Creating Boundary Maps for Your Agency's Zones

Defining clear geographical zones is crucial for fire and forestry agencies to effectively manage burn permits and fire safety within their jurisdictions.

A key part of setting up zones is having a boundary map that delineates the outline and borders of each zone.

This guide will walk through different options agencies have for finding and creating boundary maps to represent their zones.

What is a Zone Boundary Map?

A boundary map is a visual representation of the perimeter of a defined geographic area—in this case, your agency's zones. It lays out the precise boundaries of where one zone ends and another begins.

Boundary maps allow both agency administrators and public users to clearly see which parts of a region fall under a given zone. This helps ensure burn permits are obtained from the proper agency based on location.

Boundary maps are vector graphics, meaning they are made up of points, lines, and polygons rather than static images. This allows them to be zoomed and panned smoothly at any scale.

The most common formats for boundary maps are KML, GeoJSON, and Shapefiles. These store location coordinates and attributes that can be layered on top of base maps like Google Maps.

Why Define More Than One Zone / Boundary?

Of course, your agency may start your program right away with a simple single zone definition. But, there are a few key reasons an agency might want to define multiple zones with separate shapefiles:

• To represent different geographical areas of responsibility. An agency may have disjoint service areas, like separate stations or districts, that need defined independently.
• To designate special use areas like city limits or forests that have different rules. Overlapping zones allow applying specific policies like year-round closures only to certain zones.
• To segregate areas that require payment for permits versus free permits. Commercial or slash burning may require paid permits, while recreational burning could be free.
• To align with jurisdictional boundaries of overlapping agencies. Zones that conform to city, county, state lines allow coordinating status with neighboring agencies.
• To set buffers or monitor areas beyond core jurisdiction. Extra zones help keep tabs on burn activity right outside normal boundaries.
• To accommodate future growth or changes in responsibility. Defining zones based on features like roads makes it easier to edit boundaries as needed.

Multiple zones with separate shapefiles provides flexibility to manage diverse regions with granular specificity based on geography, use cases, regulations, and agency responsibilities. It gives more nuanced control over burn permits.

Where to Find Existing Boundary Maps?

If your agency already has established zones, the easiest option is to obtain existing boundary maps from your GIS (geographic information system) team. Most local government agencies have GIS departments that maintain geospatial datasets for their jurisdiction.

Reach out to your GIS office to request the boundary shapefile or dataset for your fire agency’s zones. They likely have detailed maps on hand to provide.

If your agency lacks in-house GIS capabilities, you might check with your local city, county, or state GIS departments. Explain you are looking for the boundary definitions of your fire agency’s geographic service areas. They may be able to provide this or direct you where to find it.

Third-party sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, USGS, or state wildfire agencies can also be good alternatives for finding pre-made boundary maps for counties, legislative districts, forests, etc. These can provide a starting point that you can edit to fit your specific zones.

Creating New Zone Boundary Maps

If no pre-existing boundaries are available, you may need to create your own custom boundary maps. The easiest way is to use a free online mapping tool called GeoJSON.io.

Here are the basic steps for generating boundaries with GeoJSON.io:

1. Go to www.geojson.io
2. Search for the location you want to map. You can pan and zoom to define the extent.
3. Select “Draw a Line” and trace the border of the zone with your mouse or finger. Double click to finish the polygon.
4. Repeat step 3 for additional zones, using different colors. Remember zones should not overlap.
5. Fine tune the boundaries by clicking points to move them or dragging lines. Get the zones looking exactly as needed.
6. When complete, export the data by clicking “Save” and then “GeoJSON”. This will download the boundary definitions to use in your system.

You now have customized GeoJSON boundary files ready to upload into your agency’s zone settings. This do-it-yourself approach gives you full control to tailor zones to your specific needs.

What is the .geoJSON File Format?

A GeoJSON file is a common format used for representing geographical boundary map data.

Some key points about GeoJSON files:

• GeoJSON is an open standard format designed to represent geographical features as a specially formatted text file.
• The features can include points, lines, polygons, or combinations of these that define an area or boundary on a map.
• A GeoJSON file contains coordinate pairs and additional metadata to represent geospatial data. This allows GIS software and mapping tools such as BeforeYouBurn.com to interpret the objects.
• For defining zones or areas, GeoJSON would likely contain closed polygon features made up of line segments with coordinate endpoints. These polygons outline the zone boundaries.
• Agencies and GIS departments can export boundary definitions and zone maps as GeoJSON files to share the geospatial data.
• Tools like GeoJSON.io allow users to draw zone boundaries and export the polygon data as a GeoJSON file.
• The GeoJSON file can then be uploaded into a system to set the visual boundary maps for that zone in the BeforeYouBurn.com Portal.

Pro Tips for Effective Zone Boundary Maps

• Make sure zones encompass your whole jurisdiction, leaving no gaps where a location might be ambiguous. Plan for zone borders along easily identifiable features like roads, rivers, etc.
• Add a buffer zone outside your core area of responsibility, where you still want to monitor burn permits. This helps catch burn activity right near your border.
• Use high resolution base maps to ensure accurate zone lines. GeoJSON.io uses Google Maps by default but you can switch the base layer if needed.
• Standardize zone names across platforms so they match in your boundary maps, permit forms, and rules tables. This reduces confusion.
• Update and revise boundaries periodically as your jurisdiction changes. New housing developments, annexations, etc may alter your ideal zone lines.

Well-defined boundary maps ensure your agency zones align with operations on the ground.

Taking the time to create and manage them helps optimize public safety and your burn permit program.

Let us know if you have any other questions! We're happy to help agencies get set up with effective boundary maps for managing zones.