Overview
Wildfire plays an important role in the natural history of New Jersey’s landscapes, but as development creeps into naturally vegetated areas, people and property across New Jersey are at risk. Factors including rapid population growth into Wildland Urban Interface areas, extreme effects of long-term drought, and overcrowded forest conditions add to the complexity of wildland fire protection in New Jersey. Heightened awareness of wildfire threat and mitigation measures are becoming increasingly important to improve safety.
The New Jersey Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (WRAP) is NJ Forest Fire Service’s primary mechanism to deploy information about wildfire risk and preparedness. It is built of a suite of web tools and resources tailored to support residents, community groups, and fire professionals. Collectively, these resources provide accessible decision support to facilitate thoughtful mitigation and prevention in New Jersey.
The layers displayed in the WRAP’s Risk Explorer mapping tool are products of the New Jersey Wildfire Risk Assessment project. These results are being used to support preparedness planning, prioritize mitigation, and enhance community engagement. Assessment results can also be used to:
- Identify areas that are most prone to wildfire
- Identify candidates for Community Wildfire Protection Planning and other program participation
- Justify resource and funding requests
- Facilitate interagency collaboration, particularly across jurisdictional boundaries
- Improve communication with the public to address community needs
- Strategize response and suppression resource needs
Support
A variety of resources are available to help make the most use of the New Jersey Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal and Risk Explorer. Support, documentation, and reference information is available from several sources. Key resources are provided below.
User Manual
A step-by-step guide on how to use the Risk Explorer is provided.
Help Desk
Support for use of the Risk Explorer and the data within it is available by using the Contact page. This will allow you to pose questions, make suggestions, and provide feedback. We welcome and encourage your comments so we can continue to improve the Portal to better meet your needs.
Reference
- Pyrologix Report
- FAQ