Wildfires have been known to devastate communities throughout BC. Recent smoky skies from Okanagan and Shuswap fires remind us that the need for efficient and reliable wildfire detection solutions has become more pressing than ever.
Combatting wildfires costs a lot of resources. And so the government is investing $170 million over the next decade to establish a new monitoring satellite system—WildFireSat—through which superior detecting and tracking of outbreaks may help fighters better nip fires in the bud.
The goal of WildFireSat? To monitor “all active wildfires in Canada from space on a daily basis.”
Why? Because even though only 3% of wildfires become large and out of control, these select few major fires end up causing a vast majority of the damage.
“By increasing our capabilities to better anticipate which wildfires have the potential to burn out of control, they can be prioritized for suppression, leading to a drastic reduction in the economic losses related to wildfire,” the Government of Canada believes.
Contributing to this forthcoming system is OroraTech, a Germany-based industry innovator in space-based thermal intelligence with offices in Vancouver.
OroraTech is partnering with US-based space-to-cloud data and analytics company Spire Global. The pair will collaborate with the Canadian Space Agency to deliver preparatory work for implementation phases of a wildfire monitoring satellite.
“We are excited to partner with the CSA on their WildfireSat solution,” stated Tyler Smith, Account Executive of OroraTech in Canada. “The low-latency thermal data we are offering as a service will provide Canadian wildfire managers with a fast and complete solution for wildfire detection and situational awareness—across the continent, daily, and in real-time.”
“Current remote sensing tools are not adequate to obtain the data that wildfire managers need to carry out their challenging tasks,” the government states. “Canadian wildfire managers are working to address the challenges of increased wildfire activity through modernization of their tools and policies.”
The contract is an initial step toward building CSA’s planned WildFireSat mission.
Canada spends $1 billion annually combatting wildfires. Indirect costs add several billion dollars per year stemming from property loss, damaged infrastructure, industrial shutdowns, evacuations, health-related expenses, and economic losses in a variety of sectors including tourism, forestry, and energy.
The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, for example, carried a total cost of approximately $9 billion.
“Canada is the first country investing in a dedicated solution for Wildfire monitoring from Space,” noted Dr. Axel Roenneke, Chief Commercial Officer of OroraTech. “Our system will help reduce Carbon emissions and improve air quality—with an economic impact of billions of dollars every year.”
WildFireSat will close the gap in infrared observation from Space, i.e. the late afternoon “peak burn period.” In this most critical time of the day, higher temperatures, lower humidity and strong winds often result in a rapid propagation of wildfires.
“In a country as vast as Canada, observation from space is the only way to get information on all active wildfires, every day, with the precision that wildfire managers need to do their job,” states the government. “Innovative Canadian technology is now available to build an affordable space solution to provide wildfire managers with the tools they require.”
The Government of Canada anticipates a 2029 launch of WildFireSat.
A version of this article first appeared on Techcouver.com.
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