Community wildfire risk assessment
- Site boundary and map
- Number of dwelling units
- Wildfire history and risk
- Fuels and topography
- Home ignition zone conditions
- Access, water and evacuation
Modeled on: NFPA Firewise USA risk assessment template
Neighborhoods and HOAs · Firewise USA
Where is your Firewise community?
Draft your Firewise USA community wildfire risk assessment and three-year action plan from public fire, fuels and housing data. Free to read.
- Free to read
- No sign-up until the draft
- Every fact cites its source
ePlan fills in
- Homes inside the boundary
- Wildfire risk to homes
- Past fires nearby
- Fuels around the community
- Evacuation roads
How it works
Community wildfire risk assessment, from one answer
- Draw the communityOne answer starts the project. ePlan names it and looks up the place.
- Answer three questions3 more questions, each with a "not sure yet" way out.
- Read the plan free; download it for $49The draft marks what to check (amber), what to pick (blue) and what to fill in (violet).
What you get
Community wildfire risk assessment and 2 more documents
The first draft is free to read. Each document after it is drafted from the same confirmed facts.
Three-year action plan
- Actions by year
- Community-wide projects and who leads them
- Suggested homeowner actions
- Education events
- Investment target: one volunteer hour per dwelling unit a year
Application checklist
- Board or committee and resident leader
- Boundary and dwelling-unit count
- Risk assessment with a local wildfire expert
- Action plan
- Education event and investment logged
- Apply in the Firewise USA portal
From public data
What ePlan fills in, and from where
- Wildfire risk to homesWildfire Risk to Communities (USDA Forest Service)
- Large fires nearby since 1984Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS)
- Fuels around the communityLANDFIRE
- Housing unitsU.S. Census Bureau
- Roads and evacuation routesOpenStreetMap
8 to 2,500
dwelling units: the size range of a Firewise USA site.
Source: NFPA, How to become a Firewise USA site
Questions
Firewise USA application: what people ask
What does a community need to become a Firewise USA site?
A board or committee with a resident leader, 8 to 2,500 dwelling units, a community wildfire risk assessment done with a local wildfire expert, a three-year action plan, and an annual investment of at least one volunteer hour per dwelling unit. The resident leader applies in the Firewise portal.
How often are the plan and assessment updated?
The action plan must be updated at least every three years, and the risk assessment at least every five. Each year, sites renew by reporting their activity.
Can money count instead of volunteer hours?
Yes. The minimum is one volunteer hour per dwelling unit, or its value. Arkansas's 2026 renewal packet values a volunteer hour at $34.79, so a 100-home site needs 100 hours or about $3,479 of work that year.
Is Firewise USA the same as a CWPP?
No. A community wildfire protection plan is defined in federal law, covers a whole community or county, and must be agreed to by the local government, fire department and state forestry agency. Firewise USA is a voluntary neighborhood program.
The rules this door follows
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Firewise USA application: start with one answer
Answer it and the project exists. Three more questions, then the draft.