GOLDEN, Colo. — Wildfires that are
still raging in Colorado have devastated tens of thousands of acres and
destroyed hundreds of homes, bringing calls for the marshaling of local, state
and federal resources to combat the infernos.
In
the Waldo Canyon blaze alone, hundreds of firefighters fought the most
destructive wildfire in Colorado's history. The out-of-control blaze, at its
peak, forced the evacuation of 32,000 people.
One
potential tool that could help in early and automated detection of future
conflagrations is based on space sensor know-how. The FireWatch early
warning detection system is based on technology honed by the German Aerospace
Institute. Over several years, the institute has collected experience in fire monitoring using different platforms and assorted
sensors.
Work
led by DLR's Institute of Planetary Research for space exploration projects —
such as supporting the European Space Agency's Rosetta Mission to a comet — has
resulted in the commercial FireWatch system for early detection of smoke in
virtually any weather, day and night.
Instead of analyzing a comet's emission of gas and particles
in space, a terrestrial fire-detection application makes use of high-resolution
optical sensors — this time, installed on towers or masts that connect to a
remote central office to monitor forests and detect potential fires.
A key to making this feasible is the high-resolution
sensor's use of more than 16,000 gray tones. That enables the system to detect
the smallest variations in light intensity, just right in connection with smoke
generated by forest fires.
Industrial partner
The project was supported by the DLR Technology and
Marketing Division. In 2001, the system was introduced to the market and
further developed by an industrial partner — IQ wireless GmbH in Berlin,
Germany.
Hall of fame inductee
FireWatch image-processing software analyzes the motion,
structure and brightness of smoke plumes and automatically alerts monitoring
personnel within six minutes during daylight and within 12 minutes during
nighttime. Monitoring personnel receive target images and coordinates to
determine and alert the appropriate response resources.
Established networks of the high-resolution cameras can each
monitor hundreds of square miles of forest. FireWatch now protects more than 7
million acres of forests around the world from Europe and Australia to Mexico.
According to the DLR, nearly 100 percent of endangered
German forests are watched by FireWatch. About 180 systems are operational in
Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Niedersachsen.
Hall of fame inductee
FireWatch was inducted last April into
the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, which
is, coincidentally, near the location of the huge Waldo Canyon fire.
The hall of fame was established in 1988 to increase public
awareness of the benefits that result from space exploration programs and to
encourage further innovation.
"These inductees are extraordinary examples of how
space research and development can, eventually, make our lives on Earth safer,
more comfortable and more environmentally sustainable," Kevin Cook, Space
Foundation director of Space Awareness Programs, said during induction
ceremonies.
The induction of FireWatch, Cook said, underscores the
increasing globalization of space. "As our first purely international
honoree, this technology shows how other nations are developing and deploying
space technologies."
New realities of
wildfire
Marketing of the fire detection
technology in the United States has just begun.
"We're a new company that is rolling out the technology
and product in the U.S. and Canada," said Joe Turnham of FireWatch America
LLC, based in Auburn, Ala.
Turnham said that the firm hopes to have a permanent
demonstration project up and running by year's end.
The company points out that there are new realities of wildfire.
Among those realities is prolonged and severe drought;
increasing forest fuel loads; invasive species; consistent winds;
dry-lightning; longer fire seasons; arson; and new terrorism threats, as well
as the fact that one in three homes are now in the wildland-urban interface
(defined as human development that is close to, or within, natural terrain).
There's also growing public resistance to prescribed burning while state and
federal budgets are being squeezed.
FireWatch is proven technology, the
company points out, that has been deployed and perfected over eight years in
the field.
"The cost of deployment is less than $3 per acre and
can be up and running in less than 120 days," Turnham said. "It spots
small smoke plumes of 10 meters at distances up to 20 miles and can see in the
dark."
Most events are spotted in less than 12 minutes, Turnham
said, and specially created software tells emergency officials exactly where
the smoke is located.
The technology has reduced the acreage burned in Germany by
nearly 90 percent, Turnham said. "In Colorado, the technology could spot
fires early and give firefighters a chance to stop major infernos," he told
SPACE.com.