Red Flag Warnings, April 14, 2013

Red Flag Warnings, 4-14-2013

 

Red Flag Warnings for enhanced wildfire danger have been issued by the National Weather Service for areas in Texas, New Mexico,  and Arizona.

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The Red Flag Warning map above was current as of 8:50 a.m. MT on Sunday. Red Flag Warnings can change throughout the day as the National Weather Service offices around the country update and revise their forecasts. For the most current data, visit this NWS site.

Looking back at the 2003 Kelowna wildfire

Even though I stayed overnight in Kelowna, British Columbia on a motorcycle trip last August, I was not aware of the nearby devastating Okanagan Mountain Park (map) wildfire in 2003 that destroyed hundreds of homes and threatened the lives of firefighters. Here is an excerpt from an article in the Kelowna Capital News:

During the 2003 Kelowna wildfire, a group of firefighters trapped in Kettle Valley were surrounded by 400 foot high flames, took shelter under fire trucks, and called home from their cell phones to say goodbye to their families.

“They couldn’t get out,” recalled former Kelowna fire chief and current city councillor Gerry Zimmermann as he welcomed more than 200 colleagues from around North America to the three-day Western Wildfire Conference in Kelowna Thursday morning.

But, everyone survived the Okanagan Mountain Park wildfire, even though 30,000 people were evacuated, 239 homes were lost in two nights and 60,000 acres were burned across the south slopes, 10 years ago this summer…

Fire danger sign near Canmore, Alberta. Photo by Bill Gabbert
Fire danger sign near Canmore, Alberta. Photo by Bill Gabbert

Forest Service receives new airborne sensor from NASA

USFS IR aircraft, Cessna Citation Bravo
One of the U.S. Forest Service’s Infrared aircraft, their Cessna Citation Bravo, N144Z

The U.S. Forest Service has been using dedicated fixed wing aircraft with infrared sensors to detect and map wildland fires since the 1960s or 1970s. So I was intrigued after reading a news release from NASA about an airborne sensor that will help gather information about wildland fires. Here is an excerpt:

NASA Imaging Sensor Prepares for Western Wildfire Season

WASHINGTON – Airborne imaging technology developed at NASA and transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USFS) in 2012 is being tested to prepare for this year’s wildfire season in the western United States.
The Autonomous Modular Sensor (AMS) is a scanning spectrometer designed to help detect hot-spots, active fires, and smoldering and post-fire conditions. Scientists at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and USFS engineers installed it on a Cessna Citation aircraft that belongs to the Forest Service. The USFS plans to use it in operational fire imaging and measurement…

Having experience as an Infrared Interpreter (IRIN), converting data on infrared images to maps so that the information can be used by firefighters on the ground, I wanted more information about how this sensor will be used in wildfire management. I knew that the person with the answers would be Woody Smith, an Avionics and Infrared Technician with the U.S. Forest Service’s National Infrared Operations (NIROPs) unit. I sent him some questions by email and here is his response:

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(Woody said:)

The main purpose for the transfer of the AMS Sensor to the USFS is for additional remote sensing needs. Missions such as forest health sensing, post fire analysis, and earth mapping. The AMS has the capability to map wildfires and will be used as an additional system in a third aircraft if one becomes available.

But to answer your questions in order:

Is this replacing previous sensor(s)?

No. This will be an additional system to enhance our capabilities for busy seasons. Though for now, it “lives” on the Citation (N144Z) for testing and comparison purposes. Once the NIROPs Unit begins to get busy we will remove this system and reinstall the Phoenix System. We anticipate using the AMS sensor during the “off season” for earth observation and post fire analysis.

What is the advantage of this sensor?

The AMS Sensor has 16 channels that can be used to map the earth simultaneously. Most of the channels are in the visual range and color IR. There are 4 used for thermal IR (TIR) and as soon as I get permission from the guys at NASA I will send you a briefing paper that explains the origin and uses of the AMS. For now, the USFS intends to map some vegetation areas for various other government agencies and fly real time comparison flights over wild land fires. We need to assess its operational capabilities. One advantage is the capability to perform scientific earth observation for post fire analysis while collecting and mapping wild land fires.

