pFRID 2023 – Fire Regime Interval Departure

Probabilistic estimates of fire regime departure for 17 western U.S. states, representing how contemporary fire intervals differ from modeled historical conditions.

Published by
Vibrant Planet
Data updated on
September 13, 2023

About this dataset

Percent Fire Regime Interval Departure (pFRID) characterizes how much contemporary fire intervals deviate from modeled historical conditions across 17 western U.S. states. Using burn probability, historical fire reconstructions, and statistical tests of significance, pFRID highlights where modern fire regimes are burning more or less frequently than expected under long-term ecological baselines. The 2023 release includes multiple methodological variants to support different analytical and management needs, including a VP analytical approach, a Safford et al.–based method, and a statistically masked product showing only significant deviations.

What’s included in this dataset

How to interpret this layer

pFRID 2023 — Significant Departures – raster layer masked to display only statistically significant fire regime deviations (p ≤ 2.5% or ≥ 97.5%).
pFRID 2023 — VP Analytical Approach – probabilistic estimates of fire regime departure using Vibrant Planet’s statistical methodology.
pFRID 2023 — Safford et al. Methodology – departure surface computed from Safford et al.'s approach using historic presettlement fire regime baselines.

All products reflect percent deviation from expected historical fire return intervals.

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To dive deeper into the methods, context, and example applications behind this dataset, explore the full VPDC Data Story that accompanies it.

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How to get Started:

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  • This tiling grid is aligned to , making it directly interoperable with those products.
  • The dataset available for download below corresponds to the findings presented in the publication, " which details the methodology, analysis, and key insights.

    For a deeper dive, access the full publication HERE, or read a summary on Vibrant Planet's blog.

    Selected Data Tiles: 

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    pFRID 2023 – Fire Regime Interval Departure

    Probabilistic estimates of fire regime departure for 17 western U.S. states, representing how contemporary fire intervals differ from modeled historical conditions.

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    Direct Download (Full File) - HTTPS Link

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    What’s inside

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    pFRID 2023 – VP Analytical Approach

    Percent fire regime interval departure calculated using Vibrant Planet’s analytical approach, integrating probabilistic modeling and historical baselines.

    Format: 

    GeoTIFF

     Size:

    1.1

    GB

    Resolution:

    30m

    EPSG: 

    5070

    pFRID 2023 – Significant Departures

    Raster highlighting statistically significant fire regime interval departures using a two-tailed p-value mask (≤2.5% or ≥97.5%).

    Format: 

    GeoTIFF

     Size:

    1.1

    GB

    Resolution:

    30m

    EPSG: 

    5070

    pFRID 2023 – Safford et al. Methodology

    Percent fire regime interval departure calculated using Safford et al.'s presettlement baseline methodology.

    Format: 

    GeoTIFF

     Size:

    1.1

    GB

    Resolution:

    30m

    EPSG: 

    5070

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    Explore scenario data downloads

    Use the filters, then click a group to reveal individual downloads.

    pFRID 2023 – VP Analytical Approach

    Percent fire regime interval departure calculated using Vibrant Planet’s analytical approach, integrating probabilistic modeling and historical baselines.

    GeoTIFF
    1.1
    30m
    5070

    pFRID 2023 – Significant Departures

    Raster highlighting statistically significant fire regime interval departures using a two-tailed p-value mask (≤2.5% or ≥97.5%).

    GeoTIFF
    1.1
    30m
    5070

    pFRID 2023 – Safford et al. Methodology

    Percent fire regime interval departure calculated using Safford et al.'s presettlement baseline methodology.

    GeoTIFF
    1.1
    30m
    5070

    Direct Access

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    Licensing & Attribution

    Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

    You may share and adapt this dataset for noncommercial purposes with attribution under the same license.

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    © 2025 Vibrant Planet. Distributed by Vibrant Planet Data Commons. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

    For commercial or special-use requests, email us at contact@vpdatacommons.org

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