Latest news with #GreatFireof
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
DNR to Memorial Day travelers: Be prepared for a shock Up North
If you're headed Up North for the holiday weekend, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is warning that you may be in for an unpleasant surprise; the tree damage from a deadly spring ice storm may be unsettling. It's so bad, the agency charged with maintaining state parks, forests and recreation areas sent an email to Michiganders on Wednesday that cautioned the lush-green landscape that you are used to, "may look different." To put the storm damage in context, the state DNR said, it covers more than 3 million acres. That, according to the state, is an even larger area than was destroyed in the Great Michigan Fire of 1871, which every Michigan third-grader learns swept across the state and burned down about 2.5 million acres of forests. More: How Michigan's Great Fire of 1881 launched American Red Cross disaster relief The DNR still trying to clear debris, but it also is now fighting tree-killing pests, such as native pine bark beetles that thrive in areas with stressed, damaged pine trees and fresh pine debris. The ice storm hit the Midwest in late March, bringing freezing rain and sleet to northern Lower Michigan. Icicles weighing down limbs and snapped the trunks of trees — many pine — like twigs. It also wreaked havoc in other parts of the state. In Kalamazoo County, a tree struck a vehicle, killing three children, ages 11, 4 and 2. The state's new warning calls for ongoing vigilance. It urges vacationers to look up for weakened and dangling limbs that could fall, and look down to avoid tripping on branches that are now on the ground, and could create hazards underfoot, especially in wooded areas. It asks hikers and ATV riders to 'respect all nonmotorized and motorized trail closures,' and to 'stay on' reopened trails and not venture off the paths to avoid potential dangers, including 'numerous leaning trees and hanging tree limbs.' It says those planning to be on the water, who may be fishing or paddling, to be aware that the waterways are filled with downed trees and branches, too, and to be cognizant that some boat launches may be closed. And it reminds visitors that while most state park campgrounds and lodging areas have reopened, some of the state forest campgrounds, state forest roads, trails and bathrooms and showers still may be temporarily unavailable. Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: DNR to Michigan Up North travelers: Be prepared for ice storm damage
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How satellites and AI help firefighters battle wildfires today
When wildfires break out, fire crews count on fire-spotting technology and computer models to help them understand the rapidly changing environment. That technology has evolved over the years, yet some techniques are very similar to those used over 100 years ago. I have spent several decades studying combustion, including wildfire behavior and the technology used to track fires and predict where wildfires might turn. Here's a quick tour of the key technologies used today. First, the fire must be discovered. Often wildfires are reported by people seeing smoke. That hasn't changed, but other ways fires are spotted have evolved. In the early part of the 20th century, the newly established U.S. Forest Service built fire lookout towers around the country. The towers were topped by cabins with windows on all four walls and provided living space for the fire lookouts. The system was motivated by the Great Fire of 1910 that burned 3 million acres in Washington, Idaho and Montana and killed 87 people. Today, cameras watch over many high-risk areas. California has more than 1,100 cameras watching for signs of smoke. Artificial intelligence systems continuously analyze the images to provide data for firefighters to quickly respond. AI is a way to train a computer program to recognize repetitive patterns: smoke plumes in the case of fire. NOAA satellites paired with AI data analysis also generate alerts but over a wider area. They can detect heat signatures, map fire perimeters and burned areas, and track smoke and pollutants to assess air quality and health risks. Once a fire is spotted, one immediate task for firefighting teams is to estimate how the fire is going to behave so they can deploy their limited firefighting resources most effectively. Fire managers have seen many fires and have a sense of the risks their regions face. Today, they also have computer simulations that combine data about the terrain, the materials burning and the weather to help predict how a fire is likely to spread. Fuel models Fuel models are based on the ecosystem involved, using fire history and laboratory testing. In Southern California, for example, much of the wildland fuel is chaparral, a type of shrubland with dense, rocky soil and highly flammable plants in a Mediterranean climate. Chaparral is one of the fastest-burning fuel types, and fires can spread quickly in that terrain. For human-made structures, things are a bit more complex. The materials a house is made of – if it has wood siding, for example – and the environment around it, such as how close it is to trees or wooden fences, play an important role in how likely it is to burn and how it burns. Weather and terrain Terrain is also important because it influences local winds and because fire tends to run faster uphill than down. Terrain data is well known thanks to satellite imagery and can easily be incorporated into computer codes. Weather plays another critical role in fire behavior. Fires need oxygen to burn, and the windier it is, the more oxygen is available to the fire. High winds also tend to generate embers from burning vegetation that can be blown up to 5 miles in the highest winds, starting spot fires that can quickly spread. Today, large computer simulations can forecast the weather. There are global models that cover the entire Earth and local models that cover smaller areas but with better resolution that provides greater detail. Both provide real-time data on the weather for creating fire behavior simulations. Modeling how flames spread Flame-spread models can then estimate the likely movement of a fire. Scientists build these models by studying past fires and conducting laboratory experiments, combined with mathematical models that incorporate the physics of fire. With local terrain, fuel and real-time weather information, these simulations can help fire managers predict a fire's likely behavior. Advanced modeling can account for fuel details such as ground-level plant growth and tree canopies, including amount of cover, tree height and tree density. These models can estimate when a fire will reach the tree canopy and how that will affect the fire's spread. All these tools are made available to firefighters in computer applications and can help fire crews as they respond to wildfires. However, wind can rapidly change speed or direction, and new fires can start in unexpected places, meaning fire managers know they have to be prepared for many possible scenarios – not just the likely outcomes they see on their computer screens. Ultimately, during a fire, firefighting strategy is based on human judgment informed by experience, as well as science and technology. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: John W. Daily, University of Colorado Boulder Read more: Wildland firefighters face a big pay cut if Congress doesn't act − that's taking a toll on a workforce already under stress LA fires: Why fast-moving wildfires and those started by human activities are more destructive and harder to contain How America courted increasingly destructive wildfires − and what that means for protecting homes today John W. Daily receives funding from the Department of Defense for wildland fire research. He is affiliated with the Combustion Institute and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a Fellow of both organizations.
