Evaluation of Wildfire Risk Assessment and Wildfire Smoke Datasets, Models, Tools, and Services

Wildfires threaten electric companies’ ability to provide reliable and affordable electricity to the customers and communities they serve. Wildfires, regardless of ignition source, present a significant threat to electric infrastructure and public safety. In order to mitigate these threats, electric companies continue to play a pivotal role in raising awareness of and investing in solutions. With climate change and the emergence of increased extreme weather events, the power delivery systems of the future must be more prepared for even more wildfire threats and other weather-related dangers.

The current landscape of wildfire data, models, tools, and services is complex and challenging to navigate for decision-makers. This raises the need for an objective evaluation of wildfire data products to assist in selecting the most suitable option for specific objectives. This research reviews 36 different wildfire risk products and 13 wildfire smoke products. The products are evaluated according to a set of evaluation criteria. For wildfire risk products, these evaluation criteria are spatial extent, product purpose, product type, spatial resolution, temporal extent, temporal resolution, risk dimensions, product complexity, and accessibility. Wildfire products that only offer real time wildfire maps are not evaluated. For the wildfire smoke products, evaluation criteria are spatial extent, product purpose, product type, spatial resolution, temporal extent, temporal resolution, and accessibility.

The discussion section of this report summarizes key findings and identifies wildfire data gaps and limitations. This report is accompanied by an online interactive webpage, including a filtering tool that can be used to identify the most useful product(s) for a specific user need. The purpose is to direct readers towards the optimal products for their specific application and not as an authoritative assessment of the best products overall. This report is not an exhaustive source of all wildfire products, especially proprietary ones. Readers are encouraged to submit products for review, and updates will be made to the web version of this report on an ongoing basis.