Assessing wildfire risks at multiple spatial scales

Abstract

In continuation of the efforts to advance wildfire science and develop tools for wildland fire managers, a spatial wildfire risk assessment was carried out using Classification and Regression Tree analysis (CART) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The analysis was performed at two scales. The small-scale assessment covered the entire state of New Mexico, while the large-scale assessment covered only the Middle Rio Grande ecosystem. The result of this project is a Geographic Information System (GIS) based predictive model. The model highlights areas of high wildfire risk, based on the spatial distributions of numerous variables which contribute to wildfire occurrence.

Keywords

wildfire, multiple spatial scales, Classification and Regression Tree analysis (CART), Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Citation

Fitch, Justin. 2008. Assessing wildfire risks at multiple spatial scales. Las Cruces, NM: New Mexico State University. 69 p. Thesis.