the maps and stats to impact local and regional planning and city council land use decisions. Write public comments to weigh in on proposed or existing projects. Use the dashboards to make and print maps and stats relevant to the present and future of your area.

In the map above, the yellow area is the WUI; think of it as a massive park adaptation and opportunity zone. What would you put there? Who would do the work? Who would pay for it?

California Fire Patterns, 1950-2025

Fire in California is beginning to move toward a continual state of fire. Note the regularity of California's overall pattern and its projected, exponential increase.

Key Terms

Drought, heat, and wind. Invasive grasses and poor planning.

Fire terms to know:

  • Wildland Urban Interface (WUI): Areas where human development meets or intermingles with undeveloped wildland vegetation. This increases fire risk.

  • Fire Severity Zone: A classification used to assess the likelihood and potential intensity of fires in specific areas. California designates zones as Moderate, High, or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ). You may be locked out of traditional homeowners insurance.

  • Defensible Space: A buffer zone around structures where vegetation and flammable materials are managed to reduce fire spread and improve firefighter safety. California law requires specific defensible space measures (e.g., 100 feet around homes in high-risk areas).

  • Prescribed Burn: A controlled fire intentionally set by professionals to reduce hazardous fuels, improve ecosystem health, and mitigate future wildfire risk.

  • Firebreak: A gap in vegetation or other flammable material designed to slow or stop the spread of fire. Firebreaks can be natural (e.g., rivers) or human-made (e.g., cleared land, trails, farmland--even freeways).

  • Red Flag Warning: A weather alert issued by the National Weather Service indicating extreme fire conditions, such as strong winds, low humidity, and dry fuels.

  • Santa Ana Winds: Strong, dry winds that originate inland and move toward coastal Southern California, increasing wildfire risk by rapidly spreading flames. Similar conditions exist in Northern California, known as Diablo Winds.

  • Megafire: A wildfire that burns more than 100,000 acres, often causing extensive damage and lasting for weeks or months.

  • Fire-adapted Ecosystem: An ecosystem that has evolved to withstand and even benefit from periodic fire. Many California plant species rely on fire for regeneration.

  • Ember Storm: A phenomenon in which wind-driven embers travel ahead of the fire front, igniting spot fires and causing rapid fire spread, especially in WUI areas. The Eaton and Palisades fires stemmed from an ember storm.

Since 2003, California has had

 

Nineteen of the twenty largest fires.

 

Eighteen of the twenty most destructive fires.

Thirteen of the twenty deadliest fires.

And since 2025, two of the deadliest wildfires in Southern California history.

Suggested Reading

New edited volume on fire management and cultural significance.

Critical reading for the age of fire.

Climate Sentinels StoryMap: Your Local Insurance Agent

SoCal Earth StoryMap about Heat and Fire.

SoCal Fire Resources

The Los Angeles wildfires of 2025 have caused widespread devastation, displacing families, damaging property, and impacting local communities. SoCal Earth has compiled a list of resources, data layers, and statistics to assist fire victims and the community.

Websites

UCANR Master Gardeners Post Fire Information

Theodore Payne Foundation - Ecological Landscaping for Wildfire Resilience

Cal Fire

Home Hardening - https://www.rcdsmm.org/wildfire-defense-videos/

Sustainable Defensible Space - defensiblespace.org -  Eco-appropriate Homescaping for Wildfire Resilience

California Fire History - https://projects.capradio.org/california-fire-history/#6/38.58/-121.49

The California Chaparral Institute - https://www.californiachaparral.org/

California Native Plant Society - Fire Recovery Guide

United States Green Building Council - https://usgbc-ca.org/programs/wildfire-defense-education-and-tours/ Association of Professional Landscape Designers

American Society of Landscape Architects - https://www.asla.org/fire.aspx

Mutual Aid LA Network - Resource List for Windstorms and Fire

Community Organizing - California Fire Safe Councils

Wildfire Risk - wildfirerisk.org -  Search your risk by state, county, tribal area, city

Books:

Firescaping Your Home: A Manual for Readiness in Wildfire Country, https://store.theodorepayne.org/products/firescaping-your-home-a-manual-for-readiness-in-wildfire-country?_pos=1&_sid=2ab836881&_ss=r

Fire Ecology, The State of Fire, Obi Kaufmann, https://store.theodorepayne.org/products/the-state-of-fire?_pos=1&_sid=59aff9a00&_ss=r

Firescaping: Protecting Your Home with a Fire-Resistant Landscape, 2nd Edition - https://store.theodorepayne.org/products/firescaping-protecting-your-home-with-a-fire-resis?_pos=2&_sid=2ab836881&_ss=r

Playbook for the Pyrocene - https://www.swagroup.com/stories/playbook-for-the-pyrocene

 

Thank you to Erik Blank, horticultural educator from the Theodore Payne Foundation for compiling these resources. This is a non-exhaustive list that we will continue to update.