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Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG) Composite Burn Index (Image Service)

Published by U.S. Forest Service | Department of Agriculture | Metadata Last Checked: June 24, 2025 | Last Modified: 2024-06-12
The USDA Forest Service Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire (RAVG) program produces geospatial data and maps of post-fire vegetation condition using standardized change detection methods based on Landsat or similar multispectral satellite imagery. RAVG data products characterize vegetation condition within a fire perimeter, and include estimates of percent change in basal area (BA), percent change in canopy cover (CC), and a standardized composite burn index (CBI). Standard thematic products include 7-class percent change in basal area (BA-7), 5-class percent change in canopy cover (CC-5), and 4-class CBI (CBI-4). Contingent upon the availability of suitable imagery, RAVG products are prepared for all wildland fires reported within the conterminous United States (CONUS) that include at least 1000 acres of forested National Forest System (NFS) land (500 acres for Regions 8 and 9 as of 2016). Data for individual fires are typically made available within 45 days after fire containment ("initial assessments"). Late-season fires, however, may be deferred until the following spring or summer ("extended assessments"). National mosaics of each thematic product are prepared annually. The associated burned area perimeters are available via the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW, see https://data.fs.usda.gov/geodata/edw/datasets.php). Assessment type (initial or extended assessment) for each fire is included as an attribute in the perimeter dataset.

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