MTBS

MTBS Data Access Interruption (December 18, 2012): Due to server maintenance being conducted during the week of December 17th, access to MTBS data products may be temporarily interrupted or unavailable.

PDF Maps and Reporting Summaries Data Updated (November 8, 2012): A second data anomaly was discovered after the April 2012 web release. The anomaly affected the PDF maps and data accessed through the MTBS Reporting Summaries web page. The data anomaly has been corrected for the 115 affected fires. The GIS Data and KMZs were not affected by the anomaly.

2010 MTBS Reporting Summaries Data Updated (June 12, 2012): A data anomaly was discovered after the April 2012 web release. The anomaly affects only the 2010 data accessed through the MTBS Reporting Summaries web page. The data anomaly has been corrected. The 2010 data downloads (GIS Data, PDFs, and KMZs) were not affected by the anomaly.

Data Release (April 30, 2012): MTBS released an additional 1,325 fires to MTBS.gov bringing the total number of fires mapped by the project to 14,944. This data release covers only new fires mapped for the 2010 fire season. With this release the MTBS data record now covers the years 1984 through 2010.

Enhanced Search Features for MTBS Data Analysis (December 29, 2011): Two additional search features were added to the MTBS Reporting Summaries web page which allows users to further customize tabular and graphical summaries of MTBS data. Enhancements include a Linear Search and a Seasonal Search, each of which facilitate targeted searches and a unique rendering of the results for more robust data assessment and analysis.

Modification to Burn Severity Mosaics (December 29, 2011): In response to user requests, the regional annual thematic burn severity raster data seamless mosaics broken out by MTBS mapping zone are being replaced with a series of national mosaics. The new national seamless mosaicked datasets are available in ERDAS Imagine format for the Continental US, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico on an annual basis from the National Geospatial Data web page.

Data Release (December 16, 2011): MTBS released an additional 1,119 fires to MTBS.gov bringing the total number of fires mapped by the project to 13,619. This data release includes all mapped fires for the 2009 fire season. With this release the MTBS data record now includes all years from 1984 through 2009.

Data Release (April 22, 2011): MTBS released an additional 1,551 fires to MTBS.gov bringing the total number of fires mapped by the project to 12,505. This data release includes newly released data as well as revisions for specified fires within the following MTBS zones and years:

Northeast: newly released fire data for 1984 - 2003; 13 revised fires for the 2004 - 2008 period.
Southeast: newly released fire data for 1984 - 1998 for North Carolina and portions of Tennessee and South Carolina; six revised fires for various years between 1984 - 2008.
North Central: two revised fires for the 2004 - 2008 period.
South Central: two revised fires for the 2004 - 2008 period.
Pacific Northwest: one revised fire for 2007.
Alaska: newly released fire data for 1984 - 2003
Hawaii: newly released fire data for 1984 - 2003

(April 4, 2011): Registration is now open for the Geospatial Assessment and Application of Burn Severity Data training webinar. This webinar will cover three major burn severity mapping programs in the United States: BAER, RAVG, and MTBS. This training is open to all federal land management agencies, and will focus on general awareness of the programs as well as GIS techniques needed to utilize these data in your work.
Please see http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/baer/training.html for more information and the registration link.

Data Release (October 1, 2010): MTBS released an additional 124 fires to MTBS.gov bringing the total number of fires mapped by the project to 10,989. This data release includes newly released data as well as revisions for specified fires within the following MTBS zones and years:

Pacific Southwest: newly released data and revisions for 1984-2008
Southwest: newly released data and revisions for 1984-2008
North Central: six fires various years
South Central: one fire for 1996

Please note that the Data Version tab in the MTBS Data Search and Distribution Tools allows users to query for either original or revised datasets, or both. All search results are returned with each fire noted as "Original" or "Revised" in the version column of the query results page in addition to displaying the reason for the revision in the revision code column.

Data Release (July 31, 2010): MTBS released an additional 1,627 fires to MTBS.gov bringing the total number of fires mapped by the project to 10,877. This data release includes newly released data as well as revisions for specified fires within the following MTBS zones and years:

Pacific Northwest: revisions for 1984-2008
North Central: newly released data for 1984-2003 and revisions for 2004-2008
South Central: newly released data for 1984-2003 and revisions for 2004-2008

Data Release (April 30, 2010): MTBS released an additional 1,064 fires to MTBS.gov. This release includes nationwide 2008 fires only. To search for this newly released data, users can query the database by creating a Temporal Data Search by choosing either the Release Date radio button and selecting 04/30/2010 from the dropdown menu or by choosing the Fire Occurrence Date radio button and selecting the date range January 1, 2008 thru December 31, 2008.

Users of MTBS data should also be aware that until the completion of the project in 2012, revisions of fire datasets will be ongoing. The MTBS project is currently undergoing a quality control review of previously released fire datasets due to a mapping protocol change as well as improved feedback from regional and local fire ecologists. The anticipated schedule for posting revised fire datasets by MTBS zone is as follows and is subject to change:

July 2010: Pacific Northwest, North Central, South Central
October 2010: Pacific Southwest, Southwest, Southeast

Please contact the MTBS project via email if you have questions or concerns regarding these revisions

MTBS Workshop (November 30, 2009): MTBS hosted a one day workshop at the 4th International Fire Ecology & Management Congress in Savannah, GA. The workshop objective was to introduce participants to the concepts and principles used by MTBS to map fire severity using remote sensing. Participants learned how to access MTBS data via the project website, customize MTBS fire severity data for specific user needs, integrate and analyze these data with local GIS map layers, and how this information can support management decisions. The slide show presentations and self-paced exercises that were created to meet the objectives of the workshop will be available for download from the Tech Transfer page in the coming months.

Data Release (November 18, 2009): MTBS released an additional 2,172 fires to MTBS.gov. This update includes nationwide 2007 fires as well as any revised fire datasets that have undergone quality control review. To exclusively search for this newly released data, users can query the database by creating a Temporal Data Search and choosing Release Date 2009-11-18 from the dropdown menu.