Fire severity is a metric of the loss of biomass caused by fire. In collaboration with the NSW Rural Fire Service, DPE Remote Sensing & Regulatory Mapping team has developed a semi-automated approach to mapping fire extent and severity through a machine learning framework based on sentinel 2 satellite imagery. The statewide severity map has standardised classes to allow comparison of different fires across the landscape. The FESM severity classes include: unburnt, extent only (grass fires), low severity (burnt understory, unburnt canopy), moderate severity (partial canopy scorch), high severity (complete canopy scorch, partial canopy consumption), extreme (full canopy consumption).

This dataset represents the 2022/23 fire year including all wildfires >10ha with a fire start date between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023.