FireSmart Home Ignition Zone · LiDAR screening

Searchmont neighbourhood wildfire mapSynthetic demo data

How it works: every house is scored on tree canopy and ladder fuel within 10 m and 30 m, measured from an airborne LiDAR point cloud. This demo runs on a simulated tile laid out like a rural road near Searchmont. The real 2024 Searchmont map uses the same method on 111 one-kilometre Ontario LiDAR tiles covering the Searchmont highway corridor and side roads, where most buildings in the Searchmont Fire Department response area (Deroche, Hodgins, Gaudette and Shields townships) are located: 603 houses in all.

View the 2024 Searchmont LiDAR map → password required

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Colour houses by
Canopy height 0–22 m Ladder fuel (1–4 m) 0–1.5 m Zone 1 · 1.5–10 m Zone 2 · 10–30 m

How the scores are built

Each house footprint is found in the point cloud from smooth, single-return roof surfaces. Rings are measured from the wall: 0–1.5 m, Zone 1 (1.5–10 m) and Zone 2 (10–30 m), following the FireSmart Home Ignition Zone.

Canopy is the share of each ring covered by vegetation 3 m or taller. Ladder fuel is the share of each ring with LiDAR returns between 1 and 4 m: shrubs, regen and low branches that carry fire from the ground into crowns.

Thresholds

Each measure scores 0 at the “ok” value and 100 at the “max” value. Zone 1 counts for 60% of the overall score, Zone 2 for 40%.

Flags add points: branches over the roof, an outbuilding within 10 m, or a steep slope.

What LiDAR can’t see

  • The house itself: vents, gutters, decks, siding and roofing are where embers get in. Only an on-site assessment checks these.
  • Fuel type. Conifers and dry grass burn very differently from birch and maple.
  • Change since the flight. Ontario tiles can be several years old.

Use this to decide where to start, then follow up with a FireSmart assessment.