Page 143 - Mapping the Nation: Taking Climate Action

"These are cascading disasters," SeLegue said. The first is the fire itself. The second is the recovery— removing hazards, planting new trees, rerouting electrical lines and roads, and rebuilding. "As more fires occur, it continues to personally impact more folks in the fire service. It has pushed us to have a greater understanding of the effects of incidents. After the emergency is gone, what are you left with?" The Dixie Fire and other recent blazes mark a pattern of rapidly expanding wildfires with erratic and unusual behavior, fueled by The CAL FIRE fiResponse Tactical Analyst environment integrates near real-time infrared data that detects a large number of dry forests and heat energy with the Wildfire Analyst Enterprise spread prediction capabilities to support extended attack analysis. This example shows the fire spread prediction and resulting fire perimeter from the following day. Potential structures impacted are shown in green and key facilities in yellow. The location of CAL FIRE resources is shared in real time through location services integration. severe drought conditions. The year-round back-to-back blazes leave little room to rest. drones, which have become a flexible way for fire observers to monitor fire behavior without risking their lives. Recovering from Disaster The new levels of information and automated workflows also support disaster recovery. "We can use the data to create a Fire Management Assistance Grant, so communities can put in for federal loans and prop themselves back up and have better resilience," SeLegue said. To SeLegue, the pain of fire damage became personal when the Carr Fire roared through his neighborhood and destroyed 14 of his neighbors' homes in July 2018. He lives in an area that is still bouncing back. Firefighters like SeLegue are aware of the impacts on people's lives and the fact that firefighting conditions have become increasingly difficult around the world. "The same issues that are happening in Spain or Perth or Queensland are the same issues we're dealing with here," SeLegue said. "I think the digital age has brought us together and made us more aware of other incidents and the solutions or tools we can draw on." And SeLegue knows that being better prepared is not just limited to wildland fires. "CAL FIRE is an all-hazards agency," he said. "We may be fighting fires today and responding to an earthquake or technological hazard tomorrow. These tools allow us the same level of situational awareness no matter what challenges we face." 142 Wildfire