This is Part IV in a series of articles on Wildfires in the desert region of Gold Butte in North Eastern Clark County, NV.
To read Part I click the following link: Defining the Study Area:
To read Part II click the following link: Defining the Study Area:
To read Part III click the following link: Defining the Study Area:
To read Part IV click the following link: Defining the Study Area:
Fire Risk Indicator
The goal of this research was to assess the Gold Butte
region for risk of fire. To create this model, I used geospatial data available
on the internet from various government agencies, to create a model to
calculate risk. I used the fire perimeter data available from the BLM’s website
to create my sample area. I used Soil, Geology, Landform, and two different
vegetation datasets to analyze the area within Gold Butte that has already
experienced a wild fire event to look for clues as to why the fire burned where
it did.
After analyzing the data, I found there were strong
colorations between the data and sample area that helped determine why did the
fire burn where it did. After these indicators had been determined I developed model
to classify the entire study area (Gold Butte region). The results of this
model are as follows:
I created a ranking hierarchy that ranged from 1 to 15 with 1
being the lowest risk and 15 being the highest risk of fire.
Classification
by Acreage:
1: 73,997.69
2: 48,133.22
3: 28,132.37
4: 31,386.28
5: 13,055.05
6: 16,103.41
7: 12,518.14
8: 38,121.84
9: 24,185.72
10: 14,517.97
11: 18,885.54
12: 37,333.26
13: 16,801.13
14: 36,380.47
15: 24,161.95
Acreage
Statistics:
Count: 15
Minimum: 12518.147206
Maximum: 73997.693831
Sum: 433714.117105
Mean: 28914.274474
Standard Deviation: 15924.771133
With this information
a person could then more easily determine which area were most at risk for a
fire event and determine how to mitigate or better manage those risks. I plan
to document the areas that are at most risk which haven’t burned yet so in case
of a fire event the pre-fire landscape will be adequately documented.
This is not
the end of this project but just another stepping stone to more research and better
understanding of wild fires in a desert ecosystem. One interesting byproduct of
this study has been to look more closely at the areas that are marked high risk
and within close proximity to the fire boundary but yet didn’t burn. In many
instances it is plainly clear the role that roads play as natural fire breaks
to prevent the fire from spreading even farther within the desert ecosystem. I
will continue to post data and information about my findings in researching the
Gold Butte region…
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