The Wildfire SAFE app incorporates real-time data from sources that include the U.S. National Fire Danger Rating System, U.S. Drought Monitor drought conditions, weather data, and vegetation conditions to provide targeted information on any wildfire in the continental United States.
The app was designed in consultation with fire managers to ensure that the data being provided will fulfill management needs and that the user interface is easy to use across all platforms—desktops, tablets, or mobile devices. Wildfire SAFE contains all the information a fire manager needs when deciding how to allocate resources, both equipment and personnel, as well as keeping personnel safe, while working to contain a wildfire.
The app is located at https://wfsafe.technosylva.com/.
The Wildfire SAFE supporting documentation and webinar is available at
About the Wildfire SAFE App
● Wildfire SAFE incorporates real-time data from sources that include the U.S. National Fire Danger Rating System, U.S. Drought Monitor drought conditions, weather data, and vegetation conditions to provide targeted information on any wildfire in the continental United States.
● Wildfire SAFE was designed in consultation with fire managers to ensure that the data being provided will fulfill management needs and that the user interface is easy to use across all platforms—desktops, tablets, or mobile devices.
● Fire managers will find the app useful when determining how to prioritize incidents and deploy firefighting resources if fire crews in a given area are ill or have travel restrictions due to COVID-19.
William (Matt) Jolly, a research ecologist with the Rocky Mountain Research Station’s Fire Sciences Laboratory, led the team that developed Wildfire SAFE. The inspiration for the Wildfire SAFE app, he says, “It grew out of the need to deliver fire danger information to firefighters and decision makers in a more readily consumable fashion.” Jolly says the app wouldn’t be what it is without the partnership with Technosylva.
Powering the app are fire danger forecasts linked to datasets containing terrain information, drought conditions from the U.S. Drought Monitor, and satellite-derived vegetation conditions. It is essentially all the information a fire manager needs when deciding how to allocate resources, both equipment and personnel, as well as keeping personnel safe, to contain a wildfire.
LEAD SCIENTIST William (Matt) Jolly is a research ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. His research focuses on fire ecology and the effects of wildfire on the environment. Jolly can be contacted at matt.jolly@usda.gov or connect with him at https://www.fs.usda.gov/rmrs/people/mjolly
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