Why Earth Observation is the Future of Fire Detection
Introduction
Wildfires are increasing in frequency and intensity, driven by climate change, urban expansion, and shifting weather patterns. Traditional methods of detecting wildfires struggle to keep up with the speed at which these disasters can spread. With trillions of dollars in damage across the world on every continent, new technologies need to be developed.
This shift toward satellite-based detection isn’t just a technological upgrade. It’s a crucial step forward in wildfire management. To understand why Earth observation is the future, let’s take a look at how fire detection has evolved—and where the limitations of current systems lie.
We build Wildfire Solution, a tool empowered for every phrase of a fire. Using our proprietary satellite technology, we offer security during wildfire emergencies with invaluable data.
All Along the Watchtower
The first organized method for wildfire detection dates back to the early 1900s. The U.S. Forest Service, established in 1905, deployed fire lookout towers across forests, where rangers would physically watch for smoke from a high vantage point. This ranger would alert firefighters either via telegram (if available) or by signaling other towers via flags or mirrors, creating a chain of communication all the way back to headquarters. By 1910, after the devastating Big Burn fire that scorched 3 million acres (1,2 million hectares) across the Northwest, the US federal government invested heavily in these vantage points, and fire detection became a top priority. These towers remained a cornerstone of wildfire monitoring for decades and provided a solution in an era of limited communication technology.
In the mid-20th century, however, planes were introduced to patrol forests from the air, significantly improving the range and speed of detection. This also allowed fire agencies a brand new perspective, allowing a general idea of the speed and size of a wildfire. By the 1990s, technological advances allowed for more sophisticated tools like ground-based cameras and automated sensor networks. These systems, though an improvement over manual methods, still had major limitations—especially in remote or vast areas where setting up and accessing these tools was difficult. Fires could go undetected for hours or even days, depending on the location and time of day.
Struggles with Current Systems
We have come a long way from rangers in tall towers. But despite advancements, the sensors and cameras of today have a number of serious downsides.
First, the infrastructure is expensive. Setting up camera networks, communication lines, and power sources over large, forested areas requires massive investment. Maintaining this infrastructure over time further adds to the cost, making it challenging to scale operations effectively. Finally, the systems themselves are then susceptible to wildfire danger, meaning an entirely new investment should the system be damaged or completely destroyed.
Second, ground-based cameras and sensors offer limited viewpoints. Cameras can only cover a specific range and can miss fires hidden behind natural barriers like hills or dense forests. This also means that a camera cannot detect the full shape and size of a wildfire, meaning limited knowledge during mitigation operations. Nighttime detection and management becomes particularly challenging due to the limited visibility of smoke or flames, leaving some fires to burn unchecked until daylight.
Additionally, current systems lack predictive capabilities. They are purely reactive, only alerting teams after a fire has started. They offer no insights into where a fire might spread or how quickly it could grow, limiting a firefighting team’s ability to respond proactively. With that, there is limited to no opportunity to build any sort of data product on top of these systems. The exact location, fire speed, fire size, and other metrics are all completely unknown.
Despite these downsides, cameras have helped rangers and land managers immensely with detection efforts. Instead of rangers dispersed in tall towers across a vast forest, fire operations and command could be centralized into a single location. These systems currently help thousands of organizations around the world and provide tireless support in critical fire situations. However, camera systems are not the only piece of technology that can help with wildfire. In the 1980s and 1990s, innovation originally only accessible to large governments was becoming much more available for everyday use, including civilian fire organizations across the world.
An Orbital Breakthrough
Earth observation (EO) satellites were originally developed for mostly military and scientific purposes, but over time these satellites were repurposed to help understand the planet in ways no ground-based system ever could.
The first breakthrough in civilian Earth observation came in 1972 with the launch of Landsat-1, the world’s first satellite dedicated to environmental monitoring. Initially designed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, the goal was to study land use, vegetation, and water resources. Landsat’s multispectral scanner opened new possibilities for monitoring agricultural growth, urban sprawl, and even the health of forests, making it a pioneer in the EO industry. EO’s unique ability to monitor vast, hard-to-reach areas in real-time makes it irreplaceable. Whether it’s oceans, remote forests, or deserts, satellites provide insights from space that ground-based systems simply cannot match.
