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. Ac-
tor Ashlie Brillault is 34. Country
singer Cody Johnson is 34. Actor
Scott Leavenworth is 31. Actor
Sarah Ramos is 30.
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5/31/2021
— Associated Press