2009 Western States Mission Summary:

A minimal number of flights were flown in 2009, due to the availability of the AMS sensor to support wildfire observations. In 2009, two mission support flight were flown in southern California. The major mission objective for the late-season (November 2009) flights was to support hot spot detection and post-fire Burn Area Assessment on the Station Fire in the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena, California. The Station Fire was the largest fire in Los Angeles County history, approaching 160,000 acres. The Station fire was flown on 19 November 2009, with real-time hot-spot detection data and BEAR and NBR data provided to the USFS and CalFire community. Data was also collected over the Piute Fire, an area that had burned in 2008. This data was also made available for post-fire (one year) assessment. Sensor checkout flights were flown in the days immediately preceding the 19 November 2009 Station Fire mission to support sensor capabilities tests and geo-rectification procedures. The following mission summary table highlights the 2009 activities.

2008 Western States Mission Summary:

The 2008 Western States Fire Mission got off to an early start in response to fire emergencies in California. Late June lightning storms sparked thousands of wildfires in bone-dry California, prompting an emergency request from CalFire for fire perimeter data from NASA?s Ikhana with the Autonomous Modular Sensor (AMS) ? Wildfire instrument, a UAS fire-imaging system which was successfully utilized in the 2007 fire season and during the October 2007 southern California firestorms. In response, the Ikhana / AMS system flew July 8 and July 19, 2008, providing data over major California fires. (See images under "products" link). An emergency COA was issued by the FAA for these missions for operations in California extending until August 1st, when the original COA was to initialize.

Originally scheduled to begin on 1 August, the 2008 Western States Fire Mission demonstrated and extended the use of all components of the Ikhana/AMS system for fire response in the 2008 fire season. Outside of California, wildfires in the western US were not as significant, therefore only four missions, all in California were flown in support of wildfire management.

The following table summarizes the 2008 missions flown by the Ikhana with the AMS-Wildfire sensor on-board:

A series of demonstration missions, employing the new NASA Ikhana UAS (a Predator-B derivative airframe; Ikhana is a Native American, Choctaw Nation word meaning, “intelligent, conscious, or aware”), outfitted with an autonomous 12-channel scanning / imaging instrument, on-board image processing capabilities, and a satellite communications system were undertaken in 2007. In partnership with the NASA Airborne Science Program and NASA-Dryden, the project team flew four missions in 2007 over wildfire events occurring during the western US fire season and four additional missions in emergency support to wildfires in Southern California in October 2007. The project team developed strategies for extended operational missions over the entire western US with the AMS-Wildfire sensor operating aboard the Ikhana UAS. The AMS-Wildfire instrument was fitted in an aerodynamic sensor pod which flew under the inboard wing-mount station of the Ikhana. An autonomous processor accompanying the AMS-Wildfire, allowed real-time geo- and terrain-rectified image data sets to be developed and delivered to personnel on the ground through a satellite communications system on the Ikhana. Real-time GIS-enabled products were in the hands of disaster managers within minutes of collection.

Four Western States Missions
The four missions in 2007 of the Ikhana were the first flights in the NAS by the aircraft and were a benchmark for establishing criteria for future science operations. During the four missions, the Ikhana and sensor traversed eight western US states (California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming), collecting critical fire information and relaying real-time data to fire Incident Command Teams on the ground as well as the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho. These data were delivered from the AMS-Wildfire instrument through a satellite communications link to a server at NASA-Ames and autonomously redistributed in real-time to a GoogleEarth data visualization capability that served as a Decision Support System (DSS) for fire data integration and information sharing.

The GoogleEarth DSS was used to serve other real-time fire-related information including satellite weather data, MODIS fire data, Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) readings, real-time lightning strike detection data, and other critical fire data-base source information as well as all pertinent aircraft information These shareable data and information layers, combined into a Collaborative Decision Environment (CDE), allowed the Incident Command teams and others to make real-time fire management strategy decisions. The CDE data were also accessed by personnel throughout the U.S. who were involved in the mission and imaging efforts. Fire Incident Command Teams used the thermal imagery and products to develop management strategies, redeploy resources and direct operations to critical areas.

