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NIFC WFIGS Data

Overview

The Wildland Fire Information Geographic System (WFIGS) is maintained by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) and provides real-time wildfire incident information across the United States. It serves as the authoritative source for active wildfire perimeters, containment status, and fire progression data.

Data Specifications

  • Provider: National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC)
  • Frequency: Real-time updates
  • Data Latency: Minutes to hours
  • Data Type: Event-based wildfire perimeter data
  • Temporal Coverage: Current active fires and historical archives
  • Data Format: GeoJSON, KML, Shapefile
  • Coverage: United States and territories

Variables

Onboarded Variables

The following wildfire parameters are currently implemented in Riskwolf's data processing pipeline:

Variable Units Description
Wildfire perimeters perimeter Real-time fire boundary mapping and containment areas

Available Variables

Additional wildfire parameters that can be onboarded from NIFC WFIGS:

  • Fire progression and growth rate analysis
  • Containment percentage and status updates
  • Burn severity classifications (unburned, low, moderate, high)
  • Fire behavior predictions and modeling
  • Suppression resource allocation and deployment
  • Evacuation zone boundaries and safety perimeters
  • Weather conditions at fire locations
  • Fuel type and vegetation mapping
  • Historical fire occurrence and frequency data
  • Post-fire recovery and rehabilitation tracking

Key Features

  • Real-time fire perimeter mapping with high spatial accuracy
  • Integration with incident command systems for operational data
  • Multi-agency coordination and data sharing protocols
  • Automated updates from field reconnaissance and satellite imagery
  • Historical fire database for trend analysis and risk assessment

Use in Parametric Insurance

NIFC WFIGS data is valuable for:

  • Wildfire parametric insurance trigger mechanisms
  • Real-time fire perimeter-based payouts
  • Rapid assessment of insured property exposure
  • Pre-positioning of claims resources
  • Historical fire risk modeling and pricing
  • Post-event loss verification and adjustment

Data Access

Data is freely available through NIFC's public data services, including REST APIs, web mapping services, and direct data downloads for real-time and historical wildfire information.

Official URL: https://data-nifc.opendata.arcgis.com/

Link verified: ✅ Active (HTTP 200) - Last checked: 2025-09-24