DENVER (KDVR) — Fire danger has never been more top-of-mind for Coloradans than on Earth Day. While NASA spends a lot of time looking outwards toward the universe, it also spends time monitoring the planet to help deliver critical wildfire information.
“We have satellites up in space that can actually pinpoint the location of these wildfires and look at the smoke from these wildfires,” said Linette Boisvert with NASA. “Also the winds, we can kind of determine where these wildfires may transition to next via the winds.”
When it comes to wildfires in remote regions, NASA satellites can often pinpoint locations and coordinate with local authorities to point them in the right direction.
Satellites also can play a role in determining how dry the ground is in areas, which helps establish drought conditions for wildfire season.
“NASA satellites can also look at the soil moisture in your area, and so they can see if certain areas are more dry than others,” Boisvert said.