Influences of forest roads and their edge effects on the spatial pattern of burn severity

► We used spatial statistics to analyze the effects of distance from forest roads on remotely-sensed burn severity metrics. ► Burn severity was lower within 150 of roads in four out of the six fires studied. ► Variability in road effects among fires reflected the influences of landscape context and fire weather. ► Possible mechanisms for road effects include the fuelbreaks created by roads and edge effects in the adjacent forests.