Ultra Real-Time and Near Real-Time wildfire detection enhancements for the US and Canada through NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS)

NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) has been distributing active fire detections data through the Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE) since 2012, and prior to this through the University of Maryland. These data have been made available globally, near real-time (NRT) - within 3 hours - of satellite overpass from the MODIS and VIIRS instruments. These data continue to support a range of applications by providing quality information for fire data on demand to inform decision making.

FIRMS recently announced the release of ultra real-time (URT) active fire information for the continental US in less than 60 seconds between observation and wildfire detection. Generated from NASA and NOAA low-Earth orbit satellites, these data are made available through a partnership with the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) at University of Wisconsin-Madison. FIRMS also announced the release of NRT active fire data, derived from Landsat observations for North America, in less than 30 minutes of satellite observation. These NRT data are made available through a partnership with the US Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center.

This presentation will outline the background and recent release of these URT and NRT active fire detections including: the URT data generated from MODIS and VIIRS for the continental United States (CONUS) within 60 seconds using a network of US direct broadcast ground stations; and the NRT data generated from Landsat 8 and 9 observations within 30 minutes using data collected from the USGS ground station in Sioux Falls, SD. In addition, this presentation will highlight examples of how the URT and NRT data are being used by the US Forest Service and partners to support and inform multiple wildland fire applications, underpinning the operational contributions that earth science data are providing to society.