Technical.ly
31-01-2025
- Science
- Technical.ly
How satellites and AI help fight wildfires today
This is a guest post by John W. Daily, a research professor in thermo fluid sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. A version of this article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. As wind-driven wildfires spread through the Los Angeles area in January 2025, fire-spotting technology and computer models were helping firefighters understand the rapidly changing environment they were facing. That technology has evolved over the years, yet some techniques are very similar to those used over 100 years ago. I have spent several decades studying combustion, including wildfire behavior and the technology used to track fires and predict where wildfires might turn. Here's a quick tour of the key technologies used today. Cameras and AI analysis to spot fires First, the fire must be discovered. Often wildfires are reported by people seeing smoke. That hasn't changed, but other ways fires are spotted have evolved. In the early part of the 20th century, the newly established U.S. Forest Service built fire lookout towers around the country. The towers were topped by cabins with windows on all four walls and provided living space for the fire lookouts. The system was motivated by the Great Fire of 1910 that burned 3 million acres in Washington, Idaho and Montana and killed 87 people. Today, cameras watch over many high-risk areas. California has more than 1,100 cameras watching for signs of smoke. Artificial intelligence systems continuously analyze the images to provide data for firefighters to quickly respond. AI is a way to train a computer program to recognize repetitive patterns: smoke plumes in the case of fire. NOAA satellites paired with AI data analysis also generate alerts but over a wider area. They can detect heat signatures, map fire perimeters and burned areas, and track smoke and pollutants to assess air quality and health risks. How to find out where a fire will go Once a fire is spotted, one immediate task for firefighting teams is to estimate how the fire is going to behave so they can deploy their limited firefighting resources most effectively. Fire managers have seen many fires and have a sense of the risks their regions face. Today, they also have computer simulations that combine data about the terrain, the materials burning and the weather to help predict how a fire is likely to spread. Fuel models Fuel models are based on the ecosystem involved, using fire history and laboratory testing. In Southern California, for example, much of the wildland fuel is chaparral, a type of shrubland with dense, rocky soil and highly flammable plants in a Mediterranean climate. Chaparral is one of the fastest-burning fuel types, and fires can spread quickly in that terrain. For human-made structures, things are a bit more complex. The materials a house is made of – if it has wood siding, for example – and the environment around it, such as how close it is to trees or wooden fences, play an important role in how likely it is to burn and how it scientists study fire behavior in a lab. Weather and terrain Terrain is also important because it influences local winds and because fire tends to run faster uphill than down. Terrain data is well known thanks to satellite imagery and can easily be incorporated into computer codes. Weather plays another critical role in fire behavior. Fires need oxygen to burn, and the windier it is, the more oxygen is available to the fire. High winds also tend to generate embers from burning vegetation that can be blown up to 5 miles in the highest winds, starting spot fires that can quickly spread. Today, large computer simulations can forecast the weather. There are global models that cover the entire Earth and local models that cover smaller areas but with better resolution that provides greater detail. Both provide real-time data on the weather for creating fire behavior simulations. Modeling how flames spread Flame-spread models can then estimate the likely movement of a fire. Scientists build these models by studying past fires and conducting laboratory experiments, combined with mathematical models that incorporate the physics of fire. With local terrain, fuel and real-time weather information, these simulations can help fire managers predict a fire's likely behavior. Examples of how computer modeling can forecast a fire's spread. American Physical Society. Advanced modeling can account for fuel details such as ground-level plant growth and tree canopies, including amount of cover, tree height and tree density. These models can estimate when a fire will reach the tree canopy and how that will affect the fire's spread. Forecasting helps, but human judgment still required All these tools are made available to firefighters in computer applications and can help fire crews as they respond to wildfires. However, wind can rapidly change speed or direction, and new fires can start in unexpected places, meaning fire managers know they have to be prepared for many possible outcomes – not just the likely outcomes they see on their computer screens. Ultimately, during a fire, firefighting strategy is based on human judgment informed by experience, as well as science and technology.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How satellites and AI help fight wildfires today
