Fire History

The Fire Control Zone dataset is comprised of all the polygons that represent Fire Control Zones in Alberta. Fire Control Zone is legislated to show geographical areas established for the purposes of closure orders and fire control orders under the Alberta Forest and Prairie Protection Act.

This dataset shows the locations of ignition points for forest fires less than 40 hectares in size. Fires that grow larger than 40 hectares are mapped in the [Fire Disturbance Area](https://data.ontario.ca/dataset/fire-disturbance-area-firedstb) dataset. The [Forest Fire Info Map](https://www.gisapplication.lrc.gov.on.ca/ForestFireInformationMap/index.html?viewer=FFIM.FFIM&locale=en-US) shows active fires, current fire danger and restricted fire zones in place due to high fire danger.

A Fire Disturbance Area represents the mapped exterior perimeter of a forest fire. Mapping is derived from a variety of sources, such as GPS points and digitized paper maps. Prior to 1998, only fires greater than 200 hectares were mapped. Since 1998, fires greater than 40 hectares have been mapped. If adequate mapping exists for fires less than 40 hectares in size, they will be included in this data class. The [Forest Fire Info Map](https://www.lioapplications.lrc.gov.on.ca/ForestFireInformationMap/index.html?viewer=FFIM.FFIM) shows active fires, current fire danger and restricted fire zones in place due to high fire danger.

This dataset shows the boundaries of the province's six fire management zones that existed prior to 2014 in which most forest fires received the same type of response. These management zones were based on: * common forest and forest fire management objectives * land use * density of values at risk * fire load * forest ecology The 2014 Wildland Fire Management Strategy moved from a zone-based approach to one where each wildland fire is assessed and receives an appropriate response according to the circumstances and condition of the fire.

A national map of Canadian Fire Behaviour Prediction (FBP) Fuel Types (FT) developed from public data sources. The resolution of the raster grid is 30m, classified from the Spatialized Canadian National Forest Inventory (SCANFI) dataset, ecozones of Canada, and the National Burned Area Composite (NBAC). The purpose of the dataset is to characterize Canadian forests into fuel types for use in Fire Behaviour Prediction calculations as well as for situational awareness of national fire potential.

Wildfire historic incident point locations for all fire seasons before the current season. Supplied through various sources. Not to be used for legal purposes. This data includes all incidents tracked by BC Wildfire Service, ie. actual fires, suspected fires, nusiance fires, smoke chases, etc. On April 1 of each year this layer is updated with the previous fire season's data

## Get data on boundaries of local climatic areas used for forest fire weather forecasting. This dataset shows the boundaries of administrative areas used for forest fire weather forecasting. North of the French River, boundaries correspond closely with Environment Canada’s areas for public weather forecasting. South of the French River, 25 Environment Canada areas are combined into six larger areas for provincial forecasting.

## Get data on areas where outdoor fires are not permitted. This dataset shows areas where outdoor fires are restricted in accordance with the [Forest Fires Prevention Act](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90f24). There are two reasons why a restricted fire zone is in effect: * outdoor conditions are extremely dry * the number of fires occurring has stretched firefighting resources to capacity A restricted fire zone is a temporary measure for extreme situations and is lifted as soon as conditions permit. The [Forest Fire Info Map](https://www.lioapplications.lrc.gov.on.ca/ForestFireInformationMap/index.html?viewer=FFIM.FFIM) shows active fires, current fire danger and restricted fire zones in place due to high fire danger.

This layer is the current fire year burn severity classification for large fires (greater than 100 ha). Burn severity mapping is conducted using best available pre- and post-fire satellite multispectral imagery acquired by the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) aboard the Sentinel-2 satellite or the Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor aboard the Landsat-8 and 9 satellites. Every attempt is made to use cloud, smoke, shadow and snow-free imagery that was acquired prior to September 30th. However, in late fire seasons imagery acquired after September 30th may be used. This layer is considered an interim product for the 1-year-later burn severity dataset (WHSE_FOREST_VEGETATION.VEG_BURN_SEVERITY_SP). Mapping conducted during the following growing season benefits from greater post-fire image availability and is expected to be more representative of tree mortality. #### Methodology: • Select suitable pre- and post-fire imagery or create a cloud/snow/smoke-free composite from multiple images scenes • Calculate normalized burn severity ratio (NBR) for pre- and post-fire images • Calculate difference NBR (dNBR) where dNBR = pre NBR – post NBR • Apply a scaling equation (dNBR_scaled = dNBR*1000 + 275)/5) • Apply BARC thresholds (76, 110, 187) to create a 4-class image (unburned, low severity, medium severity, and high severity) • Mask out water bodies using a satellite-derived water layer • Apply region-based filters to reduce noise • Confirm burn severity analysis results through visual quality control • Produce a vector dataset and apply Euclidian distance smoothing