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Beta Lake Fire

20 August

   
 
   

Pacific Southwest Research Station
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 Piper Navajo remote sensing aircraft

Fire Science

Wildfire Monitoring and Prediction
Fire Imaging
Beta Lake, Flathead County, MT
20 August 2003


As viewed by the FireMapper™ Thermal-Imaging Radiometer

Images were collected from the PSW Airborne Sciences Aircraft and disseminated in part by satellite communications in near-real time. FireMapper measures the radiance of emitted thermal-infrared light, which readily penetrates smoke. False-color images shown here depict the apparent surface temperature (in Celsius) as estimated from radiance and a simple black-body model. Warmer tones represent recent or active combustion; areas of gray are cooling ash or warm bare ground (see chart below). Low temperatures of unburned forest and cool ground are shown in green. Images have been geographically referenced. Vertical exaggeration in 3-d views is 1.5 to one unless otherwise noted.

   

Location Map

Beta Lake fire (courtesy of
www.geomac.gov). Active fires are labeled in white.


Click on the image above to view a larger JPEG image
   
Fire Imagery


The following color-coded images depict apparent ground surface temperatures in Celsius. Roads, streams, and the text in the background are from a 1:24,000 topographic map.

   

Image 1:
Ground surface temperatures as viewed from above at 11.9 micrometers wavelength on 20 August 2003, at 21:31 UMT.


Click on the image above to view a larger JPEG image

Image 2:
Topographic view as seen from the northeast of Image 1.


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Image 3:
Topographic view as seen from the southeast of Image 1.

Click on the image above to view a larger JPEG image

   
   
Narrative from the INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT
FRIDAY AUGUST 22, 2003 - 0530 MDT. (Courtesy of www.nifc.gov.)

BETA LAKE – DORIS RIDGE, Flathead National Forest. A Type 1 Incident Management Team
(Ferguson) is assigned. These fires are in timber, five miles south of Hungry Horse, MT. The fires are in close proximity to the Hungry Horse Dam, recreational and communication facilities and powerlines. Fire behavior was limited to ground fire and isolated torching.


Links


Archives of past fires: 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001


Forest mapping: 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001


FireMapper™ Specifications: Instrument

FireMapper™ References: Publications

FireMapper™ Tools- image analysis software: ftp downloads page

For Further Information: contact Dr. Philip J. Riggan

 

FireMapper™ has been developed through a Research Joint Venture with Space Instruments, Inc., and support from the National Fire Plan, Forest Service International Programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Joint Fire Sciences Program, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Disclaimer: Trade names, commercial products, and enterprises are mentioned solely for information. No endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is implied.
 

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 Last Modified: 2005-03-03