Future climate and land-cover wildfire susceptibility mapping

Develop web-based statewide wildfire susceptibility maps for Hawaiʻi representing 2050, 2080, and 2100 by accounting for projected climate and land-cover changes. With a grant from the State of Hawaiʻi Legislature, the Principal Investigator (PI) recently developed a statewide wildfire susceptibility map for Hawaiʻi representing 2025 conditions. Climate change is expected to affect wildfire risk through higher temperatures, intensified droughts, and increased heat wave frequency and duration, which reduce soil moisture and dry out vegetation. Land-cover changes, including altered vegetation types, fuel availability, urbanization, agricultural land abandonment, and the spread of invasive grasses, also influence wildfire susceptibility and propagation. Developing these maps is intended to help understand the combined impacts of climate and land-cover change, develop prevention strategies, improve early warning systems, and support long-term land management and disaster preparedness.