NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Firefighters get a hand from technology to fight wildfires
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
BOISE — From inside
the National Interagency Fire
Center at the Boise Airport,
meteorologist Nick Nauslar
evaluated a wildfire burning
1,100 miles away in southern
New Mexico.
Using the Visible Infrared
Imaging Radiometer Suite and
Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer, he peered
into the heart of the wildfire
from satellites orbiting the
earth 22,300 miles straight
up. The arsenal of sensors
let Nauslar track the size and
movement of the fire, find hot
spots and assess the weather
and its impact.
“It’s not showing heat in
the last 24 hours, due in part to
weather,” he said.
The real-time information
was helpful in seeing the fire
and forecasting its behavior,
Nauslar said. It would also be
updated using ground reports
and aerial mapping.
He used the system to help
fire managers understand the
fire and to track whether and
where it was spreading.
“In fire, there is a lot of
data you have to look at, and it
comes from multiple sources,”
said Nauslar, who is in his 12th
fire season. “So you are trying
to ingest all of this data, aggre-
gate it, organize it and apply it
— one of the most important
Idaho Department of Lands/Contributed Photo
A Fire Boss single-engine air tanker makes a drop.
and difficult aspects of our
job.”
Technological advance-
ments help wildfire forecast-
ers, incident commanders and
land managers as they race to
join the battle that rages across
the West every summer. The
progress is welcome — and
needed in light of larger
fires, longer seasons and new
urgency in determining how to
manage fire-prone landscapes.
Last year alone, 52,113 wild-
fires burned 89 million acres,
most of it in the West.
“Technology has helped us
in preparation, planning and
communication,” NIFC Public
Affairs Specialist Carrie
Bilbao said.
“We’re using technology
for forecasting,” she said.
“Then you have fire behavior
analysts that will go out basi-
cally working with the situa-
tion unit to help prepare them
for what is expected. They look
at fire behavior and potential.”
Space force
At the U.S. Forest Service’s
multi-location Rocky Moun-
tain Research Station, Jeffrey
Morisette, Frank McCormick
and Sara Brown are among
the many scientists who work
with the latest technology for
Forecast for Pendleton Area
SUNDAY
TODAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
tracking and understanding
the nature of wildfires.
“A theme is more integra-
tion of these geospatial tools,”
said Morisette, the human
dimensions program manager.
Higher image resolution, more
frequent data and enhanced
capability to link new and
historical data and models are
examples.
The same sensors farmers
use in precision agriculture
can help scientists like him
figure out what the fuel loads
are, he said.
“We are still learning the
best possible ways to utilize
that information and are
Warmer with a
shower in places
Breezy in the
morning
Partly sunny;
breezy, pleasant
Pleasant with
clouds and sun
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
56° 41°
71° 50°
72° 49°
73° 47°
75° 49°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
61° 44°
77° 52°
76° 54°
79° 53°
OREGON FORECAST
80° 52°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
59/49
60/40
67/44
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
59/46
Lewiston
69/52
66/46
Astoria
60/50
Pullman
Yakima 71/46
70/49
65/47
Portland
Hermiston
71/52
The Dalles 61/44
Salem
Corvallis
66/47
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
52/40
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
70/47
60/40
49/40
Ontario
57/45
Caldwell
Burns
70°
46°
74°
48°
97° (1928) 32° (1971)
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Albany
68/46
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
72/46
Trace
0.19"
0.76"
1.47"
1.38"
4.75"
WINDS (in mph)
54/40
49/35
0.01"
0.27"
0.85"
3.83"
7.48"
5.96"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 51/36
71/50
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
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HERMISTON
Enterprise
56/41
70/50
62°
39°
72°
48°
95° (1928) 30° (1903)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
71/50
Aberdeen
66/43
68/49
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
71/53
Today
Sun.
NNE 7-14
ENE 6-12
WSW 8-16
WSW 8-16
SALEM — As wildfires
seem to grow in number and
severity each year, Oregonians
are expressing greater concern
for how wildfire affects their
own lives.
A recent survey conducted
by the Oregon Values and
Beliefs Center found a strong
majority of Oregonians see
wildfires as “a somewhat or
very serious threat” to resi-
dents of the state.
Respondents described
challenges with managing
the forests, as well as climate
change that is drying out forest
areas and making them more
susceptible to wildfires.
The survey was conducted
May 4-10, with 918 Oregonians
responding. The survey has a
margin of error of 2-3%.
Here are some of the hard
numbers: Nine out of 10 (93%)
Oregonians see wildfires as
a somewhat or very serious
58/33
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:17 a.m.
8:28 p.m.
3:50 p.m.
3:30 a.m.
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First
May 26
June 2
June 10
June 17
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 101° in Pecos, Texas Low 22° in Simms, Mont.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Satellites and sensors are
not the only tools in the tool-
box of 21st century wildfire
fighters. Airplanes and drones
help them track and extinguish
blazes.
In Idaho, for example, the
threat to life and property. Most
people expressed concern
about wildfires affecting the
people of Oregon rather than
their own community (68%) or
their family (58%).
