The USGS EROS Center is using satellite images to better understand the environmental effects of fires. The Center released two images from its Landsat 8 satellite showing conditions prior to the start of the Rim Fire at Yosemite National Park in the middle of August, and the progress of the fire at the end of the month. Jeff Eidenshink is the EROS fire science team coordinator. He says the two photos released are more for public awareness. Where the Landsat images really come into play are once the fire is over.
“In most large fires, there is an activity called a Burned Area Emergency Response, the cliché is ‘BAER’ Teams. These people are usually called in immediately after the containment of fire. They go in and they look at the conditions on the ground, the severity of the fire, the impact on water resources, on wildlife habitat, and pool together a plan, a mitigation plan, that they use to apply immediate treatments to the land. They use Landsat data to do that because what Landsat data can provide them is a good estimate of the fire severity within the fire perimeter and the extent of the fire,” Eidenshink says.
Eidenshink says the Yosemite images are relatively clear and show nothing unusual about the fire. He says the active fire images are usually too covered by smoke and clouds to see any of the damage.