- University of Utah researchers are collaborating with NASA to provide real-time information for fire crews.
- NASA's FireSense Program uses satellites, drones, aircraft, weather models, and even AI to aid wildfire response.
- Funding has been secured for five years, though future federal support remains uncertain.
SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of acres of land, homes and structures are in jeopardy, as active fires continue to rage on throughout Utah. That's why wildfire prevention is top of mind for a research team at the University of Utah.
NASA's FireSense Program is utilizing satellites, drones, high-tech weather model mapping, aircraft and even artificial intelligence to understand wildfires and various weather patterns that contribute to the spread of fire.
"So FireSense is NASA's program trying to take NASA data and get it into the hands of firefighters in the field," said University of Utah professor Phil Dennison.
He wants to shorten firefighters' response time.
"So, as a NASA sensor flies overhead, the data from the plane is sent to a server, where it's very rapidly processed," Dennison said.
The response time is within three to five minutes.
"They were able to see a new fire that had cropped up, and they were able to shift resources to fight that fire and get it contained much more rapidly than if the plane hadn't been there," Dennison said.
While this is experimental, Dennison hopes to get real-time information into the hands of those on the fire lines in two to three years.
"Some of these products include being able to map fuels and be able to map active fires and then be able to map areas that have burned and look at fire intensity (and) severity to understand how severe fire impacts are," Dennison said.
NASA's predictive technology is also helping Dennison's teammate, professor Derek Mallia, understand weather patterns triggered by wildfires.
"Thunderstorms and pyrocbs (pyrocumulonimbus clouds), they create lightning. If you have lightning going on around a wildfire, that could create new wildfires. Plus, gusty winds from thunderstorms can cause the fire to spread unpredictably, putting crews in immense danger," Mallia said.
But new forecasting models can predict pyrocumulonimbus clouds, four days out.
"This is of critical importance for fire managers to be aware of," said Mallia.
The FireSense Program is funded by highly competitive grants. But if federal funding dries up, these new fire technology applications could be put on hold, putting firefighters at further risk. Luckily, at this point, the University of Utah has secured funding for the next five years.
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Jodi Reynosa
