The City Council of West Lake Hills, near Austin, Texas, has approved the purchase of a camera system to detect wildfires. The FireWatch devices mounted on towers are designed to detect smoke within 6 miles by rotating their sensors, completing a 360-degree rotation every 8 to 12 minutes, during which it takes images, analyzes, and then transmits those images for secondary analysis. If possible fire events are detected, the system alerts fire authorities.
West Lake Hills, with a population of about 3,000, is described on Wikipedia as a wealthy suburb on the west side of Austin.
The City Council has set aside $200,000 for the purchase and installation of the camera system. The city of Austin and Travis County are also considering the acquisition of the devices.
Last week Wildfire Today reported on the possible closing of Australia’s Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre due to a lack of funding. The federal government has reversed their stance and is prepared to provide $47 million for another eight years of financing beginning July 1, while expanding their role to include floods, earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis. The Centre has been actively involved in researching bushfire-fighting technology, extreme fire behavior, firefighter safety, and prescribed burning strategies. Shutting it down would be similar to the United States government closing the Fire Sciences Laboratories in Missoula and Riverside.
In order for the Centre to remain open, the states and territories will have to make similar funding commitments. If it continues to exist, it will be renamed the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre.
The Boeing Company has filed patent applications in the United States (#20120261144 A1) and Australia (#2012201025) for an extremely complex, high-tech system to help manage wildland fires. Here is the complete abstract that, uh, sort of, describes the idea:
A method and apparatus for managing fires. A computer system is configured to receive fire related information from at least a first portion of a plurality of assets and analyze the fire-related information to generate a result. The computer system is configured to coordinate an operation of a second portion of the plurality of assets using the result.
Got that?
In studying the application, here’s what I was able to decipher. It would utilize many, many sensors and sources of information on the ground and in the air to detect new fires, coordinate fire resources, predict fire spread, develop a plan for containing the fire, help keep firefighters safe, and monitor the fire. It could even:
…analyze fire-related information to identify an undesired condition resulting from a fire for an operator at a location and direct heterogeneous group of vehicles to obtain information about the fire at the location. In particular, heterogeneous group of vehicles may be directed to obtain information relating to at least one of the safety of the operator at the location and containment of the fire at the location.
Sadly, the entire document is written like that. If I interpret it correctly, the system could detect that a firefighting resource was in an unsafe location based on the fire situation and proactively assign resources to collect information to help mitigate the “undesired condition”.
The system would gather information such as this, or from these sources:
Smoke levels
Carbon dioxide levels
Positioning data
Still images
Video
Infrared images
Weather data
Vegetation data
Satellite imagery
Historical data
Geographical information
Computer models
Manned and unmanned ground and aerial vehicles
Personnel
Radar systems
GPS
It would then go through a process similar to this, which is an image from Boeing’s patent application:
The bottom line? If it works, it might be very useful. Could the U.S. government afford it? Hell no.
Over at Fire Aviation we explored the concept for a squadron of UAV air tankers that would be deployed from a large cargo aircraft orbiting over a wildfire… at night.
Today we have the 11th article of our series in which we ask current and retired leaders in the wildland fire service to answer 12 questions.
We appreciate everyone who is cooperating with this project. Some of their responses may add to the knowledge base of our new firefighters coming up through the ranks. If you would like to nominate someone who would be a good candidate for these questions, drop us a line through our Contact Us page. And their contact information would be appreciated.
Below we hear from Dave Kohut. Before he retired as the Fire Chief (Forest Fire Management Officer) on the Sierra National Forest in California he was the District Ranger on the Saugus Ranger District on the Angeles National Forest. From 1994 to 1998 he was the Type 1 Incident Commander on California Interagency Incident Management Team 2.
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When you think of an excellent leader in the fire service, who comes to mind first? Why?
This is a tough one! Had a few district rangers (Bill Murphy, Art Carroll and Fred Alberico) I worked for that set up good training plans for me and strongly encouraged to be active in “Fire Control”. The first “fire boss” that comes to mind is Lynn Biddison. He was fire boss on the Sundance Fire in 1967 and I was a Cat Boss. He took an interest in my assignment and personally assisted me in assuring the local forest folks that “2 Californians with 5 dozers were not going to bull-doze the mountains down”. Lynn continued this personal interest throughout his career.
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone before their first assignment as an Incident Commander?
“Remember, your ears and eyes don’t work well if your mouth is always moving”
If someone is planning a prescribed fire, what is one thing that you hope they will pay particular attention to?
Base all the actions on current and expected fire behavior (which is, Know Your Weather, current and predicted!)
One of the more common errors in judgment you have seen on fires?
Forgetting the basic fundamentals of fire and then making the situation too complicated sometimes with a demand for too much analysis and information.
One thing that you know now that you wish you had known early in your career?
How rewarding working in fire and emergency management can be and the thousands of friends I have from that career.
The stupidest mistake you have seen on a fire?
A night shift where one crew was cutting line down a ridge and another crew cutting up the ridge from the bottom planning on meeting. However, they were on different ridges!
Your most memorable fire?
I think I learned and had memories from every fire I was on. Some were awesome such as Black Monday in Yellowstone; some were inspiring such as a quiet smoky spectacular mountain top sunrise on the Hog Fire on the Klamath; and some were heart-wrenching tragedy such as the Elizabeth Fire on the Angeles.
The funniest thing you have seen on a fire?
On a fire on the Tahoe N. F., we had Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt spend two days with the Tahoe Hotshots. The crew sleeping area was on the football field of the local high school. Logistics forgot to get the school to shut off the sprinklers. So about 0200, the crew and the Sec’t were seen running in their skivvies from the “man-made” rainstorm.
The first very large fire you were on?
Fire on the Angeles N.F. in 1962
Your favorite book about fire or firefighting?
The old Fireman’s Guide.
The first job you had within the fire service?
Crewman on “Tanker 22” Mammoth Lakes, Inyo N.F.
What gadgets, electronic or otherwise, can’t you live without?
Hell, I failed “smart phone”. Still trying to master the TI-59 and the Planning Wheel!
Two bills have been introduced in the Colorado state Senate that could affect fire prevention and the management of prescribed fires. The bills were inspired by recommendations made by the Lower North Fork Wildfire Commission.
SB 13-082, Wildfire Matters Review Committee, establishes a permanent interim committee to study wildfire prevention and mitigation policy. The committee will work with the Department of Public Safety and the State Forest Service, and will be comprised of ten legislators.
SB 13-083, Prescribed Burn Program, requires the Division of Fire Prevention and Control to establish a prescribed burn program. The program must have specific rules and standards, and there must be policy to address an escaped prescribed burn. The rules will specify that a state certified burn manager, or a nationally qualified burn boss, manage any prescribed burn.
The City Council of West Lake Hills, near Austin, Texas, has approved the purchase of a camera system to detect wildfires. The FireWatch devices mounted on towers are designed to detect smoke within 6 miles by rotating their sensors, completing a 360-degree rotation every 8 to 12 minutes, during which it takes images, analyzes, and then transmits those images for secondary analysis. If possible fire events are detected, the system alerts fire authorities.