On the new AMS system, is liquid nitrogen still used to cool the sensor, like on the Phoenix System currently being used?

No. The TIR (thermal infrared) channels use sterling coolers and thermo electric (TE) coolers. But as the Phoenix System will hold LN2 for over 16 hours we only have to fill them once a day before the night’s flights begin. (Sterling coolers and thermo-electric cooling is very expensive while liquid nitrogen is very cheap!)

How many sensors does the USFS IR system use?

We currently own 6 ea 2-channel thermal IR scanner systems. 2 from Daedalus and 4 that we developed ourselves known as the Phoenix Wild Land Fire Mapping Systems. We could field 3 Phoenix Systems simultaneously but we only have 2 aircraft capable of carrying IR equipment so we use the additional hardware as spares for “quick repairs” during the fire season.

Will similar AMS sensors be installed on other IR aircraft?

No.

Are there any major changes to the Infrared program for this year?

Two exciting changes coming have not yet been implemented. The first is improved heat detection and the second is with the quality of the image itself. The signal processing changes we made last year has already vastly improved the heat detection and image quality as well as sped up the delivery time. But due to a busy year (2012) we are lagging behind our anticipated schedule. As soon as these are implemented I will send you an email.

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Here is a link to a Word document with a (very) technical description of the AMS sensor.

AMS-Wildfire scanhead

Everglades National Park’s Boy Scout prescribed fire

Everglades National Park has produced another excellent video about their prescribed fire program. You may have seen one of their others, River of Grass, by then National Park Service employee Jennifer Brown, who now has her own video production company, Into Nature Films. Ms. Brown made this video as well, working with Fire Management Officer/Executive Producer Rick Anderson.

Boy Scout Camp Prescribed Fire from Into Nature Films on Vimeo.

Here is the description of this video:

“National Park Service managers conduct a prescribed fire in cooperation with Boy Scouts of America. Camp Everglades is in the Pine Rocklands of Everglades National Park. This active Boy Scout Camp is in a fire dependent pine forest. Plants and animals that live in this rare and imperiled forest have adapted to frequent fires that are ignited by the abundant lightning that visits the land during summer storms. Humans may have used fire in this area to stimulate the growth of fresh green shoots in this otherwise nutrient poor forest. Coontie, a primitive plant who’s roots were processed to make a starch-rich bread by Native peoples and Florida pioneers, responds well to frequent fire. Everglades fire managers work with the Boy Scouts to reduce accumulations of brush and other flammable vegetation to reduce the threat of severe unplanned wildfires.”

 

Thanks go out to Tristan

2012 was a record fire year in Nebraska

Cottonwood Fire Crawford NE
Cottonwood Fire, west of Crawford, NE, June 18, 2012. Photo by Bill Gabbert

In 2012 Nebraska had the most acres burned in wildfires since records started being kept in 1964. Approximately half a million acres were blackened by fire last year.

Nebraska acres burned wildfires
Acres burned in Nebraska wildfires, 1964-2012. From the Nebraska Forest Service.

President recommends reduced budgets for wildland fire

The President is recommending reduced budgets next fiscal year for the federal land management agencies that have wildland fire responsibilities. In his budget released on Wednesday President Obama desires to slash by 41 percent the funds allocated for the five agencies for reducing hazardous fuels, and the preparedness and suppression budget would be cut by 8 percent. The amount set aside for the FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund would remain about the same.

The four Department of Interior Agencies would see a reduction of 512 FTEs (full time equivalent employees) to 3,445, down from 3,957 in FY 2012. Those four agencies are the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Below, we assembled some of the numbers from documents released by the Departments of Interior and Agriculture:

President's proposed FY-2014 budget for wildland fire

It should be noted that the chances of this proposal being enacted exactly as recommended are somewhere between slim and none. Congress has not passed a federal budget in four years, and even if they did get one signed for Fiscal Year 2014 which begins in October, 2013, it would no doubt be different from what the President desires, after it makes its way through the dysfunctional House and Senate chambers.

On March 23 the Senate passed another version of a budget for Fiscal Year 2014.

Here are a couple of excerpts from information supplied by the two Departments about the President’s proposed budget. First, Interior, about Hazardous Fuels:
Continue reading “President recommends reduced budgets for wildland fire”