Wildfire Technology
by Michelle Wang
While drones, cell towers, and computer networks help firefighters, there is better technology that can be used to stop and prevent wildfires.
One technology used is the Remote Automatic Weather Station (RAWS). It is a weather station that helps predict wildfires, their path, and the patterns in their behavior. There are over 2,200 of these stations located all over the United States (above), many near national forests and reserves, where it is more likely for a wildfire to occur.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
It predicts fire behavior and monitors fuels and rates fire danger. With data it collects, it can put it together and give researchers an idea of when fires are more likely to occur, and study the effects of forest fires on the air quality and soil.
WHO USES IT?
Most RAWS are owned and operated by wildland fire agencies. They use them to monitor their parks and reserves.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
RAWS comes equipped with solar panels, wind sensors, GPS, instruments to measure humidity and air temperature, and a rain gauge to measure the amount of rainfall. The data is stored in the data collection platforms built in, the forwarded to a computer system at the National Interagency Fire Center, which is based in Boise, Idaho. It is transmitted using a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), which is operated by the National; Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). All of the data collected is sent the participating organizations to be analyzed and sorted to find patterns in the environment that relate to wildfires.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
It predicts fire behavior and monitors fuels and rates fire danger. With data it collects, it can put it together and give researchers an idea of when fires are more likely to occur, and study the effects of forest fires on the air quality and soil.
WHO USES IT?
Most RAWS are owned and operated by wildland fire agencies. They use them to monitor their parks and reserves.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
RAWS comes equipped with solar panels, wind sensors, GPS, instruments to measure humidity and air temperature, and a rain gauge to measure the amount of rainfall. The data is stored in the data collection platforms built in, the forwarded to a computer system at the National Interagency Fire Center, which is based in Boise, Idaho. It is transmitted using a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), which is operated by the National; Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). All of the data collected is sent the participating organizations to be analyzed and sorted to find patterns in the environment that relate to wildfires.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
New technology has also been recently used to forecast the behavior of wildfires. The new satellite is called the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). One such weather satellite is named the Suomi NPP, which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was created by the NCAR and the University of Maryland, and orbits 512 miles above the Earth’s surface. It uses high-resolution satellite imagery, much clearer than the old models, to make computer simulations. While the results of the past MODIS satellites used to be inaccurate after a while, the VIIRS can still be dependable. It can cover the Earth’s surface entirely every 12 hours, and has much better pixel quality.
New technology has also been recently used to forecast the behavior of wildfires. The new satellite is called the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS). One such weather satellite is named the Suomi NPP, which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was created by the NCAR and the University of Maryland, and orbits 512 miles above the Earth’s surface. It uses high-resolution satellite imagery, much clearer than the old models, to make computer simulations. While the results of the past MODIS satellites used to be inaccurate after a while, the VIIRS can still be dependable. It can cover the Earth’s surface entirely every 12 hours, and has much better pixel quality.
Although this satellite is not available to all yet, scientists are working to get this new technology to fire-fighting organizations across the nation.