Google has made new satellite images available for two recent fires.
San Bruno, Califoria gas line explosion. Here is an excerpt from Google’s Lat Long Blog on Sept. 13:
This past Saturday we collected imagery over the parts of San Bruno devastated by last week’s terrible gas explosion. Google’s data and tools are used by many government and non-governmental organizations to assist in post-disaster recovery, as well of course by our millions of users. This San Bruno imagery is now live in Google Earth through a KML overlay link and will be part of the base layer soon.
Fourmile fire near Boulder, Colorado. From Google’s Lat Long Blog on Sept. 16:
This Labor day brought Colorado its most destructive wildfire to date, as measured in structures lost. 169 homes were destroyed and 6,181 acres of mountain terrain were scorched as the Four Mile Canyon fire blazed its way through our hillside.
Community members worked together to create a collaborative map to show the location of the fire and track its progress. The map was open for anyone to contribute information as soon as it became available. For many, this was a primary source for the most up-to-date information available about the fire.
Additionally, new imagery from GeoEye of the burn area is now available as a KML overlay. We will be adding this to our base layer soon. When viewed in 3D using Google Earth, this image vividly illustrates the extent and magnitude of the damage.
Our profound gratitude goes to the fire fighters who worked tirelessly to subdue the fire in the face of high winds and difficult terrain. If you would like to help, you can learn more here.
