Forest Fire Detection by Satellites for Fire Control

Infrared sensors on board satellites have been widely used to collect statistics on fires, but not for fire control. Since the polar-orbiting satellites cover the northern Earth latitudes several times a day, their data are particularly suitable for detecting boreal forest fires. Currently, radiometers on board NOAA and ERS-2 satellites are used for operational fire management in Finland. Telefax fire alerts are sent automatically to rescue centres. Minimum detectable fire size is 0.1 ha, fire location accuracy is 1 km, and the false alarm rate is less than 10%. A recent project for improving the forest-fire alert system has involved the close cooperation of Finnish companies and the European Space Agency (ESA). The most interesting and unique feature of this system is its capability of ingesting and processing different satellite data together with standard fire alerts into an integrated operational environment. Background