Abstract
Mapping Wildland Fire with the USFS Firewatch Cobra Helicopter
Track: Emergency Medical Services/Fire
Author
The US Forest Service Firewatch program is an aerial supervision helicopter with GIS mapping and FLIR capabilities. The specially equipped helicopter is GPS referenced in conjunction with an onboard mapping system in order to create extremely accurate shapefiles of wildland fire perimeters. The Firewatch module includes a dedicated GIS technician capable of manipulating the raw data from the helicopter in order to increase the accuracy of the field product and interface with the fire's assigned GIS team. Once the team has the data, which is seamlessly integrated, they are able to create the briefing maps, complete with divisions, control lines, and other essential information. In addition to the mapping capability, the helicopter is also has a FLIR camera mounted on the nose. This FLIR system allows for a bird's eye view of the fire in the form of both infrared and color video as well as mapping through smoke.
Jennifer Muha
US Forest Service
2256 Wilson St
Arcata, California 95521
United States
Phone: 626.695.7941
E-mail: jennifer.muha@gmail.com