Wildfire Risk Mapping Varies Wildly From State To State, Given Recent Record Fires, Beetle Kill

For years, Colorado’s wildfire risk map was so inaccurate that state officials all but ignored it. It was long outdated, especially in the state’s western half. There, but unmarked on the map, was more than 3 million acres of forest where mountain pine beetles had killed lodgepole, limber and ponderosa pines — transforming the forest floor into a tinderbox of dead kindling.

“We were supposed to use” the map, said Carolina Manriquez, a lead forester with the state’s forest service. “But we weren’t using it because it didn’t reflect what we knew to be.” Fast forward to last July. After an infusion of $480,000 in state funds, Colorado unveiled a new map that included a host of updates, such as the pine beetle damage and a greater emphasis on many now-densely populated mountain towns. It’s an upgrade that has put in place a “powerful” tool capable of driving wildfire mitigation, Manriquez said — and one that comes as communities across Colorado and the country brace for a future of climate-juiced wildfires.

The past decade has seen some of the most destructive wildfire seasons in U.S. history, including 2017 and 2020 when blazes torched more than 10 million acres both years. Scientists say weather extremes made worse by global warming will only increase the risk of wildfires — a danger that is compounded by the growing number of U.S. residents who live in wildfire-prone regions.

States in recent years have struggled to keep pace with the changes. And many states haven’t dedicated enough — if any — consistent funding to keep the tools up to date. But forestry and fire officials in states such as Colorado, Oregon, Utah and Texas are stepping up their efforts to ensure they have high-quality fire risk data, models and maps to more accurately determine which areas are most at risk — and where they should focus risk mitigation efforts. “There is a slowly growing push amongst different states to do this. Why? Because the climate is changing, the fire environment is changing,” said Joe Scott, founder of Pyrologix, a wildfire risk assessment and modeling firm.

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https://www.eenews.net/articles/how-current-is-that-wildfire-risk-map-depends-on-the-state/