Cal Fire mapping system improvements to get info to public quicker
SACRAMENTO — Cal Fire is making improvements to an aviation system that may help firefighters and civilians on the ground.
The FIRIS, or Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System, program has been around for multiple decades, but as technology has improved, it is rapidly becoming one of the most vital firefighting tools the agency has. The use of IR imaging dates back to the 1960s but the process of getting those images to commanders on the ground has always been a process. Now, Cal Fire can send those images in real-time.
FIRIS is, for all intents and purposes, live mapping and imaging. In the last decade, these types of images have bridged the gap between the air and the ground.
Cal Fire's Intel 641 is based out of McClellan Park in Sacramento, and when a fire gets started, they hit the air. A high-tech camera with a gimble pops out of the belly of the aircraft and, using a controller, the fire is mapped.
There used to be multiple steps from getting those images into a computer, to an incident commander and then online. Now, it is becoming easier for the public to get up-to-date fire mapping fast.
"This year, we'll have full motion video and that can get sent down to our troops on the ground, also," said Geoff Marshall, the assistant fire chief of FIRIS.
Wednesday was training day at McClellan airfield in Sacramento County as pilots prepare for the summer ahead. The planes in the program are OV-10s, and they are typically utilized by supervisors, who control the airspace while an incident commander handles work on the ground.
So how does it work? Up in the air, sensor operators like Jordan Wilson controls the camera.
"We have an eye-safe laser on that gives really accurate location," Wilson said. "So if we need a lot longer for a spot fire, we can use that laser for a location really accurately."
That helps the public as these maps and images are available online.
"It will allow for better decision-making for better resource allocation for our ground resources, saving the public money," Marshall said. "And actually more efficient evacuations because they can make those decisions in a faster manner."
It's all to keep people safer and more up-to-date in the ever-changing fire season in California.
The maps will have overlays that can include evacuation zones as well as closures to make it a utility for the public should they be in the vicinity of a large fire.