
But because of the distance of the satellites, the nature of the measurements and obfuscation by smoke, the resolution is coarse and not 100% accurate. CalFire and others use this same data to help identify fires and their hot spots. The hot spots are an approximation and do not include all areas affected by fire, nor do they indicate with certainty an area was affected.

Hot spots are locations identified by satellite analysts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

VIIRS-I also has improved nighttime performance. The 375-meter spatial resolution provides a greater response over fires of relatively small areas and provides improved mapping of large fire perimeters. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS-I) provides data from sensors aboard the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite. At this time, there is no way to discriminate between these two possibilities. The identification of a fire can be the result of a hot fire in a relatively small area or a cooler fire over a larger area. The identification of a "fire" by MODIS does not necessarily mean the entire area represented is on fire. Thermal information is collected at 1,000-meter spatial resolution. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) displays fire detection data and uses fire and thermal anomalies data compiled via MODIS satellites Terra and Aqua. But because of the distance of the satellites, the nature of the measurements and obfuscation by smoke, the resolution is coarse and not 100 percent accurate. CalFire and others use this data to help identify fires and their hot spots. They are an approximation and do not include all areas affected by fire, nor do they indicate with certainty an area was affected. The perimeters are intended to provide a picture of the scope and extent of the fires in California, as well as parts of Nevada and Oregon, with the most current data possible. Perimeters are not available for every incident.įire perimeters for incidents before Jare based on infrared and thermal imaging from NASA's MODIS and VIIRS-I products. Perimeters do not include prescribed or incident complex fires. This map displays all current wildfire fire perimeters available through NIFC that have not been 100% contained. Fire Perimetersįire perimeters are based on geographic data from the National Interagency Fire Center, updated once an hour. Butte/Tehama/Glenn Lightning Complex (Butte Zone)Ĭamp Fire Visual Essay: A ballet rises from the ashes in fire scarred Paradise About this data Methodologyįires are labeled when they are larger than 500 acres, cause damage to property, or when people are injured or killed as a result of the fire.After that, Cal Fire will work with local governments to develop new maps for those areas, too. The agency expects to release official maps next summer for “state responsibility areas” - the parts of California areas that it’s responsible for protecting. Those kinds of weather conditions are tricky to map because you want to take into account those very destructive types of fires, but also need to consider a longer, 50-year period. The new maps are meant to show “where fires could go,” not where they could start, the spokesman added.Ĭal Fire hopes to start testing its new draft maps this winter. ….and what the magnitudes of these events are,” a spokesman said. “We’re just now getting the capacity to estimate at a realistic scale what these areas, footprints, if you will, of these dry windy events are. The new maps will continue to use all that data, but will also be able to assess the weather and development. Extreme winds drove much of the damage in Paradise during last November’s Camp Fire and in the North Bay during the October 2017 fire siege, and current fire maps don’t take that factor into account. There are also two other categories: “non-wildland, non-urban” and “urban unzoned.” Firefighters tackle the Camp Fire. The hazard is ranked in three categories: moderate, high and very high. The current maps from 2007 show the probability of wildfire in a given area by assessing vegetation, fire history, and topography since steeper slopes have higher fire risk.


But the likelihood and danger can vary dramatically depending on exactly where you live, and you can currently assess that risk using a set of maps released in 2007, reports KQED.īut over the next year, that’s going to change. Unfortunately, wherever you live in California, you probably face the threat of wildfire.
