Fire Detection and Disaster Assessment
The images on this page are actual data collected with a Spectra-View® system. They pertain to fire detection or disaster assessment but are not limited to it. One of the major uses for the SV system is aiding firefighters’ in snap decisions based on actual data, as well as determining property damage in a burn area for insurance companies. As in the California fires and other disasters, damage sometimes leads to other detrimental problems such as mudslides and loss of wildlife and forestland. Hot spot detection, detecting burn fronts, and thermal mapping may also assist in many applications. Volcano eruptions, tropical storms, and the great floods that have occurred over the last decade alone have created a great need for this kind of data.
To the left is imagery taken with a 5-band Spectra-View camera system. It shows approximately 70 square miles of imagery that was mapped and delineated in less than 3 hours from capture. The image will roll through four different views of the same area: true color, false color, thermal infrared over NIR, and pseoudo color fire (to represent temperature data) over false color imagery.
The imagery to the left was created in conjunction with the fire lab in Missoula MT, and the remote sensing lab at the University of MT. It represents a clear movement of the flame front from day to day.
Disaster Assessment
In the image to the left, devastation created by a tornado in Granite Falls, MN in July, 2000 is clearly detectable. Notice the scattered debris and homes that are completely destroyed. It would be possible to analyze the extent of destruction of this kind of storm and to learn more about the effects of weather of this type. It could also aid in determining the monetary value of destruction for insurance claims or countless other applications.
