Background
NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) provides satellite-based near real-time (NRT) active fire detections and contextual data to inform wildland fire management, monitoring, and impacts, and to facilitate time-sensitive decision making. During major wildfire events, FIRMS is often the most-visited NASA website, and it is relied on by fire managers, private companies, and the public. The system currently provides access to selected aerosol and plume information, including smoke from wildfires.
FIRMS would be further enhanced if there were capabilities that enable users to monitor how plumes originating from wildfires evolve in the atmosphere and affect air quality in downwind regions. Additionally, during the Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG) 2024 assessment, agencies expressed the need for continuity of active fire data beyond the end of life of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments, particularly the morning (AM) orbit. They also noted the need for a low-latency fire perimeter/burned area product.
Status: In Development
The Second Generation of FIRMS (FIRMS-2G) solution will enhance FIRMS to monitor and visualize smoke plumes by reviewing available data and models—such as NOAA’s HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System-Composition Forecast (GEOS-CF), and NOAA’s AerosolWatch—in collaboration with stakeholders to inform next steps.
The solution also aims to improve FIRMS burned area estimates through the development of a lower-latency, same-day burned area product from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS); the VIIRS burned area product currently available in FIRMS has a three-month lag. Additionally, the solution will enable characterization of burned areas at a higher spatial resolution using Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Vegetation Indices (HLS-VI).
FIRMS-2G will explore and integrate new sources of active fire data and corrected reflectance imagery to inform continuity (e.g. Sentinel-2 B/C/D, Sentinel-3 A/B/C/D, Landsat Next, NOAA-22) and, potentially, new sources of active fire data from public-private partnerships and commercial data sources.
Societal Impact
Additional, more frequent, and higher temporal resolution data on active fires and burned areas will further support wildfire monitoring and management, including assessments of how a wildfire may spread and which areas are at higher risk. The enhancement of smoke monitoring and visualization capabilities in FIRMS-2G will better enable decision-makers to anticipate and assess air quality impacts as a result of wildfires.
Solution Resources
Need help using this solution? For more information, visit FIRMS.