USDA Forest Service, Remote Sensing Applications Center, FSWeb: WWW: National Geospatial Fire Support Applications Provided by RSAC An Overview Brad Quayle USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) Rapid Disturbance Assessment and Services Program

USDA Forest Service Organization National Headquarters in Washington, DC 9 Regional Offices National Forest System –155 National Forests and 20 National Grasslands –78 million hectares in CONUS, AK and PR State and Private Forestry −Fire & Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC ) −Coordinate interagency fire management

Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) Engineering Staff, Geospatial Management Office (GMO) Engineering Staff, Geospatial Management Office (GMO) National Technical Center National Technical Center Located in Salt Lake City, Utah Located in Salt Lake City, Utah Mission: Mission: Provide the Forest Service with the knowledge, tools, and technical services required to use remote sensing data to meet the agency’s stewardship responsibilities. RSAC X-band antenna in radome

RSAC Fire Support Programs and Services WO Deputy Areas RegionsForestsDistricts Research Stations Other Land Management Agencies Identify and consolidate requirements Clients & Stakeholders Other Federal, State and Local Agencies Academia Private Sector Leverage new technologies and data sources External Partners Provide national geospatial fire data, applications & services to clients & stakeholders

RSAC Fire Support Programs and Services Detection and Response Strategic and tactical fire detection, monitoring & mapping, and incident support Post-Fire Assessment Incident burn severity mapping & characterization Preparedness Fire risk assessment and fire intelligence Remote sensing/geospatial support to the Forest Service and other agencies for all phases of fire management

Predictive Services Program Geospatial Portal ( Predictive Services Program at NIFC and GACCs − Significant fire potential forecasts and anticipated suppression resource needs RSAC provides geospatial datasets and analytical products for operational business needs − Weather, fuels, fire intelligence and fire forecasts

Active Fire Mapping Program ( Provide NRT detection and monitoring of wildfire activity in CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii & Canada Leverages NASA and NOAA assets −MODIS −AVHRR Facilitates decision support for strategic planning & response for U.S. and Canadian fire agencies −Prioritize allocation of fire suppression assets −Focus tactical airborne reconnaissance assets −Integrated into fire-related applications and decision support systems Development of early fire detection capabilities ongoing −GOES −VIIRS

Tactical Scale Fire Mapping ( RSAC supports National Infrared Operations (NIROPS) at NIFC High resolution airborne fire detection and monitoring High resolution, daily fire map products provided by 6:00 AM −Delineate fire perimeter and active fire fronts −Determine line of containment −Identify problem areas: hot spots inside & outside containment line −Identify hot spots during the mop-up phase Supports tactical incident command operations Unmanned aircraft evaluations ongoing

Burned Area Emergency Response Support ( Provide rapid delivery of imagery and initial severity estimates to Forest Service BAER teams Provide rapid delivery of imagery and initial severity estimates to Forest Service BAER teams −Burned Area Reflectance Classification (BARC), preliminary vegetation burn severity, based on dNBR/dNDVI assessment −BAER teams use BARC with field observations and other spatial data to generate a soil burn severity map Remote sensing assessment conducted at, or immediately after, fire containment Remote sensing assessment conducted at, or immediately after, fire containment − Emergency assessment Imagery and data products delivered within 24 hours of image acquisition Imagery and data products delivered within 24 hours of image acquisition 738 fires completed since 2001 (16.3 million acres/6.6 million ha) 738 fires completed since 2001 (16.3 million acres/6.6 million ha) Pre-fire BARC Post-fire

Rapid Assessment of Vegetation Condition after Wildfire ( Provide imagery and deforestation products to support Forest Service revegetation planning Provide imagery and deforestation products to support Forest Service revegetation planning − Assessment based on RdNBR – a variant of dNBR − Models based on field plot data and RdNBR used to derive post-fire forest condition layers: Conducted for fires where > 1,000 acres (404 ha) of NFS forested land is affected Conducted for fires where > 1,000 acres (404 ha) of NFS forested land is affected Remote sensing assessment and product delivery conducted after fire suppression Remote sensing assessment and product delivery conducted after fire suppression −Initial assessment −~30-45 days post containment 283 fires completed since 2007 (~6.9 million acres/2.8 million ha) RdNBR

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity ( Provide imagery and fire effects products for all large fires since 1984 − > 1,000 acres (404 ha) in western U.S.; > 500 acres (202 ha) in eastern U.S. All administrative ownerships All administrative ownerships − Post-fire extent and burn severity layers based on dNBR assessment − Products used to assess fire/severity trends and effectiveness of national fire management policies Remote sensing assessment timing dependent on type of fire Remote sensing assessment timing dependent on type of fire − Extended assessment − Initial assessment ~15,000 fires completed for (111 million acres/45 million ha)

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