New dashboard displays wildfire risk to carbon across the United States

In 2009, researchers from the Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory and Pacific Northwest Research Station began an effort to model fire risk and carbon emissions across the continental United States. The Wildfire Risk to Carbon dashboard and associated website, wildfireriskcarbon.org, is a culmination of this work. Launched in 2025, the dashboard allows users to explore, analyze, and download various data layers related to forest and rangeland carbon, wildfire risk to carbon, and estimated carbon emissions. These data can be used to estimate emissions from wildfire at a range of fire intensities and analyze wildfire risk to total and market (standing live and dead tree) forest carbon. Users can upload their own project footprint for analysis or draw areas of interest directly in the dashboard. 

The Wildfire Risk to Carbon dashboard provides users with a simple interface to explore and access data. But the underlying process is complex and involves several datasets, models, and partners. Wildfire Risk to Carbon pulls together carbon estimates from the TreeMap and FuelMap datasets and a new model of rangeland carbon. It estimates burn probability and fire intensity using the Large Fire Simulator (FSim). To estimate forest carbon response, it uses the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS), while rangeland carbon response is estimated using the Spatial First Order Fire Effects Model (SpatialFOFEM). To maximize computing power and provide a flexible user interface, Forest Service researchers worked closely with partners from the private sector, Pyrologix and the Spatial Informatics Group (SIG).

Information about carbon helps drive science-based land management, valuation of ecosystem services, and innovative wood product development. Forest Service research can help improve land management decisions by accurately accounting for impacts to carbon from disturbances such as wildfire. Ultimately, developers hope the Wildfire Risk to Carbon dashboard will provide land managers with information they need to implement projects like prescribed burns and fuel treatments that reduce negative impacts and emissions from future wildfires. 

Photo Credit

Wildfire Risk to Carbon Dashboard

This screenshot from the Wildfire Risk to Carbon dashboard shows predicted forest carbon emissions from wildfire with 2-4 foot flame lengths in western Montana.