IMAGES: Less than a year after being evaluated in NOAAโs Fire Weather Testbed, the automated satellite fire detection capability of the experimental Next Generation Fire Systemoffsite link (NGFS) has been embraced by the firefighting community and is being increasingly integrated into operations across the country.
The first of two key features of the revolutionary system are the Advanced Baseline Imager, the primary instrument on NOAAโs two GOES geostationary satellites orbiting 22,000 miles above the equator. The second is a set of NGFS algorithms that continuously comb through enormous volumes of data generated by the imager and automatically identifies heat anomalies or hot spots, even through clouds and smoke.
Any new sources of heat are overlaid on surface imagery and geolocated. Then an alert is sent instantly to an online dashboardoffsite link so users can easily visualize the location. Once a fire is detected, the system tracks and records the fireโs spread and intensity. The information is simultaneously available to weather forecasters, fire dispatchers and first responders. Getting firefighters on a fire before it becomes big increases the chances for a successful initial attack.
โNGFS can provide alerts in as little as one minute from the time the energy from the fire reaches the satellite,โ said Mike Pavolonis, NOAA Satellitesโ Wildland Fire Program manager, who is leading the research and development effort. โI’ve seen NGFS alerts for fires as small as a quarter acre.โ
Real-life proof of concept
During the recent Oklahoma wildfire outbreak, state officials said GOES satellites provided initial detection on 19 separate fires. Of those, preliminary analysis of fire spread modeling found that rapid firefighter response likely saved more than $850 million dollars worth of structures and property.
โThe amount of damage that NGFS helped firefighters prevent during this single outbreak was 250 times greater than the cost of developing this system,” Pavolonis said. The total cost of NGFS development was under $3 million. The National Weather Service anticipates that this system will continue to pay dividends and save lives, particularly in areas prone to severe fires where early detection is critical.
Where the new system is already in use
Ninety percent of the National Weather Service’s 122 Weather Forecast Offices around the country have subscribed to the NGFS feed since it became available in February. Forecast offices in California, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North Carolina have used it so far this year.
The California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) is using NGFS to improve situational awareness, and displays NGFS fire detections on its Statewide Initial Attack Vieweroffsite link. And in recent weeks, NGFS tracked the progress of a large fire in New Jerseyโs Pine Barrens.
