Fire is a natural ecological process in the Australian landscape, with many vegetation communities adapted to fire.
Fire extent and severity mapping (FESM) uses satellite imagery and machine learning to deliver timely fire severity maps. These maps help us:
- classify and map fires
- understand relationships between fuels and fire behaviour
- interpret how a fire has changed the landscape
- support better land and fire management
- support on-ground actions and conservation planning.
In 2021, we started publishing annual reports on fire extent and severity at a landscape scale using fire extent and severity mapping.
FESM promotional video
You can view a short video below detailing the history and uses of FESM.
More information about FESM
See the Remote sensing of fire page.
Near real-time FESM for wildfires
For fire years from 2025–26, FESM wildfire maps, data and analytics will be published in near real-time (NRT) in a live dashboard. The combined NRT information will replace the annual PDF reports at the end of each fire year. To access the data and analytics, see Near real-time FESM for wildfires.
Annual reports
Annual reports for the years 2017–18 through to 2023–24 are found at Past landcover reporting.
Each fire extent and severity mapping annual report summarises the fire season for that year and is accompanied by data analyses for the reported fire season and comparisons with previous fire seasons.
The fire extent and severity mapping statewide map and datasets are available on the Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data (SEED) portal or by searching 'FESM SEED'. Maps are delivered as zip files including rasters (10m pixel size) in GeoTiff (.tif) and ERDAS Imagine (.img) format. The rasters are viewable in standard GIS software (ArcGIS, QGIS).
Acknowledgements
This work has been led by scientists from the department and reflects extensive collaboration with the NSW Rural Fire Service, the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub and the NSW Natural Resources Commission over several years of research and testing.
References
Bowman DMJS, Williamson GJ, Gibson RK et al. (2021) 'The severity and extent of the Australia 2019–20 Eucalyptus forest fires are not the legacy of forest management', Nature Ecology and Evolution, 5:1003–1010, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01464-6
Collins L, Griffioen P, Newell G and Mellor A (2018) 'The utility of random forests for wildfire severity mapping', Remote Sensing of Environment, 216:374–384, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.07.005
Gibson R, Danaher T, Hehir W and Collins L (2020) 'A remote sensing approach to mapping fire severity in south-eastern Australia using sentinel 2 and random forest', Remote Sensing of Environment, 240: 111702, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111702
McCarthy G, Moon K and Smith L (2017) 'Mapping fire severity and fire extent in forest in Victoria for ecological and fuel outcomes', Ecological Management and Restoration, 18(1):54–65, https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12242