Wildfire Managers Gear Up for Severe Fire Season

BOISE, Idaho, May 12, 2004 (ENS) - Based on satellite data, wildfire management teams across the West are bracing for one of the worst fire seasons ever to hit the Rockies and Southwestern United States.

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), the nation's support center for wildland firefighting, predicts another difficult fire season for most of the interior West in 2004. "We should be prepared for another severe fire season in the West," says Rick Ochoa, NIFC National Fire Weather Program Manager.

Two large fires in California earlier this month started the 2004 fire season in that state three weeks earlier than usual.

Using data from a fleet of satellites that are streaming information on the snow pack, water level and vegetative cover across the country, scientists with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are also predicting a fiery season. They say March of this year was one of the warmest and driest on record.

"Early snow melt means the fire season can start earlier and last longer, says Rob Solhberg, NASA and University of Maryland, College Park researcher." Like most western states, Colorado gets most of its liquid assets from snow. The lack of snow reserves this year pushes that state, and likely others, toward a harrowing fire season.

Two new large fires were reported by the NIFC this morning, one each in the Western Great Basin and Eastern Areas. Three large fires were contained, two in the Northern Rockies and one in the Eastern Areas.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

The Landsat 7 satellite, a joint project between NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, captured images of Lake Mead in May 2000 and 2003, showing a decrease in water levels between the three years. As the Colorado Basin enters its sixth year of drought, computer models suggest water levels will go down another 15 to 20 feet this year, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

NASA and partnering agencies are working to assist the National Interagency Fire Center in predicting fire danger across the United States by providing snow cover, water level, and vegetation data.

National fire managers rely on satellite imagery to monitor wildfire activity on a national and regional scale to help allocate precious resources. NASA partners include Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center and the USGS EROS Data Center.