Four Southern California October 2007 Firestorm Support Missions
In late October 2007, Santa Ana winds helped develop and spread over eleven major wildland fires in the Los Angeles and San Diego regions of Southern California. The fires, spread by the 40-80 knot winds, pushed through populated areas and devastated vast regions of wildland, homes, businesses and other values at risk. Over 500,000 people were evacuated in the region. On October 22, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, ID and the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (CA-OES) requested NASA airborne and remote sensing resources to assist in observing and monitoring the fast-moving fires. The Wildfire Research and Applications Project (WRAP) team at NASA-Ames and the Airborne Sciences team at NASA-Dryden stepped forward and rapidly developed a series of mission profiles to support real-time information-collection missions using the new NASA Ikhana UAV platform and an advanced, autonomous thermal sensor system developed by NASA-Ames. The WRAP team had recently completed four major western U.S. fire missions, demonstrating the real-time fire information capabilities of the sensor and long-duration UAV flights. The two NASA Center teams quickly re-configured the platform and sensor and prepared for an emergency support mission by the morning of October 24.

On October 24 at 8:35 AM PDT, the NASA Ikhana UAS took-off from NASA-Dryden to begin an all-day mission of collecting thermal imagery data over 10 fires raging in the southern California area. Data collected by the AMS-Wildfire scanner on the Ikhana were autonomously processed on-board to provide real-time, critical fire hot spot detection information and accompanying thermal imagery to each of the fire Incident Command Centers and the various County Emergency Operations Centers (EOC). By the time the Ikhana had landed in late afternoon, the sensor had collected, processed and transmitted ~100 thermal-infrared data scenes and many more fire-detection shape files. These real-time GIS-enabled products were in the hands of disaster managers within minutes of collection! This success led to a request for further support by the agencies and an additional three missions were subsequently flown.

Between 24-28 October, the NASA Ikhana UAS with the AMS-Wildfire sensor on-board, flew four missions over the wildfires. Each day's mission profile changed, depending on the fire priority. Each data collection were relayed in real-time to all the ICCs and EOCs operating on the fires. Missions were flown on October 24th, 25th 26th and 28th. A total of ~100 scenes were collected each mission day and relayed to ICC and the EOCs. By October 28th, some of the mission focus changed to collecting Burn Severity imagery to support ecological recovery efforts in the affected areas. The multi-channel capabilities of the AMS-Wildfire allowed real-time, sensor-reconfiguration in-flight for either active fire mapping or burn severity to be seamlessly collected and disseminated.

Each of the ICs and EOCs employed the AMS-Wildfire data extensively for day-to-day fire management and resource deployment. The IC and EOC teams readily adapted the GoogleEarth visualization capability into their operations to allow AMS-Wildfire information integration with other critical data layers (weather, terrain, population areas, etc).

So CA Mission Series Summation - During the four Southern California wildfire imaging missions, a total of ~36 hours of Ikhana UAS operations occurred. Up to eleven fires a day, including the Harris, McCoy, Witch, Poomacha, Horno / Ammo, Slide, Rice, Grass Valley, Buckweed, Ranch, Magic, and Santiago fires, were imaged with real-time data provided to ICCs and EOCs. Post-fire, burn-assessment imagery was also collected over various fires to aid teams in ecosystem rehabilitation on those fires. Over 400 total AMS-Wildfire images were collected during the four missions, with total downloads exceeding 40,000. The emergency support missions were an overall success and demonstrated the important role of federal agencies integrating capabilities into disaster areas of national concern.

Mission Date	Mission Area	Data Collected	Images/Shape Files	Mission Length
08/16/2006	DFRC	5 GB		8:00 hrs
10/11/2006	DFRC	15 GB	116/0	22:00 hrs
10/24/2006	Yosemit NP	15 GB	192/20	21:24 hrs
10/28/2006	Esperanza Fire	14 GB	94/44	16:27 hrs

The following sections describe some of the 2006 highlighted missions

On 26 October 2006 at 1:12 AM, an arsonist ignited the deadly Esperanza Fire near Banning, California. Fanned by Santa Ana winds, the fire consumed over 40,200 acres, 34 homes and 20 outbuildings. Five firefighters died in the blaze. On 27 October 2006, NASA received a request from the California Office of Emergency Services (CA-OES) to support the Esperanza Fire with any available airborne remote sensing resources. The Western States UAS Fire Mission team mobilized, requesting an emergency amendment to the FAA COA to extend the mission capabilities of the Altair¨ to fly in the NAS over the Esperanza Fire. The FAA granted an emergency amendment to the COA, extending through October 30th, 2006. The AMS-WILDFIRE instrument was sent to Gray Butte for re-installation on the Altair¨, and a mission management team was mobilized to southern California.

