Case study · Mountain HOA
Prioritizing shared wildfire mitigation across property boundaries
The risk to a home often sits on someone else’s land. A neighbor’s vacant lot, the community’s open space, the slope above the road. Treating parcels one at a time misses that, and no single owner sees the whole picture. This anonymized case study shows how GeoSelect combines Home Ignition Zone (HIZ) overlap with neighboring-home assessment evidence to rank candidate areas for shared mitigation review.
The problem
The source engagement used a 2022 assessment of homes. Vacant land had no equivalent home rating, even where a neighboring home’s ignition zone crossed its boundary. The HOA needed a way to identify land worth reviewing for shared treatment, alongside the home-by-home assessment.
The evidence and method
The demonstration combines neighboring homes’ assessment ratings, recorded 100-foot HIZ overlap shares, defensible-space and slope indicators, and lot acreage. The existing wildfire scoring engine applies explicit weights so reviewers can inspect the factors and see how different priorities change the ranking.
01
Separate the geometries
Ownership, the zone where risk reaches, and the area where work can be done are three different shapes. Keep each one.
02
Measure the relationships
Find which parcels carry risk for which others, and how much. Here: the share of each home’s ignition zone that falls on each vacant lot.
03
Rank with an explicit model
A weighted model with every factor visible. Change the weights and the ranking changes in front of you.
04
Turn ranks into a portfolio
Top-ranked areas become candidate treatment units with costs, permissions and funding paths, reviewed in the field before any work.
Which vacant lots should a mountain HOA treat first?
Explore 29 de-identified lots and open-space areas from the source analysis. Pick an area to inspect the recorded overlap shares and score drivers, then change the weights to test how the ranking responds.
Ranked vacant lots
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Squares are neighboring homes, colored by their 2022 wildfire risk rating. Rings are each home's 30 ft and 100 ft ignition zone; the shaded part and the percentage show how much of that zone falls on this lot. The layout is stylized; the overlap shares are from the original analysis.
Why it ranks here
What this demonstrates
A reviewable way to prioritize land that may contribute exposure to neighboring homes. Reviewers can compare candidates, inspect the evidence behind a score, and test whether a preferred area remains a priority when the weights change. The output is a candidate ranking for planning and field review.
This case study reports an analytical demonstration. It does not establish completed treatments, measured risk reduction, avoided losses, or grant awards.
From ranking to a treatment plan
Candidate areas still need field verification, ownership and access checks, owner permission, a professional prescription, and cost estimates. Where several homes share a treatment area, define the work and responsibilities together and count the treatment acreage once.
The source overlap analysis uses address-point-based 100-foot circles. The illustration changes lot shapes and neighbor positions while preserving recorded overlap shares; it is not a survey or a building-footprint-based treatment boundary.
The same method, other risks
Wildfire
Home ignition zones that reach vacant lots, open space or a neighbor’s parcel.
Flood and drainage
Upstream culverts, ditches and slopes that decide whether downstream properties flood.
Source water
Recharge and watershed land that protects a supply its users don’t own.
Have a place with this problem?
Tell us about the area and the risk. We reply by email.
hello@geopockets.com