Show Electronic Plan flits Lightning Forest Tires Fires TiresA A new electronic for tracking lightning storms and the use of infrared scan scan- Hers in planes to detect and an d map fires will be tested summer by the Forest Service Ser Ser- Service vice vice the U S Department of o Agriculture has announced The research is being con con- conducted duch ducted d bY the Northern For For- Forest Forest est Fire Laboratory of the th e Forest Services Service's Intermountain thin tain Forest and Range Ex- Ex Experiment Ex Experiment Station at Missoula Montana Assisting in the th e testing of these systems i in n en airplanes are arc several agen agen- agencies dies cies in the US Department of Defense the Ithe US Arm Am ELectronics Command the th e US Air Force and the Of Of- Office flee fice of Civil Defense A US AIR Force plane plan has been made available for fo r forest fire detection expert experiments ments The aircraft to be b operated by Northern Fores Fire Laboratory pilots is i rn ra being equipped d with a spec spec- specially rd Jelly modified infrared scan scan- scanner scanner ner to detect fires and a system for outlining them on ona o oa n a map Radar will be use d to assist in guiding the air air- air aircraft craft on en a precise flight fligh course Forest Fire LaboratorY y scientists will concentrate on the capabilities of the scan scan- er to detect small fires in the dense fir Douglas and white whitepine whitepine pine forests of the Pacific Northwest and Idaho Last year it was tested on other types of forest land The scanner which pen pene- pene penetrates darkness and has op- op operated operated successfully from planes can speed up fire de- de detection and thus reduce the chances for large and costly fires FOR ELECTRONIC fire mapping experiments a For For- Forest Forest est Service plane equipped with an infrared scanner and aerial mapping equipment will be used on large forest fires and combined and urban area larea fires The scientists hope to per per- feet use of infrared smoke penetrating equipment in mapping fire perimeters in measuring fire spread and detecting spot fires Such in- in information formation helps the Forest Service place crews more strategically in fighting fires A new electronic system for tracking lightning storms will be field tested this sum sum- summer summer I mer This research is aimed particularly at the fire deter deter- I tion problem in Alaska but butwill butwill will have application in oth other er Western States lightning is a major source In remote areas where whereof whereof of fires the first step In fj fire re detection is to locate the areas being subjected to lightning strikes Aircraft will then follow the storm with infrared scanner equip equip- equipped equipped ped planes to detect fires DEVELOPMENT ENT of the theli li lightning tracking system is being conducted by y the Elec- Elec Electronics Research Laboratory of Montana State College with the Northern Forest Fire Laboratory and the theU theU U S Bureau of Land Man Man- Management participating Mon Montana tana State College scientists ts have developed a prototype radio direction finder which receives signals from the lightning discharges These provide a means for deter deter- determining determining mining the location of the strike Radio direction finders will be installed at the Mon Mori Montana tana State College Labora- Labora Laboratory Laboratory tory in Bozeman and the Forest Fire Laboratory in Missoula From these two lo- lo |