USGS-Led GeoMAC Implements ArcIMSFirefighters Map Wildfires in Real TimeThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has teamed with federal firefighting agencies and members of private industry, including Esri, to form the Geo-spatial Multiagency Coordination group (GeoMAC). GeoMAC's initial goal has been to implement an Internet-based mapping application that enables firefighting coordination centers and incident command teams to access online maps of current fire locations and perimeters using standard Web browsers. Esri's software programs ArcIMS and ArcSDE are the backbone of the application, according to Mike Hutt, GeoMAC project coordinator. Fire perimeter data is updated daily based on input from incident intelligence sources, GPS data, and infrared satellite imagery, enabling firefighters to manipulate map information displays and print hard-copy information. "This real-time application of infrared satellite imagery enables us to see, on a daily basis, where the fires were burning, where they started, and where they are going in relation to the urban interface areas," said Robert Plantrich, the GeoMAC incident commander. The fire maps have relational databases in which the user can display data layers about individual fires such as current acreage, fuel types, aircraft hazard maps, and other critical fire analysis information. GeoMAC is based at the USGS Rocky Mountain Mapping Center in Denver. Its staff includes technical experts from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Private partners are Esri, IBM, and Sun Microsystems. For more information, contact the GeoMAC incident commander, Robert Plantrich (tel.: 303-202-4309) or Russ Johnson, Esri fire/disaster industry manager (e-mail: rjohnson@esri.com) or visit wildfire.usgs.gov. |