On 28 October 2006 at 3:47 PM the Altair® took off from Gray Butte, CA for the 65-mile flight to linger over the Esperanza Fire and collect imagery throughout the next 16+ hours. Data from the instrument were made available to various California state offices and to the fire Incident Command Team (ICT) located at Banning, California.

Geo- and terrain-rectified imagery was made available to the Incident Command teams for use in their various mapping software. Additionally, imagery was available through the GoogleEarth CDE for visualization. The AMS-WILDFIRE scanner collected and distributed data in various channel combinations to facilitate ease of interpretation by the fire teams. During night operations, single-channel thermal data was primarily effective for ascertaining fire fronts and hot spots, while daylight images were composed of multiple-channels of thermal, IR, and visible spectral bands. The CA-OES provided GIS-compatible updates of the current fire perimeter maps and the NASA team used the information to develop real-time products that displayed the most-current hot-spot detection imagery in relation to the fire perimeter. The imagery proved beneficial in determining where specific fire areas had extended beyond the known perimeters. This was especially effective during the late night and early morning hours when the Incident Command Team had minimal intelligence on the fire activity.

AMS-WILDFIRE single-channel thermal data draped over the Esperanza Fire Perimeter map and terrain data within the GoogleEarth CDE. The "hot spots" of active fire can be seen extending beyond the known fire perimeter. Altair® completed the mission and returned to the Gray Butte, CA airfield on October 29th at 7:14 AM, completing a 16:27 hour mission. Following the mission debrief, the AMS-WILDFIRE instrument was de-integrated from the pod for "off-season" laboratory calibration and development in preparation for the 2007 Western States Fire Mission series.

Prior to the Esperanza Emergency Support Mission, there were a number of UAS missions aimed at wildfire imaging or development missions focused on instrument and platform preparation. Those missions included flights of ~23 hours in restricted airspace and a mission over Yosemite National Park in the National Airspace on October 24-th and 25th, 2006. The Yosemite Mission was the first mission in the NAS for the WRAP project.

A flight in the NAS occurred on October 24th and 25th, 2006 over the Yosemite National Park region. The mission was the first such for the Altair¨ in the NAS for the WSFM series. The objectives were to image over small fires within the Park, and two prescribed fires nearby on the Inyo National Forest.

Three AMS-WILDFIRE data sets were collected temporally coincident with day and night MODIS sensor satellite overpasses over the two prescribed fires. Data were integrated real-time into the GoogleEarth CDE and draped with the coincident MODIS data for visualization. The coincident sensor data was used to calibrate / validate the MODIS fire detects, in conjunction with the NASA MODIS Land Team.

Meeting mission objectives, Altair® landed at 2:35 PM on 25 October 2006 after 21:24 hours aloft.

These AIRDAS data collections were requested by the US Forest Service to assist in the support of the Burned Area Environmental Rehabilitation work (BAER). Due to various issues with acquisition of useful satellite data, the AIRDAS was requested for quick-response mapping of the multiple fire complexes in Southern California. This mission demonstrated the multi-facet capabilities of AIRDAS (additional spectral channel not available on USFS scanning systems) and demonstrated large-volume, real-time data telemetry of imagery. Other "firsts" for this mission included near-real-time geo-rectification (using DEM data) of large data sets (250,000 acres of coverage) for immediate use by BAER teams. That geo-rectification included mosaicing of multiple adjacent flight segments of thermal data and distribution to BAER teams for GIS integration.

These missions demonstrated the capabilities of a unique multi-agency partnership, created to assist with niche resources, technologies and experienced personnel during emergency operations. By utilizing multi-sensor resources, such as MODIS, Landsat, ALS, USFS Phoenix data, and AIRDAS data, an improved fire evaluation and rehabilitation plan was implemented. This "sensor web" integration of various orbital and sub-orbital resources showcased a collaborative decision support mechanism for addressing a multi-fire disaster event.