Wildfires: Satellite images to aid real-time detection and response
At the beginning of the year, wildfires destroy large parts of Los Angeles. Forest fires also occur in Germany. The fire department in the Harz region is already calling it an exceptional year after 35 forest fires have already occurred in the region. A Munich-based company is launching a satellite constellation for real-time detection of wildfires.
There have already been 35 forest and vegetation fires in the Harz region since the beginning of the year. The fire department is calling it an exceptional year, according to a report by MDR last week. The main reason for this is the prolonged drought due to a lack of rainfall since winter. Harz district fire chief Kai-Uwe Lohse told MDR that in previous years, forest fires had started later in the year.
At the beginning of the year, fires in the US dominated the headlines. The wildfires in Los Angeles, which broke out on January 7, destroyed large parts of the city. It took three weeks for firefighters to extinguish the blazes. Just under three months after the forest fires broke out, the death toll has risen to 30.
Extent of the disaster
With the rising death toll, both the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire are now among the ten deadliest wildfires in California. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, around 9,000 buildings have been destroyed in the Eaton Fire and more than 6,000 in the Palisades Fire.
The firefighting efforts were hampered by the so-called Santa Ana winds, which not only caused the fire to spread more quickly, but also made it impossible to use firefighting aircraft for a time. According to media reports, around 200,000 people were forced to flee because of the fires. The fires are said to have destroyed an area of over 59,000 hectares.
Climate change
As a result of climate change, drier weather and strong winds have made forest fires more likely in Southern California. This fire weather is increasing not only in California, but around the world. This is the conclusion of an attribution analysis by World Weather Attribution.
The forest fires themselves also have a double impact on the global climate. Not only through the release of carbon from the burned trees, but also through the reduction in forest area that can absorb carbon. After more than a decade, the California Fire Protection Agency has expanded the zones with high and very high fire risk. Such areas now cover 3,626 square miles.
According to an analysis by CalMatters, a California non-profit news organization, this affects about 3.7 million Californians who now live in high-risk fire areas.
The expansion also has consequences for future construction projects and fire safety regulations. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection provides information on the background of fire hazard zone mapping and the classification methodology on its website.
Satellites for real-time detection
Satellite technology is not only a key tool for visualizing the extent of the destruction. At the end of March, Munich-based company OroraTech launched the world's first wildfire constellation, consisting of eight satellites, which will enable real-time wildfire detection.
In addition to real-time monitoring, the company will also make risk assessment predictions and analyses of the effects of fires available on its platform. In addition to the location of a fire, information on the dynamics and intensity of the fire will also be available. The Munich-based company is not the only one looking to advance forest fire detection using satellites. Google Research has also launched FireSat, a prototype that was sent into space in March aboard the SpaceX mission Transporter-13.
