 This research focused on understanding the impacts of the October 2017 fires in Sonoma County, California. It found that riparian and mesic vegetation types exhibited the least canopy damage, while shrub and upland conifer types exhibited the most. Additionally, measures of vegetation structure derived from lidar data were the most important predictors of post-fire woody canopy condition. Higher densities of shrubs and fire adapted vegetation types correlated with higher densities of ladder fuels, and greater distances from streams corresponded with greater canopy damage. These findings suggest that managing vegetation structure and reducing fuel loads in these areas could help reduce the severity of future fires. This article was authored by Cass Green, Mark Tuckman, Dylan Loudon, and others.