Most Oregonians are also
convinced that the number of
serious wildfires will continue
to rise. More than half said
wildfires in the state will
increase in both frequency
(55%) and severity (53%).
Beliefs that wildfires will
grow in frequency and inten-
sity are not tied to political
beliefs, the survey found.
Even though liberals and
conservatives have diverging
viewpoints on the existence
and causes of climate change,
more than 85% of Oregonians
of all social and economic
ideologies agree that fires are
likely to become more frequent
and more severe.
Two-thirds of young adults
(aged 18 to 29) in Oregon said
wildfires are a serious threat to
their family (66%) and nearly
three-quarters said they are a
serious threat to their commu-
nity (73%). This is a significant
increase (19 and 17 percentage
points higher) compared to
people 65 and older.
Oregonians have more
faith in private landowners
compared to governments
when it comes to preventing
wildfire.
Around half of respon-
dents (49%) think that private
landowners are doing “very or
somewhat well” at managing
forests on their lands compared
to 33% who say the state is
doing “well,” and 27% who
say the federal government is
doing “well.”
Nearly two-thirds of Orego-
nians think that wildfires
should be fought, even if they
are far from homes and devel-
opment (72%). This figure is 7
percentage points higher than
in August 2019, suggesting that
the Labor Day fires in Oregon
caused an increased urgency to
fight fires.
IN BRIEF
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
Airplanes and drones
state Department of Lands
contracts for a Fire Boss
single-engine air tanker for fire
suppression and uses drones
for tracking fires. The plane
is a cousin of the Air Tractor
used by many aerial applica-
tors in agriculture.
The department often
deals with smaller fires near
communities.
“When you have a four-
tenths-acre fire that can burn
down two or three homes,
it won’t pop up” on satellite
imagery, Deputy Chief of
Plans Scott Hayes said. IDL
often cooperates with local fire
departments.
Drones offer a solution to
that satellite blind spot.
“The best imagery typi-
cally is taken early in the
morning. You’re trying to find
hot spots, so you want the least
amount of ambient tempera-
ture,” Hayes said, referring
to a drone-mounted infrared
camera that “sees” heat.
He “flew” a fire in north-
ern Idaho on May 6, “and it
showed a hot spot outside the
fire line,” a concern. “We could
direct people and resources
accordingly.”
Within a few minutes, “that
image does you some good
on the ground,” Hayes said.
Using it in conjunction with a
mapping application “gives us
the ability to create near-real-
time aerial imagery” complete
with exact locations.
Recent survey reveals growing
concerns over wildfire in Oregon
By MICHAEL KOHN
Oregon Capital Bureau
Clouds and sun
with a shower
making gains there,” Mori-
sette said.
McCormick, who is
the air, water and aquatics
program manager, said tools
that analyze fire and ground
conditions are important, “and
access to high-speed commu-
nications means people on the
ground can run them from
(computer) tablets.”
McCormick said the Water
Erosion Prediction Project has
been used to identify areas
prone to erosion in forests in
the U.S. and internationally,
“and you can do model runs
anywhere in the world if you
have computer access.”
Drought, the number of
consecutive days between
rain storms and the condition
of wildfire fuel are among the
aspects that technology can
help monitor, he said.
Keeping fire crews on
the ground safe is espe-
cially important. In a system
called WildfireSAFE, remote
sensors provide information
on weather, hazards and fire
behavior. It is used to increase
firefighters’ situational aware-
ness and help them avoid risk.
Wallowa-Whitman National
Forest names new district ranger
ership team,” Montoya said. “Brian brings
some great experience in working with rural
communities in Central Idaho and under-
JOSEPH — The Wallowa-Whitman stands the impact that difficult resource deci-
National Forest will soon have a new district sions can have on local communities and
agency employees.”
ranger.
Brian Anderson will take over the position
Anderson, who is originally from Boise,
later this month, according to a press release Idaho, has been a Forest Service employee
from Wallowa-Whitman National
for more than 20 years, the release
Forest Supervisor Tom Montoya.
said. Anderson’s background includes
“I am extremely excited to join
natural resources, an understanding
of complex recreation issues and
the Wallowa-Whitman National
fire management experience. He has
Forest and become a part of the
worked closely with a variety of stake-
local community with my family,”
holders including partners, public,
Anderson said. “I look forward to
meeting stakeholders, hearing their
tribes and other federal agencies.
perspectives, and working collabo-
Anderson
Anderson’s past assignments in
ratively to address a wide variety of
the Forest Service include serving as
land management issues across the Wallowa acting district ranger on the Payette National
Valley and Eagle Cap Districts and the Hells Forest, acting area ranger on the Sawtooth
National Recreation Area, hydrologist on the
Canyon National Recreation Area.”
Anderson currently serves as a deputy area Boise National Forest, trail crew foreman and
ranger on the Sawtooth National Forest out of wilderness ranger on the Payette National
Stanley, Idaho. He has served in this position Forest and as a wildland firefighter for the
Idaho City Hotshots on the Boise National
since 2017.
“The Wallowa-Whitman is fortunate to Forest.
have a highly skilled leader joining our lead-
— EO Media Group
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