As wind-driven wildfires spread through the Los Angeles area in January 2025, fire-spotting technology and computer models were helping firefighters understand the rapidly changing environment they were facing. That technology has evolved over the years, yet some techniques are very similar to those used over 100 years ago. I have spent several decades studying combustion, including wildfire behavior and the technology used to track fires and predict where wildfires might turn. Here's a quick tour of the key technologies used today. First, the fire must be discovered. Often wildfires are reported by people seeing smoke. That hasn't changed, but other ways fires are spotted have evolved. In the early part of the 20th century, the newly established U.S. Forest Service built fire lookout towers around the country. The towers were topped by cabins with windows on all four walls and provided living space for the fire lookouts. The system was motivated by the Great Fire of 1910 that burned 3 million acres in Washington, Idaho and Montana and killed 87 people. Today, cameras watch over many high-risk areas. California has more than 1,100 cameras watching for signs of smoke. Artificial intelligence systems continuously analyze the images to provide data for firefighters to quickly respond. AI is a way to train a computer program to recognize repetitive patterns: smoke plumes in the case of fire. NOAA satellites paired with AI data analysis also generate alerts but over a wider area. They can detect heat signatures, map fire perimeters and burned areas, and track smoke and pollutants to assess air quality and health risks. Once a fire is spotted, one immediate task for firefighting teams is to estimate how the fire is going to behave so they can deploy their limited firefighting resources most effectively. Fire managers have seen many fires and have a sense of the risks their regions face. Today, they also have computer simulations that combine data about the terrain, the materials burning and the weather to help predict how a fire is likely to spread. Fuel models Fuel models are based on the ecosystem involved, using fire history and laboratory testing. In Southern California, for example, much of the wildland fuel is chaparral, a type of shrubland with dense, rocky soil and highly flammable plants in a Mediterranean climate. Chaparral is one of the fastest-burning fuel types, and fires can spread quickly in that terrain. For human-made structures, things are a bit more complex. The materials a house is made of – if it has wood siding, for example – and the environment around it, such as how close it is to trees or wooden fences, play an important role in how likely it is to burn and how it burns. Weather and terrain Terrain is also important because it influences local winds and because fire tends to run faster uphill than down. Terrain data is well known thanks to satellite imagery and can easily be incorporated into computer codes. Weather plays another critical role in fire behavior. Fires need oxygen to burn, and the windier it is, the more oxygen is available to the fire. High winds also tend to generate embers from burning vegetation that can be blown up to 5 miles in the highest winds, starting spot fires that can quickly spread. Today, large computer simulations can forecast the weather. There are global models that cover the entire Earth and local models that cover smaller areas but with better resolution that provides greater detail. Both provide real-time data on the weather for creating fire behavior simulations. Modeling how flames spread Flame-spread models can then estimate the likely movement of a fire. Scientists build these models by studying past fires and conducting laboratory experiments, combined with mathematical models that incorporate the physics of fire. With local terrain, fuel and real-time weather information, these simulations can help fire managers predict a fire's likely behavior. Advanced modeling can account for fuel details such as ground-level plant growth and tree canopies, including amount of cover, tree height and tree density. These models can estimate when a fire will reach the tree canopy and how that will affect the fire's spread. All these tools are made available to firefighters in computer applications and can help fire crews as they respond to wildfires. However, wind can rapidly change speed or direction, and new fires can start in unexpected places, meaning fire managers know they have to be prepared for many possible outcomes – not just the likely outcomes they see on their computer screens. Ultimately, during a fire, firefighting strategy is based on human judgment informed by experience, as well as science and technology. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: John W. Daily, University of Colorado Boulder Read more: Wildland firefighters face a big pay cut if Congress doesn't act − that's taking a toll on a workforce already under stress LA fires: Why fast-moving wildfires and those started by human activities are more destructive and harder to contain How America courted increasingly destructive wildfires − and what that means for protecting homes today John W. Daily receives funding from the Department of Defense for wildland fire research. He is affiliated with the Combustion Institute and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He is a Fellow of both organizations.
