A crisis in 2007 spurred development of a web-based weather monitoring system that measures wildfire risks during Santa Ana windstorms to arm first-responders and the public with the best information to prepare for an emergency, officials said Wednesday.
U.S. Forest Service rangers, along with representatives from San Diego Gas & Electric and UCLA, jointly developed the Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index, which was unveiled at the Southern California Geographic Area Coordination Center in Riverside.
“Given the current state of fuel conditions, we have the potential to see devastating fires this fall should significant Santa Ana winds occur,” said Forest Service meteorologist Tom Rolinski. “This tool will directly benefit fire agencies by allowing us to better anticipate what kinds of resources may be needed.”
The new system gauges the potential for and probable intensity of wildfires by examining wind flows and other factors, relying on three decades of Southern California weather data to find patterns in forecasts.
SDG&E Vice President Dave Geier said the concept came to life following the fires that swept through parts of San Diego County seven years ago.
“I asked my team to come up with something similar to the categories to rate hurricanes that could be used to classify Santa Ana wind events based on their potential to spread a major fire, which would help us in making operational decisions to protect our system and our customers,” Geier said.
The wildfire alert system encompasses four zones, Los Angeles and Ventura counties; Orange County and the Inland Empire, San Diego County and Santa Barbara County.
Using SDG&E monitors, information from the National Weather Service and past weather data, the threat index calculates wildfire risks and places them in one of four categories: marginal, moderate, high or extreme.
“This index will help forecasters to quantify a red flag warning and the public to better understand the risk,” said Roger Pierce, director of the NWS in San Diego.
Red flag warnings are disseminated when humidity levels, temperatures, wind speeds and other atmospheric conditions are conducive to wildfire outbreaks.
Robert Fovell, chair of the UCLA Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, led a team of researchers in studying and processing meteorological data from the last 30 years to bolster the threat index’s forecasting capabilities.
SDG&E provided funds for the computer hardware to get the project done, and Fovell said the effort has led to “improvements in weather modeling that will benefit forecasters worldwide.”
– City News Service
