When wildfires scorch a landscape, the flames are just the beginning. NASA is helping communities across the nation foresee and prepare for what can follow: mudslides, flash flooding, and contaminated surface water supplies. A new online tool called HydroFlame, built with support from NASA’s Earth Science Division, relies on satellite data, hydrologic modeling, and artificial … Read more
Data from the AVIRIS-3 sensor was recently used to create detailed fire maps in minutes, enabling firefighters in Alabama to limit the spread of wildfires and save buildings. A NASA sensor recently brought a new approach to battling wildfire, providing real-time data that helped firefighters in the field contain a blaze in Alabama. Called AVIRIS-3, … Read more
South Korean fire crews battled what the acting president said on Wednesday were some of the worst wildfires ever in the country, fueled by windy and dry conditions. At least 19 people had died, the authorities said, including the pilot of a downed helicopter. The National Fire Agency said the helicopter had crashed on Wednesday … Read more
NASA researchers conducted initial validation of a new airspace management system designed to enable crews to use aircraft fight and monitor wildland fires 24 hours a day, even during low-visibility conditions. From March 17-28, NASA’s Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project stationed researchers at multiple strategic locations across the foothills of the Sierra … Read more
A survey of the damage from a cross-country storm system that tore through the South and Midwest over the weekend. Source link
In Aug. 2024, a team of NASA researchers and partners gathered in Missoula, to test new drone-based technology for localized forecasting, or micrometeorology. Researchers attached wind sensors to a drone, NASA’s Alta X quadcopter, aiming to provide precise and sustainable meteorological data to help predict fire behavior. Wildfires are increasing in number and severity around … Read more
Plus, DeepSeek shocks the A.I. giants. Source link
As the first embers of the Eaton fire began showering homes in Pasadena and Altadena, Calif., this month, evacuation orders went out within minutes. But one neighborhood did not get the order to leave for hours, well after some homes there had already caught fire. The consequences appear to have been fatal. Of the 17 … Read more
Dozens of vehicles sit abandoned, covered in ash, along a stretch of Palisades Drive near Sunset Boulevard in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. There’s a pair of black boots beside a gray Subaru Crosstrek. Down the street, a pink backpack with the name Sonya on it has been left in a Tesla Model … Read more
A few years ago, when I was part of a crew fighting a series of large wildfires in California’s wilderness, my bosses told me, “This isn’t normal.” Climate change was making the wildfires bigger, faster and harder to stop. It seemed like only a matter of time before the conditions grew dangerous enough to threaten … Read more