A new satellite system to monitor forest fires in Canada will be a blessing for fire fighting efforts in the north, authorities say.
“I think it will be a change of play, in terms not only to see it internally, but also in the public and the media that can see more accurate information in real time,” said Mike Smith, Yukon Wildland Fire Management’s chief meteorologist .
The Canadian space agency announced plans for the new Forest Fire Constellation of $ 72 million earlier this month. The contract to design went to ExactoTh Ltd., based in Ontario, a subsidiary of Spire Global Canada, and the plan is that it is functional by 2029.
Meanwhile, NASA VIIRS and MODIS satellites will continue to provide useful data for Canadian firefighters, although they are close to the end of their useful life, said Smith. The new forest fire constellation is intended to effectively replace those that have left.
Smith says that Wildfiresat “will join what we have now and improve what we have now.”
The constellation will consist of seven microsatellites equipped with infrared sensors that measure daily how much heat is emitting heat by forest fires. That can help track the intensity of fires and how fast they are spreading.
Smith says that the detail is “surprisingly good.”
“It is certainly not something that is the only thing we see, but you can choose a little detail in terms of where the fire is, if it approaches or if a river or the lake is crossed,” he said.
“It gives us enough information.”
He also said that he will orbit Pole to Polo, and will pass on Canada every day during “Peak Burns.”
“So sooner, early at night, when the fires are generally more active. And that is something we have never had in Canada,” he said.
Forest fire data will also help with the quality forecast of smoke and air, according to the Canadian space agency.
Smith also says that a great point of sale for the forest fire owned by the government is that the data will be accessible to the public.
“We receive many calls every summer of tourism operators, rowers looking for information from some of these remote fires, how could affect their trips and security,” he said.
“We want the public to see this. And with open data and many intelligent people out there, they have no doubt that someone will build something ordered in what we have not thought.”
Mike Westwick, prevention and forest fire prevention manager for the NWT government, shares Smith’s enthusiasm for the new system. He said that a “really great fact” is that it will be polar orbit.
“That is, the NWT will have a better coverage than much of the rest of the country, with more frequent high steps due to our northern latitudes. So it is quite great. It is a significant improvement about what we have available,” said Westwick. .
“More intelligence, ultimately, means a better response to fire and better protection for things that care about people, such as communities and infrastructure, households, cabins, whatever.”
