Getting Started

Installation

WildfireData.jl can be installed from GitHub:

using Pkg
Pkg.add(url="https://github.com/RallypointOne/WildfireData.jl")

Basic Usage

Load the package — all submodules are available immediately:

using WildfireData

WFIGS.datasets()
FIRMS.sources()

Module Overview

Real-time Fire Data

For current fire incidents and perimeters:

using WildfireData

# Current fire perimeters from WFIGS
perimeters = WFIGS.download(:current_perimeters, limit=10)

# Current incidents from IRWIN
incidents = IRWIN.download(:usa_current_incidents, limit=10)

Satellite Fire Detections

For near real-time satellite-based fire detections:

using WildfireData

# Requires a free API key from NASA
# Set via environment variable: ENV["FIRMS_MAP_KEY"] = "your-key"
# Or: FIRMS.set_map_key!("your-key")

# Download VIIRS fire detections for California
df = FIRMS.download(:VIIRS_NOAA20_NRT, region=:california, days=1)

Historical Fire Data

For historical fire records:

using WildfireData

# Download the database first (~214 MB)
FPA_FOD.download_database()

# Query fires
fires = FPA_FOD.fires(state="CA", year=2020, limit=100)
largest = FPA_FOD.largest_fires(10)

Burn Severity Data

For burn severity and fire boundaries:

using WildfireData

# Fire occurrence points
fires = MTBS.download(:fire_occurrence, limit=100)

# Burn boundaries
boundaries = MTBS.download(:burn_boundaries, limit=10)

Landscape Data

For fuel, vegetation, and topographic data:

using WildfireData

# List available products
LANDFIRE.products()

# Get WCS URL for streaming access
url = LANDFIRE.wcs_url(:conus, :LF2024)

# Download full extent (warning: large files)
# LANDFIRE.download_product(:FBFM40, :conus, :LF2024)

Return Types

Different modules return different data types depending on the underlying data source:

Module	Return Type	Notes
WFIGS	`GeoJSON.FeatureCollection`	GeoJSON with geometry
IRWIN	`GeoJSON.FeatureCollection`	GeoJSON with geometry
MTBS	`GeoJSON.FeatureCollection`	GeoJSON with geometry
FPA_FOD	`Vector{NamedTuple}`	Tabular rows from SQLite
FIRMS	`DataFrame`	CSV data from NASA API
LANDFIRE	File path (`String`)	Downloads GeoTIFF rasters

For GeoJSON results, access feature properties like:

data = WFIGS.download(:current_perimeters, limit=5)
for feature in data
    println(feature.properties.IncidentName)
end

For FPA_FOD results, access fields directly on the NamedTuples:

fires = FPA_FOD.fires(state="CA", year=2020)
for fire in fires
    println(fire.FIRE_NAME, ": ", fire.FIRE_SIZE, " acres")
end

Data Storage

Downloaded data is stored in a scratch space managed by the Scratch.jl package. You can find the location with:

using WildfireData
WildfireData.dir()  # Returns the base data directory

Each module has its own subdirectory: - WildfireData.dir("WFIGS") - WildfireData.dir("FIRMS") - etc.

Common Patterns

Filtering Data

Most modules support filtering via where clauses or keyword arguments:

# WFIGS/IRWIN: SQL-like where clause
data = WFIGS.download(:current_perimeters, where="GISAcres > 1000", limit=10)

# FPA_FOD: Keyword arguments
fires = FPA_FOD.fires(state="CA", year=2020, min_size=1000)

# FIRMS: Region and time filters
df = FIRMS.download(:VIIRS_NOAA20_NRT, region=:western_us, days=3)

Spatial Filtering

WFIGS, IRWIN, and MTBS support bounding box filtering via the bbox parameter:

# Bounding box as (west, south, east, north) tuple
data = WFIGS.download(:current_perimeters, bbox=(-125, 32, -114, 42))

# Or as a string
data = IRWIN.download(:usa_current_incidents, bbox="-125,32,-114,42")

FIRMS uses named regions or explicit bounding boxes via the area/region parameters:

df = FIRMS.download(:VIIRS_NOAA20_NRT, region=:california, days=1)
df = FIRMS.download(:MODIS_NRT, area="-120,35,-115,40", days=2)

Counting Records

Check how many records match your query before downloading:

# Count all current perimeters
n = WFIGS.count(:current_perimeters)

# Count with filter
n = WFIGS.count(:current_perimeters, where="GISAcres > 1000")

Getting Field Information

Discover available fields in a dataset:

fields = WFIGS.fields(:current_perimeters)
for f in fields
    println("$(f.name): $(f.type)")
end

Saving Data Locally

Download data to a local file:

# Save as GeoJSON
path = WFIGS.download_file(:current_perimeters, limit=100)

# Load later
data = WFIGS.load_file(:current_perimeters)

Next Steps

Explore the documentation for each module:

WFIGS - Current and historical fire perimeters
IRWIN - Fire incident data
FPA-FOD - Historical fire occurrence database
MTBS - Burn severity data
FIRMS - Satellite fire detections
LANDFIRE - Landscape and fuel data