News From The Mountain: Remote Cameras Track Langille Fire
Incident: Langille Wildfire
Released: 8/13/2009
FIRE NEWS
From the Gifford Pinchot National Forest
10600 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver, WA 98682
(360) 891-5000 FAX (360) 891-5010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Judith McHugh
Thursday August 13, 2009 1600 541.915.5372 cell
Cowlitz Valley Ranger District - Live Pictures of Langille Fire Showcase Next Generation of Fire Management
(From Burley Mountain Lookout, located 15 miles south of Randle, WA) - The next generation of fire fighters is bringing the technology they grew up with into the woods with them - and it might just revolutionize fire management. Data and pictures can now be beamed live, 24 hours a day, to computers at the command post and fire bosses can send instructions, supply lists and other data and pictures right back out to the field.
"Real time data that fire fighters can send out to decision makers, the interested public and other agencies means we can spend that much more time doing our jobs on the ground, and letting others know what we're seeing without waiting until the end of the shift" said Justin Randall, a wildland fire module leader with the Lewis and Clark National Forest and one of the young leaders in this field. Randall, and his fellow University of Montana alum Devin Yost, have spent the last week helping bring the cameras and radio equipment needed to transmit the data over secure networks online. Their team, which includes a minimum of 7 fire and technology specialists, travels to fires throughout the nation upon the request of federal land managers.
The public is invited to see the results of their work: pictures taken from the two cameras that are currently peering into the Langille (pronounced Lan-Jill) fire located on a remote peak 15 miles outside of Randle, WA. The cameras are linked into the Gifford Pinchot's home page at http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/. The Gifford Pinchot is recognized as a leader in the use of remote camera technology to bring people closer to the forest; their volcano and dam removal camera sites are visited by thousands of people each year.
The Langille fire is located in extremely steep, rocky and remote country. After two days of aggressive initial attack using smokejumpers and retardant planes the fire escaped containment and Forest Supervisor Janine Clayton decided to use a confine and contain strategy - allow the fire to play its natural role as long as weather cooperates and keeps the fire growth within an acceptable perimeter. The remote cameras offer her an eye on landscape and allow rapid response should conditions change. The fire may likely have positive benefits for mountain goat and elk habitat as well as native huckleberry production; firefighters may go into the burned areas later this week to assess conditions on the ground.
Updates will be posted as conditions change at http://www.inciweb.org/ , at "Langille fire."
Email questions about fires near Randle or Packwood to cowlitzfires09@gmail.com .
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Editors:
1. This PR sent from Burley Mtn Lookout using the technology described herein.
2. Pictures of the Camera are attached, and available on the website above. All photo credits: US Forest Service.
This schematic shows an example of how the data network may be installed on a fire.
Attached file "YoungLeaders" caption: Justin Randall and Devin Yost sending data back to command post.
Attached file "CameraSetup" caption: Mast with camera and antennas and radio that transmits data over the network.
