Above: Nebraska Forest Service Simtable. Screen grab from the KOTO video below.
We have written before about the Simtable that can project a spreading fire and an aerial photo onto a sand table that has been sculpted to resemble the topography for that area. It is an excellent training tool to simulate a potential fire or an actual on-going fire.
In this report from KDUH/KOTA the system recently acquired by the Nebraska Forest Service is described, including features that were new to me.
Below is an excerpt from the news coverage:
…NFS Fire Management Specialist Seth Peterson says the simulation gives fire officials advance knowledge of what they would need to do if a fire breaks out in a certain area. It could also make a big impact during a real wildfire event. A smartphone app for firefighters in the field can add valuable, on-site information to the simulator to make it react in real time.
“That iphone will know where he is on the map, and the IC (Incident Commander) will be able to see exactly where that firefighter is on the line. The firefighter can then update off his phone and basically feed the IC all the information he needs to be making all the decisions, without even being on the fire,” says Peterson…
Each simulator costs about $25,000.
Articles on Wildfire Today tagged “simulation”.
The SIM table would be a very useful tool on a large fire. It seems it improve tactical and strategic decision making and quickly pay for itself. A small group could gather around the SIM table (Plans, OPS, IC etc) and try different scenarios and see the outcome, and its right there in front of them, not on some small computer screen only a few can see.