VIDEO: As crews continue to fight wildfires across the state, the National Weather Service is using satellite technology to spot fires and direct crews where they need to go.
Wildfires are prone to start in rural areas because of lightning strikes, and just because no one sees them doesn’t mean fires aren’t there. The National Weather Service acts as the eyes of fire departments in those rural areas.
The National Weather Service uses geostationary satellites, also known as GOES satellites, that can detect warm spots. The agency also relies on human monitoring.
Mike Moritz, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Hastings, has worked there for more than 20 years. He said the agency didn’t always play this role. “About 15 years ago, the National Weather Service, I would say, really at the local level, kind of got into the business of fire weather,” Moritz said. “We started issuing things that people are familiar with, Red Flag warnings, highlighting days, when those relative humidities are low, and the winds are high.”
The agency uses GOES satellite data to spot active fires in real time, sometimes before a 911 call ever comes in. “There are other times, especially in rural areas, where the 911 call doesn’t always come in right away,” Moritz said. When that happens, Moritz alerts local officials directly.