About

Mapping wildland burn or fire scar extents and estimated burn intensity/severity from satellite imagery improves post-fire risk modeling and helps bring situational awareness to emergency managers responsible for forecasting or warning of potential debris or mud slides. BRIDGE maps are “Burn Intensity Delta Greenness Estimate” maps intended to “bridge” the time gap between a wildland fire event and the availability of more traditional BARC maps (Burned Area Reflectance Classification). By using satellite platforms with more frequent revisit times and the corresponding coarser sensor spatial resolution, the time between fire-containment and useful maps can be shortened by days or even weeks. We are exploring the usefulness of different algorithms (such as NDVI and NBR) paired with different satellite platforms (e.g. Landsat, Sentinel 2, NOAA-20, GOES) and sensors (e.g. OLI, MSI, VIIRS, ABI) to deliver meaningful results with reduce latency.

Support

Initial funding for wildland burn scar mapping came through the NOAA JPSS/RRPG Fire and Smoke Initiative. This supported the initial tests of BRIDGE maps using dNDVI. Subsequent funding supported the development of dNBR mapping and an effort to tie support the near real-time distribution of incident-based fire detection and related satellite imagery products through the Next Generation Fire System (NGFS). Current funding from the NOAA Weather Program Office (WPO) is supporting the refinement of our Google Earth Engine App (GEE) and integration of GEE burn scar output with AWIPS (see example above) for Weather Forecast Offices, Regional Offices, and the Weather Prediction Center.