Content on this page: Data for individual fires | National datasets | RAVG Data Explorer (RDE) | Data timing and availability
Note: The query tool on this page is being phased out. The interactive viewer (see next section) will be the primary tool for accessing data for individual fires. Functionality provided in the query tool for generating data summaries is built into the RAVG Data Explore (see RDE section below).
Data for individual fires
The interactive viewer on the interagency Burn Severity Portal (BSP) provides access to RAVG data for individual fires. The viewer allows the user to search for a specific fire by name or to select fires using spatial and temporal filters. The user can specify which products to include and can download data for multiple fires in a single request.
Most RAVG data on the BSP represent large wildfires on forested National Forest System (NFS) lands. Data are also available for select fires of interest on other federal and/or state lands, smaller fires, and prescribed fires. The viewer also provides access to post-fire data from other programs (e.g., MTBS). Forest Service staff can use the email address on the contact page for help locating non-published data.
National datasets
National mosaics of classified raster products and combined perimeter shapefiles (FS only) are available as services and downloads. There are three raster datasets for each year: 7-class percent change in live basal area (BA7), 5-class percent change in canopy cover (CC5), and 4-class composite burn index (CBI4). Two versions of the vector data are provided: one has a single feature for each mapped event (i.e., fire or group of fires); the other is further divided by National Forest and designated wilderness area. Each includes summary (zonal) statistics reflecting the number of acres assessed to have high BA loss (>50% and >75%).
- Annual raster mosaics
- Map services: BA7, CC5, and CBI4
- Image services: BA7, CC5, and CBI4
- Downloadable raster data (by year)
- Note: Services previously available on the raster data warehouse (RDW) have been migrated to the Interdepartmental Imagery Publication Platform (IIPP) at the map and image services links above.
- Combined perimeters
- Vector map service (burned area perimeters for all years, as mapped)
- Downloadable perimeters (combined shapefile for all years)
RAVG Data Explorer (RDE)
The RAVG Data Explorer is an interactive online tool that allows the user to explore and summarize Forest Service RAVG data based on user-drawn polygon(s), uploaded shapefiles, or any of several existing features (including fire perimeters, forest or district boundaries, designated wilderness areas, and watersheds). Beyond replicating the summary tables previously available in the query tool or individual data bundles, the RDE allows flexibility in summarizing data across multiple fires and multiple years.
For an introduction to the RDE, including data summarization examples, see this document:
For a list of known issues, see this document:
Note on RAVG data timing and availability
Final products for fires processed as initial assessments are typically produced within a few weeks after fire containment and should be available for download shortly thereafter. Data for fires processed as extended assessments are added after the following growing season. See the Mapping Status page for lists of yet-to-be-mapped fires on NFS lands.
Annual national mosaics (raster datasets) will be updated frequently (up to daily); however, there may be a delay of up to a week before the changes appear in various services. The combined perimeter datasets are updated weekly during fire season and infrequently during the rest of the year. In some cases, data from an initial assessment will be incorporated into the national/combined datasets initially, then later replaced with data from an extended assessment.
For questions or issues with any of these data, please use the email address on the contact page.