Fire Needs Assessments: A Landscape Management Tool

 

LANDFIRE, Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools, is a shared interagency wildland fire management data program across the United States and Territories. Leadership, management, and oversight are through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service - Fire and Aviation Management and the U.S. Department of the Interior - Office of Wildland Fire.

LANDFIRE provides more than twenty landscape-scale geospatial products of biological and ecological data, including data such as (900+) vegetation types and (13/40) fire behavior fuel models that support all-lands planning, fire and natural resources management, operations, analyses, and assessments.

The LANDFIRE Project team is: USGS EROS, EROS Technical Support Services Contract (KBR), The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service (Rocky Mountain Research Station) RMRS, and Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA).

LANDFIRE Partners are: USGS Gap Analysis, USGS National Land Imaging Program.

Learn more about LANDFIRE’s mission on the LANDFIRE Program website.

You can also learn more about each of the LANDFIRE datasets we will be using in the FNA process on our companion LANDFIRE 101 website.

Why Fire Needs Assessments?

The frequency and severity of wildfires are changing around the country. To understand their impact on the landscape, federal agencies and states are conducting fire needs assessments. Fire needs assessments help fire stakeholders understand where, what type of, and how much fire needs to occur to reduce the destructive effects of wildfire and restore or maintain ecosystem health and resiliency.

Fire is a natural and necessary process in many ecosystems, but its role can vary widely depending on landscape conditions, ecological goals, and management history. In some places, fire is missing where it’s needed. In others, it’s occurring too frequently or with damaging severity. Understanding where and how fire should be applied—or avoided—is essential for effective landscape management.

A Fire Needs Assessment (FNA) helps land managers and ecologists evaluate the ecological role of fire across their landscapes. It provides a spatial framework for identifying where fire can support ecological health, and where it may be causing harm.

Do you have questions like these?

• Is ecologically beneficial fire lacking on your landscape?
• Is fire damaging your landscape?
• Where do I need more fire to maintain or improve ecological condition?
• Where do I need less fire to maintain or improve ecological condition?

If any of these apply to you, a Fire Needs Assessment might be useful.

What is a Fire Needs Assessment?

A Fire Needs Assessment is a spatial analysis that identifies where fire is needed—or not—to support ecological condition. It integrates fire history, vegetation data, and ecological models to guide fire-related decisions.

Why would you create a Fire Needs Assessment?

• To prioritize areas for prescribed fire, fuels treatments, or restoration.
• To identify where fire is missing or excessive.
• To support planning and collaboration across landscapes.

How would you create a Fire Needs Assessment?

Creating a Fire Needs Assessment involves using spatial data and ecological models to evaluate where fire is needed—or not—across a landscape. The process compares current vegetation and fire regime conditions to reference conditions, highlighting areas where fire has been excluded or altered.

LANDFIRE datasets provide foundational inputs, such as vegetation type, fire return intervals, and departure metrics, that help identify ecological fire needs and guide restoration, prescribed fire planning, and landscape-scale prioritization.

Want to get started?

Explore the rest of this site to dive into the data, tools, and steps for building your own Fire Needs Assessment using LANDFIRE products.

For more on how to use this website, please view our 6 minute video:

The Nature Conservancy’s LANDFIRE Team created this website under a Cooperative Agreement with the LANDFIRE Program.

Still have questions? LANDFIRE is here to help.

• Ask the LANDFIRE Helpdesk (email link).

• Search and subscribe to the LANDFIRE YouTube Channel (see tutorials, Office Hours, quick demonstrations).

• Join an Office Hour (monthly meeting with open format Q & A with LANDFIRE experts).

• Schedule a meeting (email link) with TNC’s LANDFIRE Team.