DOI: 10.17603/ds2-q3m8-0p94
title: Palisades Fire Burn Area, in Infrastructure Resilience and Impact Study for Wildfire-affected Infrastructure in Los Angeles

description: In January 2025, two major wildfires devastated the Los Angeles region: the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. Both fires ignited on January 7, 2025, and were fully contained by January 31, 2025. Together, they burned over 15,000 hectares (approximately 60 square miles), destroyed more than 16,000 structures, and caused an estimated economic loss exceeding $75 billion. The Palisades Fire primarily affected the Pacific Palisades and Malibu communities, while the Eaton Fire impacted Altadena and Pasadena. 

This dataset is part of the "RAPID: Infrastructure Resilience and Impact Study for Wildfire-affected Infrastructure in Los Angeles (IRIS-Wildfire)" project (NSF Award #2524950). The project's primary goal is to understand how wildfires impact infrastructure in communities where developed areas meet wildlands—known as the wildland-urban interface (WUI). Data was collected in February/March 2025, and again in September 2025 to capture change. The datasets are unique because of their high level of detail and specific focus on infrastructure performance in densely populated areas adjacent to wildfire-prone wildlands, offering crucial insights into the immediate effects of wildfires on civil infrastructure.

The key objectives of this research project are to gather detailed aerial and ground-based information on buildings, roads, utilities, and communities affected by the fires; examine how fires spread from structure to structure and identify factors that influence damage extent within communities; assess the effectiveness of firebreaks and other fire prevention methods; and improve fire spread prediction models using real-world data collected from these events.

Data collection was carried out by the research team associated with NSF Award #2524950 and supported by the NHERI RAPID Facility. The methods included high-resolution aerial imaging and street view imagery (SVI). Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), also known as drones, piloted by the NHERI Natural Hazards and Disaster Reconnaissance (RAPID) Facility, surveyed areas impacted by both fires. This aerial imaging produced approximately 30 square kilometers of high-resolution images, geo-referenced orthomosaics, 3D point cloud models, and digital surface models, all of which are provided in this dataset. Street view imagery captured 640 kilometers of detailed, ground-level visuals of the affected areas. Due to personally identifiable information in the raw street view images, these are not publicly available—please contact the Principal Investigator for access requests. Privacy-protected imagery is viewable on the Mapillary web platform: https://www.mapillary.com/app/?lat=34.0931&lng=-118.3476&z=10.2841&username%5B%5D=uwrapid

The Palisades and Eaton Fire data can be easily viewed in the cloud using the project's associated Hazmapper application, which provides a user-friendly interface for exploring the information without requiring specialized software (see "Hazmapper Maps" link above). This web-based resource is ideal for community members, local officials, and general users who want to understand the fire impacts in their areas. For detailed analysis purposes, please download the complete, full-resolution dataset from the project.

This information serves a wide range of users, from community members and local officials seeking to understand fire impacts in their neighborhoods to researchers studying general wildfire impacts and experts in infrastructure resilience, fire spread modeling, and public health. The data supports diverse applications including community awareness, policy development, in-depth case studies, regional-scale assessments, and computer model calibration and verification. Detailed information about these datasets is provided in the associated data reports.

description: This study investigated how wildfire impacts civil infrastructure performance in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), specifically examining buildings, roads, and utilities affected by the January 2025 Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades and Malibu communities. The research focused on fire spread patterns between structures, damage extent factors, and the effectiveness of firebreaks and fire prevention methods.

Comprehensive data collection was conducted using high-resolution aerial imaging via Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) provided by the NHERI RAPID Facility, capturing approximately 6.5 square kilometers of detailed images, geo-referenced orthomosaics, 3D point cloud models, and digital surface models for the Pacific Palisades area. Street view imagery documented ground-level infrastructure damage and fire effects. Data were collected in February/March 2025 and again in September 2025.

The study produced a unique, high-resolution dataset documenting wildfire impacts on WUI infrastructure with unprecedented detail. The data reveals critical insights into fire spread mechanisms, structural vulnerability factors, and infrastructure resilience in densely populated areas adjacent to wildfire-prone wildlands.

This dataset supports diverse applications including community awareness initiatives, policy development, infrastructure resilience planning, fire spread modeling, public health impact studies, regional-scale risk assessments, computer model calibration and verification, and in-depth case studies. The data serves researchers, community members, local officials, emergency planners, and infrastructure professionals seeking evidence-based insights for wildfire preparedness and recovery planning.