Space Imaging Chosen to Conduct Wildland Fire Risk Analysis for 13 Southern States
Space Imaging’s Wildland Fire Risk
Assessment System (WFRAS) approach has been selected by the Southern Group of
State Foresters (SGSF) to support ongoing fire management planning and
wildland fire risk analysis in each community, county, congressional district
and fire response zone of the organization’s 13 states. The member states are
Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. The
organization also includes the U.S. Forest Service’s Region 8 Office in
Atlanta. The Texas Forest Service is administering the project on behalf of
SGSF.
Space Imaging’s WFRAS is a proven wildland fire risk assessment
methodology that employs both GIS and remote sensing technologies. It is a
well-defined and repeatable process for describing fuels and analyzing
wildland fire risk to suit any scale of operation, including wildland and
wildland urban interface areas. The wildland fuels are mapped using 30-meter
resolution Landsat(TM) imagery as a baseline. Optionally, high-resolution
multi-spectral imagery from Space Imaging’s IKONOS satellite may be used for
mapping fuels for specific areas of interest. To develop the methodology,
Space Imaging worked with leading fire subject matter experts to incorporate
the best wildland fire science available for fire protection planning. The
Wildland Fire Risk Assessment Model contains calculations to derive indices of
Wildland Fire Susceptibility, Fire Effects, Fire Response Accessibility and
Wildland Fire Risk. This award follows successful completion of the statewide
Florida fire risk assessment project by Space Imaging.
The contract period is initially for 12 months to conduct the baseline
analysis, beginning in July 2003. Once the Southern Group of State Foresters
Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment project is completed, each state will be
better equipped to communicate wildland fire risks to the public. Additional
years are planned to ensure proper technology transfer occurs with State
representatives.
“The Southern Group of State Foresters is very excited about the Southern
Wildfire Risk Assessment, and the benefits it will provide to the southern
states. We look forward to working with the Space Imaging team on this very
important project,” said Tom Spencer, SWRA Project Manager from the Texas
Forest Service.
“The Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment project will give fire
professionals and other stakeholders a dynamic set of tools for evaluating
site-specific fire risks in a consistent manner across the region, with the
ultimate goal of reducing the tremendous human and property loss caused by
wildfire,” said Dr. Jim Smith, Fire Management domain manager for Space
Imaging.
About Space Imaging
Space Imaging is the premier provider of satellite imagery enabling
businesses, governments and individuals to better map, measure, monitor and
manage the world in which we live. Based near Denver, Colo., Space Imaging
radically transformed the Earth information market when in 1999 it launched
IKONOS, the world’s first commercial high-resolution imaging satellite.
Today, Space Imaging’s products are the cornerstone of the remote-sensing
industry. The company supplies the highest quality, most accurate, visual
information about the planet’s changing natural and cultural features. Space
Imaging’s customer-centric business lines include imagery from satellites and
aircraft, decision-support geospatial solutions, and direct access to its
satellites for corporations and governments. With expected 2003 revenues over
$200 million, Space Imaging is a privately held company with partners,
resellers and 13 affiliate ground stations around the world. For more
information on products and services, please visit www.spaceimaging.com .
