Wildfire Disaster Dataset Harmonization
Data Dictionary
General Descriptors
| Variable |
Data Type |
Description |
wildfire_id |
character |
Wildfire ID generated as row number of output dataset |
wildfire_year |
date |
Wildfire year [YYYY] of fire |
wildfire_states |
character |
Wildfire US State(s) in which fire occurred (comma-delimited if more than one) |
wildfire_area |
decimal |
Wildfire burned area in square kilometers |
wildfire_complex |
boolean |
Fire is a complex of multiple member fires |
wildfire_complex_names |
character |
List of wildfires in the wildfire complex |
wildfire_evac |
integer |
Number of people evacuated |
wildfire_cost |
integer |
Cost of wildfire response in USD (does not include damages) |
wildfire_threatened_structures |
integer |
Number of structures potentially threatened by the incident within the next 72 hours |
wildfire_buffered_avg_pop_den |
float |
Average population density in the buffered wildfire burn zone (people per square meter) |
wildfire_max_pop_den |
float |
Maximum population density in the wildfire burn zone (people per square meter) |
wildfire_injuries |
integer |
Number of people who were injured |
Criteria
| Variable |
Data Type |
Description |
wildfire_total_fatalities |
integer |
Total wildfire fatalities, firefighter and civilian combined |
wildfire_max_civil_fatalities |
integer |
Best estimate of civilian fatalities from 2000-2019. From 2000-2013, only California RedBooks reported civilian fatalities alone. Therefore, from 2000-2013, this variable reports the maximum total fatalities for wildfires outside California but civilian specific fatalities from California. From 2014-2019, this variable reports the maximum civilian fatalities from each fire. |
wildfire_civil_fatalities |
integer |
Total wildfire civilian fatalities (before 2014, these data are only available from CalFire. all other states are missing information on civilian only fatalities prior to 2014). |
wildfire_struct_destroyed |
integer |
Wildfire criteria was met for number of structures destroyed |
wildfire_community_intersect |
boolean |
Wildfire criteria was met for community intersection based on population density of 96 people per square kilometer |
wildfire_fema_dec |
boolean |
FEMA disaster declaration |
wildfire_disaster_criteria_met |
integer |
Wildfire disaster criteria met, including civilian fatalities, structures burned, or an FMAG declaration, or a combination of these variables |
Dates
| Variable |
Data Type |
Description |
wildfire_ignition_date |
date |
Wildfire date of fire ignition (earliest recorded date) |
wildfire_containment_date |
date |
Wildfire date of fire end (earliest recorded containment date) |
wildfire_ignition_date_max |
date |
Wildfire date of fire ignition (latest recorded date) |
wildfire_containment_date_max |
date |
Wildfire date of fire end (latest recorded containment date) |
wildfire_fema_dec_date |
date |
Date of FEMA disaster declaration |
Location
| Variable |
Data Type |
Description |
wildfire_poo_lat |
decimal |
Fire point of origin latitude in WGS84 |
wildfire_poo_lon |
decimal |
Fire point of origin longitude in WGS84 |
geometry_src |
character |
Data set from which geometry originates (One of "FIRED", "MTBS", "NIFC") |
geometry |
geometry |
Geometry of Fire |
Native IDs
| Variable |
Data Type |
Description |
redbook_id |
character |
Native ID of associated Red Book data, if applicable |
ics_id |
character |
Native ID of associated ICS/209 data, if applicable |
fired_id |
character |
Native ID of associated FIRED data, if applicable |
mtbs_id |
character |
Native ID of associated MTBS data, if applicable |
usgs_id |
character |
Native ID of associated USGS data, if applicable |
geomac_id |
character |
Native ID of associated GEOMAC data, if applicable |
fema_id |
character |
Native ID of associated FEMA data, if applicable |
General Notes
Linkages
Data cleaning
Changed abbreviation scheme to use USPS rules.
Data Sets Excluded
Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination (GeoMAC) was shut down in 2020 and transferred to NIFC.