—Amanda O'Connor, ITT VIS
Rural fire departments are often first responders to remote wildland fires which can be devastating to lives, landscape and property. Homeowners in areas prone to wildfires are advised to maintain a defensible perimeter around property to reduce the risk of loss. When fire threatens multiple dwellings, crews must decide which dwellings they can realistically save. Understanding vegetation density around entrance/egress routes aids in resource deployment. Having a map that shows vegetation density in easy to read layers aids crews who don't have the time for image interpretation in fire decision making. In this presentation, we will use high resolution, remotely sensed imagery to derive vegetation density ranges around buildings, roads and trails. Using ENVI EX software, vector information will be extracted from the imagery to symbolize areas of high to low defensibility. This information will be incorporated into the GIS of the rural Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District of Colorado.