Low snowpack. Drought in 11 Western states. Communities are facing some of the highest risk fire conditions in years. Now they have something they haven’t had before: a complete, property-level picture of their wildfire exposure. Here’s what makes it possible.
A wildfire threatens a home near Guerneville, California.
Trees are central to what makes Western communities worth living in. They reduce heat, provide shade, filter air, support wildlife, and define the character of a neighborhood. Trees are part of what these communities are protecting.
Trees with branches above the roofline deposit needles, leaves, and debris directly into gutters and onto roof surfaces. That dried debris becomes highly combustible during fire conditions. A structure’s proximity to dead trees and branches above the roofline impacts how it responds when wildfire embers arrive.
This oblique image clearly shows tree canopy overhanging this Golden, Colorado home’s roofline.
Embers travel ahead of the flames, sometimes by miles. A house that ignites often does so not from direct flame contact but from an ember landing in the wrong place.
To mitigate this issue, fire experts recommend creating defensible space by trimming branches above rooflines and removing dead trees close to structures. The challenge, for homeowners, insurers, and governments, has been knowing which properties need attention most.
In multispectral imagery, live trees and vegetation are red. Tree proximity at this Santa Rosa, California home appears to be within 5 and 30 feet; tree canopy is also overhanging the roofline.
With snowpack levels at a record low and the majority of Colorado experiencing drought, fire restrictions went into effect across multiple counties. In late April 2026, Governor Polis identified June and July as the period of highest concern. Several wildfires burned throughout Colorado by early July, including the Aspen Acres fire, one of the largest in state history.
Colorado’s Front Range has a long history of destructive wildfires. In December 2021, the Marshall Fire burned through Louisville and Superior, destroying 1,084 homes in a single afternoon. The fire moved through tree-lined streets and densely built neighborhoods, only about 10 miles from the Jefferson County border.
Vexcel captured high-resolution aerial imagery of more than a quarter million structures across Jefferson County.
Using this data, a fire mitigation program now can determine which streets and neighborhoods have the most trees growing close to and over homes and which types of roof materials structures have.
Structures analyzed by Vexcel in
Jefferson County, Colorado
Trees close to a home deposit needles and other dry debris onto the roof, which become highly combustible during fire conditions.
Roof material directly impacts how a structure responds to ember exposure. An analysis of Jefferson County structures found that shingle roofs, also referred to as asphalt shingle, are the most common type of roof material. They’re more susceptible to ignition than metal or tile. Shake roofs, also known as wood shingles, are the least common but carry the highest ignition risk.
More than half of Jefferson County’s structures had tree canopy overhanging their rooflines. More than three-quarters of the county’s structures had trees within five feet.
The data shows a county with deep tree cover throughout its neighborhoods, and one that preparedness programs can now address with precision rather than guesswork. Defensible space refers to the buffer around a structure where vegetation is managed to reduce wildfire exposure. Vexcel measures this across four zones extending out from a structure: 5, 30, 100, and 200 feet, capturing where trees and structures are within each.
The image below shows what that looks like in practice: defensible space zones 5, 30, 100, and 200 feet overlaid on a Jefferson County structure with its tree proximity mapped.
Vexcel mapped defensible space zones (5, 30, 100, and 200 feet) onto this Jefferson County structure.
This aerial imagery provides the community with a new level of clarity: a complete, current picture of how and where trees and structures intersect on every Jefferson County property. Fire agencies, utilities, and community programs can use this data to understand where preparation efforts will have the greatest impact.
In spring 2026, California’s snowpack reached its second-lowest level ever recorded. The state is experiencing an extended drought, increasing tree stress and dry vegetation. Similar drought conditions were major contributors to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.
This Altadena neighborhood was destroyed by the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.
Sonoma County’s unique scenery, a combination of oaks, redwoods, ornamental trees, rural terrain, and neighborhoods, is what gives its Northern California communities their character.
With the 2026 fire conditions and the region’s destructive wildfire history, Sonoma County does not need an introduction to wildfire. The 2017 Tubbs Fire destroyed 5,636 structures across the county. The 2019 Kincade Fire forced approximately 190,000 people to evacuate, the largest evacuation in the county’s history.
Vexcel’s imagery covers the full county, including agricultural and rural parcels. Here’s what our data found.
Structures analyzed by Vexcel in
Sonoma County, California
An analysis of Sonoma County’s roofing stock found metal roofs (14.4%) are notably more common on rural and agricultural properties, while asphalt shingle remains dominant countywide at 68.1%, a distinction that matters for wildfire risk and where mitigation efforts get focused.
Vexcel’s machine learning and AI map tree canopy relative to structures across every property in Sonoma County: where branches overhang rooflines and where trees grow within the immediate zone around a home.
More than 150,000 structures have canopy overhanging the roofline.
Within defensible space zones, which extend to 5, 30, 100, and 200 feet from a structure, 72.4% of properties have trees within 5 feet, and 90.5% have trees within 30 feet. The image below shows how those zones play out on a real Sonoma County property.
Vexcel mapped defensible space zones (5, 30, 100, and 200 feet) onto this Sonoma County property.
A precise map of which Sonoma County properties have trees overhanging their rooflines, and trees within 5 and 30 feet of a structure is a meaningful planning resource. Fire agencies, utilities, and community programs can focus preparation where it will have the most effect, helping neighborhoods become better equipped to withstand a difficult fire season.
A fire mitigation program enhanced with Vexcel’s data can see the full picture of a county: which neighborhoods have the most trees close to homes, which streets have the most canopy over rooflines, where dead trees may be concentrated near structures, and where terrain itself adds to fire risk. This data can direct education, outreach, and preparation resources with real precision.
The same analysis is available for every county in the Lower 48 from current Vexcel imagery.
*This includes all unique structures, including outbuildings.
Large-format UltraCam cameras & sensors.
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Aerial surveys by fixed-wing aircraft.
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Aerial imagery and data for government and business.
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