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Global Security: Historic Wildfires in Australia Seen from Space

Government Related Initiatives Program (GRIP)

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February, 2009

Fire plays an important role in most ecosystems in Canada and abroad. As these ecosystems have evolved over the last 10,000-15,000 years (since the glacial retreat at the end of the last ice age), fire has helped to maintain their health and diversity. From a socio-economic perspective fire can, however, have negative or undesirable effects on public health and safety, property, and natural resources.

The states of Victoria and New South Wales in Australia are currently affected by intense bushfires. Over 170 people have been killed and numerous homes have been destroyed. According to the regional and national authorities, it is the largest natural disasters in Australia's history. Earth observation (EO) satellites are key resources in a variety of disaster management scenarios. The data has been used effectively in disaster responses such as forest fires, landslides, shifting infrastructure and subsidence, flash floods, hurricane monitoring, etc. The ability to deliver data in near-real time is essential for relief operations to map and monitor damage and for assessing the impact on the future.

Earth observation (EO) satellites are key resources in a variety of disaster management scenarios. The data has been used effectively in disaster responses such as forest fires, landslides, shifting infrastructure and subsidence, flash floods, hurricane monitoring, etc. The ability to deliver data in near-real time is essential for relief operations to map and monitor damage and for assessing the
impact on the future.

This image, acquired on February 9th 2009 by Envisat Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument, features bushfires smoke in Western Australia. The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is a cooperating member of ESA and contributed to the development of the Envisat MERIS instrument. (Image: ESA)

Australia seen with RADARSAT-1 (Image: CSA)

Fire Management From Space in Canada

In Canada, the challenge of managing fire is to find ways to effectively balance the positive ecological aspects of fire with the negative social and economic impacts. The Government of Canada (GoC), through Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service (CFS), makes an important contribution to fire management in two ways. The CFS has maintained an internationally recognized research program since the mid-1920s that has resulted in many innovations and new operational tools. Secondly, over the past two decades, the GoC has developed information systems that use advanced technologies (e.g., geographic information systems and earth observation) to monitor and report on forest fire activity at a national scale.

These activities have resulted in Canada becoming a world leader in forest fire research and management and have contributed to the overall safety and well-being of Canadians and to the sustainability of our forests. Since forest fires exceeding 10 km° account for more than 95% of the annual burned area in Canada, 1-km resolution satellite imagery is effective for mapping the vast majority of burned areas.

Multiple NRCAN fire management initiatives have been supported through the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Government Related Initiatives Program (GRIP). As an exemple, the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) (http://cwfis.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/en/index_e.php) is a computer-based fire management information system that monitors fire danger conditions across Canada, in part with Earth observation data. Daily weather conditions are collected from across Canada and used to produce fire weather and fire behavior maps.