California Wildfires: A Story in Parcel Data
Wildfires have become an unfortunate reality of life for all Californians. Over the past decade, some of our history’s largest and most destructive fires have swept through the state, leaving behind millions of burnt acres, tens of thousands of devastated structures, and communities reeling with the loss of life and property.
It’s grim stuff. But even as climate change drives fire seasons to be longer, hotter, and more destructive than ever, people and organizations across the state are stepping up to do their part to help.
At ParcelQuest, we don’t fight fires. We’re not on the front lines with hoses and helicopters. We’re not even entirely sure how to properly swing a fire axe. But we do know a lot about California parcel data. Like, a lot. And armed with accurate, authoritative, up-to-date information about properties in all 58 California counties, we’re prepared to do whatever we can to help.
Because as it turns out? Having accurate information is surprisingly useful when everything else is chaos.
When the Smoke Clears, Data Really Matters
We maintain several fire layers on our ParcelQuest interface, showing the location of damage from high-profile wildfires like Camp and North Complex. We built these at the request of the County Assessor offices, merging public data about the fires with our up-to-date parcel records. Those layers tell a story that’s invaluable to assessors, tax collectors, insurance companies, homeowners, and more.
When the LAX fires broke out, one of our financial clients reached out to us with a need for parcel data—fast. They work with bond assessments and immediate wanted to begin assessing the financial impact from the damaged structures. The insurance industry has the same needs. Even the County Board of Supervisors and school districts need to know the impact of tax dollars lost for their yearly budgets. ParcelQuest was there to immediately provide them with the specific APN and the amount of damage so they could start doing the math.
Fire Layers and the Joy of Good Data
From a technical standpoint, our fire layers are pretty straightforward. We take publicly available fire damage data, like the kind Cal Fire releases, and overlay it on our statewide parcel layer.
That means every ParcelQuest user can search by address, APN, owner name, or the location of a property and instantly see which parcels were affected, which ones are still standing, and anything you might have needed to know about that property before the flames. We’re talking owner names, mailing addresses, property characteristics, sales history, recorded documents, you name it.
Did a home that burned down in the Camp Fire ever get rebuilt? When did it return to the assessment roll? Which neighborhoods bounced back, and which haven’t yet? That kind of information is priceless for analysts, planners, budget forecasters, tax collectors, and so many others.
We don’t modify the fire data. That part speaks for itself. But when paired with our parcel data, you get a map that tells a deeper story. A map that shows not just what was lost, but how communities are rebuilding, year after year.
Fighting Fires with Data
A historical view of fire damage and the people affected can have a big impact on the equitable distribution of disaster relief. Up-to-date property owner information is vital to those who need to know the financial impacts to the community. And that’s just the beginning of the power of an up-to-date fire layer.
Tax collectors need to know when properties are eligible for reassessment. Insurance companies need parcel-level detail to handle claims and region-level detail to assess risk and calculate new rates. Planners and developers are working to design safer, smarter communities in fire-prone zones.
The right data, at the right time, makes all of that easier.
There’s also a growing ecosystem of public service apps that rely on parcel data. Like WatchDuty, a volunteer-run nonprofit that pushes alerts to millions of users. We think it’s a great example of how good people with good tools can do a lot of good in the world. And while apps like this often start with publicly available or low-cost data sources that may not be up-to-date, we believe there’s a real opportunity to pair their platforms and mission with the most authoritative, accurate parcel data in California.
Maps Tell the Story of a Place
Maps can do so much more than show you where things are. They can show you what happened before, what’s happening now, and what might happen next. That’s the kind of story we try to tell with all of our parcel layers, from fires to floods to crops and our upcoming water availability and drought layers.
Will they save the world? Maybe not on their own. But they’re thorough, accurate, up-to-date, and made by folks who’ve spent a long time building relationships with California’s assessor offices. Folks who geek out over parcel boundary redraws and tax roll timelines. Folks who understand in their bones that behind every polygon is a person with a story.
Want to see how ParcelQuest can help your organization, your community, or your workflow? Give us a call at 888-217-8999 for enterprise pricing, or browse our products online. We’d love to help.