Wildfire Impacts USGS Science Priorities 

• The Federal Government annually 

 spends billions of dollars to suppress 

 wildfires.

• Wildfires increase the potential for 

 flooding, debris flows, and landslides.

• Smoke and other emissions contain 

 pollutants that can cause significant 

 health problems.

• Short-term effects: destruction of 

 timber, forage, wildlife habitats, scenic 

 vistas, and watersheds

• Long-term effects: reduced access to 

 recreational areas; destruction of com-

 munity infrastructure and cultural and 

 economic resources

• Conduct research on previous wildfires, 

 including ignition sources, burn severity 

 patterns, season of burning, and fire size

• Study the effects of postfire runoff 

 and erosion on aquatic ecosystems and 

 species

• Expand the ability to monitor and 

 provide early warnings using new 

 technology, sensor webs, and satellite 

 technology

• Develop tools and methods to mini-

 mize impacts on human life and prop-

 erty, especially in the wildland-urban 

 interface

USGS Science Helps Build Safer Communities

Wildfire Hazards—A National Threat

This map shows locations that experienced wildlfires greater than 250 acres, from 1980 to 2003. 

Map not to scale. Sources: Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, and the USGS National Atlas

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2006– 3015

February 2006

Wildfires in the United States and Puerto Rico A Mounting Threat

 Wildfires are a growing natural hazard 

in most regions of the United States, 

posing a threat to life and property, 

particularly where native ecosystems 

meet developed areas.

 However, because fire is a natural (and 

often beneficial) process, fire suppression 

can lead to more severe fires due to the 

buildup of vegetation, which creates more 

fuel.

 In addition, the secondary effects of 

wildfires, including erosion, landslides, 

introduction of invasive species, and 

changes in water quality, are often more 

disastrous than the fire itself.

Science Can Meet the Challenge

 The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

provides tools and information by 

identifying wildfire risks, ways to reduce 

wildfire hazards, providing real-time 

firefighting support, and assessing the 

aftermath of wildfires. The goal is to 

build more resilient communities and 

ecosystems. 

 The USGS conducts vegetation and 

fuels mapping to support firefighting 

readiness, reduce wildfire hazards in 

the wildland-urban interface, and assess 

wildfire effects on ecosystems. 

Firefighters work to control a wildfire near 

Springer, Okla., on Monday, January 16, 

2006. (FEMA photo/Bob McMillan)
 Wildfire Facts

 For More Information

http://www.usgs.gov/themes/Wildfire/ 

 fire.html/

http://firescience.cr.usgs.gov/html/

 sitemap.html 

 http://www.geomac.gov/

 http://landfire.gov/

 http://www.usgs.gov/

 

• More land has been affected by wildfires in recent years than at any time since 

 the 1960s. In 2004, wildfires burned more than 8 million acres in 40 States.

• The greater Yellowstone National Park fire of 1988 burned more than 1.2 million 

 acres. 

• Wildfire severity has increased and fire frequency has decreased during the past 

 200 years.

• Many species depend on wildfires to improve habitat, recycle nutrients, and 

 maintain diverse communities.

• Land management agencies light “prescribed fires” under controlled conditions 

 for specific management objectives.

 To determine how current 

conditions differ from natural wildlfire 

circumstances, the USGS studies 

historical fire patterns—their size, how 

they started, how hot they burned, and 

what time of year they occurred.

 The USGS is also developing methods 

to monitor the effectiveness of treatments 

to reduce fuel buildup, the effects of 

wildfire on wildlife, and the ecological 

effects of fuel-reduction measures and 

postfire rehabilitation treatments.

 Land managers use this information to 

determine fire risk, plan fuel treatments, 

and develop emergency response plans.

Tools and Teamwork

 To aid land managers in developing 

plans to minimize wildfire threats before 

they occur or spread, the USGS and the 

U.S. Forest Service developed the Fire 

Potential Index (FPI), which depicts the 

wildfire potential for forests, shrublands, 

and grasslands.

 FPI maps use satellite-derived 

information to assess the impact of 

vegetation on fire danger. The FPI is 

updated daily to reflect changing weather 

conditions and is used in daily wildfire 

decisionmaking.

 To monitor the risk of actively burning 

wildfires, the USGS, in cooperation 

with the National Interagency Fire 

Center, developed GeoMAC. This is an 

Internet-based mapping tool that provides 

a national view of current wildfire 

situations to fire managers and the public.

 GeoMAC aids fire personnel by 

displaying the most current wildfire 

information available.

 The USGS is also a member of 

LANDFIRE, a multipartner wildfires, 

ecosystem, and fuel-mapping 

project. LANDFIRE data support 

fuels treatments, incident response, 

postfire recovery actions, and effective 

monitoring.

After the Flames, the Risk 

Remains

 The less obvious but equally 

devastating effects of wildfires occur 

after the fire is extinguished. These 

aftereffects include erosion, landslides, 

debris flows, and altered water quality.

 The risk of floods and debris flows 

increases due to the exposure of bare 

ground and the loss of vegetation. 

Sediment, burned debris, and chemicals 

affect water quality as well.

 USGS Rapid-Deployment DataCollection Networks provide critical 

information for postfire flood and debrisflow warnings and on the response of 

eroded, burned areas. This information 

helps emergency management officials 

with emergency response, postfire 

mitigation, and rehabilitation planning.

 USGS wildfire science is an integral 

part of the Federal Government mission 

to protect life, property, and natural 

resources before, during, and after 

wildfires.

A wildfire left very little of this home near 

San Bernadino, Calif., in October 2003. 

(FEMA photo/Kevin Galvin)

The evening sun barely penetrates smoke 

and ash as evacuees flee Glenwood 

Springs, Colo., because of spreading 

wildfires on Saturday, June 8, 2002. (FEMA 

photo/Bryan Dahlberg)

A wildfire in Yellowstone National Park, 

Wyo., approaches a gift shop and lodge on 

Wednesday, September 7, 1988. (National 

Park Service photo)