Modeling and mapping fire-vulnerable forest vegetation across millions of acres in California, scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno are using a variety of new technologies with massive amounts of data and computational power. This research will help optimize fuel management to reduce fire risk, support carbon sequestration and improve water quality. The research team, led by Jonathan Greenberg and Erin Hanan in the University’s College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources, is working on a set of interrelated initiatives that are collectively called the “GigaFire Project.” Their overarching goal is to understand, using remote sensing technology and process-based models, how vegetation and fuels are changing over large landscapes. …With $570,000 from the California Air Resources Board and nearly $1.8 million from CAL FIRE, the researchers are mapping surface and canopy fuels across the state using: