Land managers in areas subject to wildfires must decide how to target their limited resources to best reduce fire risk over large areas. FirePlan GIS from SIG uses advanced GIS technology to help identify cost-effective fire prevention solutions. Using the FARSITE fire model in conjunction with Arc View software, FirePlan can help land managers identify and prioritize areas for vegetative treatment. Not only will FirePlan identify the vegetation stands in which treatment will most cost-effectively reduce overall fire risk, but it can also factor in concerns including viewability and ecological importance of the treated stands. FirePlan GIS can help find the vegetative management solution that reduces fire risk for the lowest cost, while minimizing the visual and ecological impacts.

FirePlan GIS is unlike other fire management because of the level of detail it uses deriving recommended management alternatives. For instance, in looking at the cost effectiveness of treating different stands, it factors in changes to treatment costs due to vegetation type, slope and distance to nearest road. In assessing visual impacts, it evaluates how many properties could see a treated stand based on line-of-sight viewability. It also can factor in which treated stands would be viewable from major roads. In assessing risk, it considers not just aggregate fire risk over the landscape, but it can weight certain areas based on how many properties are nearby. Additionally, it can look at multiple ignition sources, and multiple wind pattern scenarios.

FirePlan GIS is available as an Arc View Extension, with an easy-to-follow interface. However, no fire model is simple to run. An accurate model requires a large number of accurate input data, such as fuel model, crown bulk density, fuel moisture, height to live crown, canopy cover, and slope. Making the model's results meaningful requires an understanding of the limitations of those layers as well as an appreciation of the scientific methods used to create them.

For companies and institutions that do not have this expertise or that do not have access to the numerous data layers required to run the model, SIG's experts can implement FirePlan GIS at any phase, from data acquisition and standardization, to management recommendations. On the other hand, for organizations that just want an application, SIG can custom-design the FirePlan GIS Arc View interface so it includes all the functionality they need and integrates seamlessly with their data sets.

FirePlan GIS is based on consultative research done by the principals of SIG while PhD students at UC Berkeley, for UC Berkeley Campus Design and Construction, who used its results to help manage approximately 1000 acres of fire-prone land adjacent to the main campus.