Western US Forest Fires Maps and Imagery on the Web

WAML member David Bertuca send this very useful list of links to maps-l in July.

Subject: Western US Forest Fires Maps and Imagery
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 10:23
From: David J. Bertuca <dbertuca@buffalo.edu>
To: Maps List <MAPS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>

The Western US is burning in many states. Dryness, winds, and other factors
are making 2007 a bad year for fire detection and prevention. We have had
questions on this and the following may be helpful for locating maps,
satellite imagery, and data. (This is a selected list only). Some of the
sites listed include maps for Canada and Mexico as well.

Note too, that these sites provide useful map tools for non-fire related
topics.

National Interagency Fire Center
http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm

The following USDA Forest Service site provides a lot of data on the fires:

MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/

Select "Imagery" from top menu tab.
You can view the latest (usually 1 day behind at most) images of particular states/regions, or you can select other dates and see the progress of fires/fire control.
To the right of the thumbnail, select image type (true color are "real" color views).

Also on this page are maps and a GIS providing current status of fires.
Select tab "ArcIMS Maps" and you can use the GIS to see fires in relation
to the surrounding terrain and infrastructure.

This uses ESRI software and for those who have worked with the interface
before, it is easy to navigate and find specific locations.

For those wishing to just see a map of an area with the latest fire
activity,
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/activefiremaps.php

select "Regional Maps", and select an area. A map will be displayed and you can further select to
see that area for current fire detections/activity.

Additional maps and data are available at the home site to this page:

Remote Sensing Applications Center
http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/rsac/index.html

Also take a look at the NIFC links page:

National Fire Maps
http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/maps.htm

News and other Gov sites with images/maps:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/popup?id=3358368
(This ABC story is from July 6, 2007; has some great photos. - Editor )

MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) NASA imagery page:
http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2007-06-29
(This page is from June 2007; may have difficulty loading. - Editor )

Choose images from right column (various res)

NOAA National Fire Weather Page for current reports:
http://fire.boi.noaa.gov/

and Natural Resources Canada has a site that provides current situations
from its National Forest Fire Situation Report
http://fire.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/report/firereport_e.php

See also their Forest Fire Hotspots 2007 page:
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/forestfires/hotspots2007/1

These include fire, drought, and related weather data and maps.

I hope this will prove useful to you in assisting others to find what they are looking
for.

David J. Bertuca, Map Librarian
225 Capen Hall
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260-1672

716-645-2947 x229
dbertuca@buffalo.gov