NASA: Agreement with CAL FIRE to use NASA technology during Wildfires

Friday, December 17, 2010

NASA: Agreement with CAL FIRE to use NASA technology during Wildfires

CAL FIRE NEWS RELEASE - NASA COLLABORATES WITH CAL FIRE TO MITIGATE WILDFIRE DISASTERS

MOFFETT Field, Calif. - NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., has entered into a five-year Non-Reimbursable Space Act Agreement with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to use NASA technology and capabilities to help support the management and mitigation of wildfire disasters.

-The two entities have had an ad-hoc partnership for the last 25 years and this agreement formalizes our working relationship and allows the two agencies to explore new and exciting technology developments and capabilities that support the needs of the people of California,- said Vince Ambrosia, NASA Ames principal investigator and senior scientist of the collaborative effort.

-CAL FIRE is proud to formalize its partnership with NASA,- said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of CAL FIRE. -Under this agreement we will cooperatively explore the use and future transfer of advanced fire sensing technology. This in turn, will benefit the public we serve by helping CAL FIRE increase situational awareness and response efficiency.-

NASA has developed an innovative visible, infrared and thermal sensor called the NASA Autonomous Modular Scanner (AMS). The scanner has operated on both NASA¿s Ikhana Predator B Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and the manned NASA B200 King Air both operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards, Calif. The scanner provides real-time wildfire imaging data over large-scale disaster events in the western United States and particularly in California. The innovations include performing all processing on-board the aircraft autonomously and relaying the information through a satellite communications system to disaster managers located anywhere in the world.

The system performed flawlessly during several major wildfire events in southern California in 2007 and during the lightning fires in Northern California in 2008. Those missions were flown aboard the NASA Ikhana UAV. More recently, the team has focused on integration and operation of the sensor aboard the manned B200 King Air aircraft.

"The B200 has more rapid response capability than the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. The exciting element is that we have the ability to use different platforms as the mission requirements change," Ambrosia said.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Friday, December 17, 2010