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A4 The BulleTin • Friday, May 21, 2021 LOCAL, STATE & REGION Satellites, drones, tech give wildland firefighters a hand BY BRAD CARLSON Capital Press BOISE, Idaho — 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 a satellite-based instru- ments that collect visible and infrared images and other data, he peered into the heart of the wildfire from 22,300 miles straight up. The arsenal of sen- sors let Nauslar track the size Idaho Department of Lands via Capital Press and movement of the fire, find A Fire Boss single-engine air tanker makes a drop. hot spots and assess the weather While keeping up with the the battle that rages across the and its impact. technology is challenging, West every summer. The prog- “It’s not showing heat in the Nauslar, the meteorologist, said ress is welcome — and needed last 24 hours, due in part to he enjoys it. He pointed to the in light of larger fires, longer weather,” he said. National Oceanic and Atmo- seasons and new urgency in The real-time information spheric Administration’s Geo- determining how to was helpful in seeing stationary Operational Envi- manage fire-prone the fire and forecasting ronmental Satellite. landscapes. Last year its behavior, Nauslar “You can see a cloud turn alone, 52,113 wild- said. It would also be fires burned 89 million into a thunderstorm in real updated using ground time. … You can see a fire start acres, most of it in the reports and aerial map- and grow in real time,” he said. West. ping. “Technology has He used the system Space force helped us in prepa- to help fire managers “Technology ration, planning and understand the fire and has helped us At the U.S. Forest Service’s to track whether and in preparation, communication,” Pub- multilocation Rocky Moun- lic Affairs Specialist where it was spreading. planning and tain Research Station, Jeffrey Carrie Bilbao said. “In fire, there is a Morisette, Frank McCormick communica- “We’re using tech- lot of data you have to and Sara Brown are among the tion,” Public nology for forecasting,” many scientists who work with look at, and it comes Affairs Spe- she said. “Then you from multiple sources,” cialist Carrie the latest technology for track- have fire behavior an- said Nauslar, who is ing and understanding the na- Bilbao said. alysts that will go out in his 12th fire season. ture of wildfires. basically working with the situ- “So you are trying to ingest all “A theme is more integration ation unit to help prepare them of these geospatial tools,” said of this data, aggregate it, orga- nize it and apply it — one of the for what is expected. They look Morisette, the human dimen- most important and difficult as- at fire behavior and potential.” sions program manager. Higher For example, she said, pects of our job.” image resolution, more fre- Technological advancements “Maybe they need to put in a quent data and enhanced capa- fire line farther down the road. help wildfire forecasters, in- bility to link new and historical That kind of involved forecast- cident commanders and land data and models are examples. ing helps them plan.” managers as they race to join 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 in- formation and are making gains there,” Morisette said.Keeping fire crews on the ground safe is especially important. In a system called WildfireSAFE, remote sensors provide infor- mation on weather, hazards and fire behavior. It is used to increase firefighters’ situational awareness and help them avoid risk. On the ground Tracking the locations of trucks, engines and other equipment also helps fire man- agers know what resources they have, and where. Brian Williams is support services manager for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s National Fire Equipment Pro- gram. He said BLM Location Based Services aims to combine GPS technology with dispatch and suppression programs to enhance firefighter safety, give them more information about what’s happening with the fire and increase efficiency. Eigh- teen types of equipment, from engines, dozers and command vehicles to semi-trucks and crew carriers, comprise the fire- fighting fleet. “We currently have 773 sat- ellite terminals installed, and that covers our whole fleet,” Williams said. “Our program is currently focused on track- ing the equipment that the fire- fighters use, and not specifically tracking the individual. In the future, our system could expand into tracking individuals.” TODAY It’s Friday, May 21, the 141st day of 2021. There are 224 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: In 1932, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean as she landed in Northern Ireland, about 15 hours after leaving Newfound- land. In 1471, King Henry VI of En- gland died in the Tower of Lon- don at 49. In 1542, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto died while searching for gold along the Mississippi River. In 1868, Ulysses S. Grant was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in Chicago. In 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. In 1910, a year-old Jewish settle- ment near the port city of Jaffa adopted the name Tel Aviv (He- brew for “Hill of Spring”). In 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane near Paris, complet- ing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 33.5 hours. In 1941, a German U-boat sank the American merchant steam- ship SS Robin Moor in the South Atlantic after the ship’s passen- gers and crew were allowed to board lifeboats. In 1955, Chuck Berry recorded his first single, “Maybellene,” for Chess Records in Chicago. In 1972, Michelangelo’s Pieta, on display at the Vatican, was damaged by a hammer-wield- ing man who shouted he was Jesus Christ. In 1979, former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary man- slaughter in the slayings of Mayor George Moscone and openly gay Supervisor Harvey Milk; outrage over the verdict sparked rioting. White was sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison; he ended up serving five years and took his own life in 1985. In 1982, during the Falklands War, British amphibious forces landed on the beach at San Carlos Bay. In 1991, former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assas- sinated during national elections by a suicide bomber. Ten years ago: Shackleford won the Preakness, holding off a late charge from Kentucky Derby-winner Animal Kingdom to win as a 12-1 underdog. Five years ago: President Barack Obama departed on a weeklong, 16,000-mile trip to Asia, part of his effort to pay more attention to the region and boost economic and security cooperation. The U.S. conducted a drone strike in Afghanistan that killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansour. One year ago: President Donald Trump visited a Ford Motor Co. plant outside Detroit that had been repurposed to manufac- ture ventilators; he did not pub- licly wear a face mask but said he had worn one while out of pub- lic view. A Michigan judge sided with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in a challenge by Republican law- makers to her authority to order sweeping restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak. The gov- ernment said nearly 39 million Americans had been thrown out of a job since the coronavirus crisis began. A sharply divided Senate confirmed John Ratcliffe as director of national intelli- gence. President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and fix- er, Michael Cohen, was released from federal prison to serve the rest of his sentence at home because of the pandemic. Cohen would briefly return to prison in July, but was set free by a judge who said his return to prison was retaliation for his plan to release a book critical of Trump. Today’s Birthdays: R&B singer Ron Isley is 80. Musician Bill Champlin is 74. Singer Leo Sayer is 73. Actor Carol Potter is 73. Former Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., is 70. Actor Mr. T is 69. Music producer Stan Lynch is 66. Actor Judge Reinhold is 64. Actor-director Nick Cassavetes is 62. Actor Lisa Edelstein is 55. Ac- tor Fairuza Balk is 47. Rock sing- er-musician Mikel Jollett (Air- borne Toxic Event) is 47. Rapper Havoc (Mobb Deep) is 47. Rock musician Tony LoGerfo (Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real) is 38. Actor David Ajala is 35. 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