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The USGS fire science mission is to produce and deliver the best available scientific information, tools, and products to support land and emergency management by individuals and organizations at all levels. Below are news releases and featured stories associated with our fire science portfolio. 

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AK CASC Program Coordinator Publishes Scientific American Article on Wildfire in Alaska

AK CASC Program Coordinator Publishes Scientific American Article on Wildfire in Alaska

The Program Coordinator at the AK CASC recently published an article in Scientific American Observations about the growing threat of wildfires in...

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Thinning Forests: Prescribing Fire Before Drought May Reduce Tree Loss

Thinning Forests: Prescribing Fire Before Drought May Reduce Tree Loss

The results of a study partly funded by the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center suggest that prescribed fire treatments may reduce tree loss...

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Climate, Fire, and Forest Change in California’s Sierra Nevada

Climate, Fire, and Forest Change in California’s Sierra Nevada

The Southwest CASC has developed an informational handout that summarizes and synthesizes information on climate, fire, and forest change in...

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Study: Low-intensity Fires Way Down in Northwest's Dry Forests

Study: Low-intensity Fires Way Down in Northwest's Dry Forests

New research funded in part by the Northwest CASC shows a link between fewer low-intensity fires in Pacific Northwest forests and the region’s...

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Level-3 Burned Area Product Saves Preprocessing Time, Answers Fire Questions

Level-3 Burned Area Product Saves Preprocessing Time, Answers Fire Questions

A new Landsat Level-3 science product that tracks the presence of burned areas in Landsat imagery today and back through the satellite system’s...

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LANDFIRE Reflects on Successes, Preps for Busy Year

LANDFIRE Reflects on Successes, Preps for Busy Year

The LANDFIRE team has been busy lately, particularly with the ongoing rollout of the LANDFIRE Remap (LF Remap).

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Black Hills Perfect Laboratory for Multi-Sensor Fire Science Research

Black Hills Perfect Laboratory for Multi-Sensor Fire Science Research

After the Legion Lake Fire at Custer State Park in South Dakota’s Black Hills erupted in December 2017— burning across private, state, and federal...

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Wildfire Risk in California No Longer Coupled to Winter Precipitation

Wildfire Risk in California No Longer Coupled to Winter Precipitation

Recent large fires in California may be harbingers of things to come.

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LANDFIRE Remap Begins to Roll Out

LANDFIRE Remap Begins to Roll Out

With a vegetation and fuels base map that was over 15 years old and a commitment to keep LANDFIRE (LF) data relevant, LF staff at EROS has produced a...

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A Comparison of Fire Potential Index Rasters

A Comparison of Fire Potential Index Rasters

The purpose of this study is to make a quantitative comparison of Fire Potential Index (fpi) rasters created by identical processes and on coincident...

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USGS, EROS Offer Insights to National Fire Strategy Discussion

USGS, EROS Offer Insights to National Fire Strategy Discussion

With California burning in the fall of 2018, the conversation came up yet once again.

How do we prevent monster fires with names like Camp and Woolsey...

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Post-fire Sagebrush Recovery Looks to Landsat Time Series Data for Solutions

Post-fire Sagebrush Recovery Looks to Landsat Time Series Data for Solutions

A new multi-CASC funded project will explore post-fire sagebrush recovery using Landsat data.

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