Since Landsat-1, the type of data collected with EO satellites has expanded considerably:
- Optical Image: arguably the most commonly understood use case, with their data being used in popular applications for routing and mapping
- Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), used to track surface changes through clouds. Can measure deforestation conditions and movement of ships.
- Lidar: measures distance to objects. Is used primarily to find the height of forests, ice sheet thickness, ect.
- Mircowave Radiometer: can be used to observe geophysical changes, such as air watervapor content, distribution of sea ice, and snow cover thickness.
- Thermal-Infrared: the real heroes of wildfire detection and temperature detection across large areas. It can also be used to find land & sea temperatures and urban area heat concentrations.
For a long time, launching satellites was the domain of government agencies like NASA, ESA, and Roscosmos, largely due to the enormous costs and technical challenges involved. However, several key developments over the past decade have opened the doors for private companies to enter the EO satellite space. Due to lower launch costs and the miniaturization of satellite technology, companies like OroraTech can provide critical services across all sorts of different industries.
Finding Hotspots from the Upper Atmosphere
Detecting wildfires from space relies on thermal-infrared detection. Earth observation satellites like ours are equipped with sensors that detect heat signatures, allowing them to pinpoint fires even before they’re visible. Unlike traditional methods, which rely on visual cues like smoke, satellites can detect temperature anomalies directly. This is particularly useful at night or during overcast conditions when ground-based systems may be ineffective. By focusing on heat sources, satellites can identify small hotspots that might otherwise go unnoticed, providing a crucial early warning system.
To enhance accuracy, our FOREST satellites use two specific bands of the infrared spectrum: the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and the long-wave infrared (LWIR). The MWIR band is highly sensitive to the intense heat generated by active fires, allowing satellites to detect flames and hotspots with great precision. Meanwhile, the LWIR band is used to monitor lower-intensity heat sources, such as smoldering areas or fires obscured by thick smoke. By combining data from these two bands, we can capture a complete thermal profile of the fire, regardless of its stage or visibility. This dual-band approach ensures that fires are detected early and accurately, providing essential information on fire size, intensity, and location.
Why Earth Observation for Wildfire Detection?
The advantages of using Earth observation satellites for wildfire detection are clear. Satellites provide global coverage, monitoring vast and often inaccessible areas that traditional systems can’t reach. Whether it’s dense forests, rural farmlands, or mountainous regions, satellite-based detection ensures no fire goes unnoticed, no matter how remote the location. This also means remote fires can be contained and controlled before they threaten population centers.
Another key advantage is the speed of detection. Satellite systems provide real-time updates, often detecting fires within minutes of their ignition. On top of this, data on the wildfire is constantly updated with each satellite overpass. This drastically reduces response times and provides constant up-to-date information, allowing firefighting teams to act quickly and contain wildfires before they spread out of control. Along with speed, satellites offer more effective mitigations with predictive analytics. By implementing weather sensors in our Wildfire Solution and monitoring environmental conditions and fire behavior over time, we can accurately predict the spread of any wildfire up to 24 hours in advance. This allows firefighting teams to deploy resources more strategically, protecting lives, property, and ecosystems with far greater efficiency.
Because we are always in orbit, satellites also generate historical data that helps in tracking fire patterns over time. We don’t stop observing and cataloging all fires over the long term. This data is critical for understanding historical trends, such as the impact of climate change on fire frequency and intensity. It also helps agencies develop more proactive fire management strategies.
What is really the future of fire detection?
The future of wildfire detection lies in next-gen infrared sensors and AI-powered analytics. As satellites become more advanced, we will see higher-resolution imaging, faster data delivery, and better integration with predictive models. We are already heading toward detection times of under 3 minutes—a game changer in wildfire management.
Looking ahead, AI and machine learning will transform how we process and act on satellite data. By predicting fire risks based on environmental conditions and historical patterns, we’ll be able to prevent fires before they even start. But in many ways, we are already living in the future. Fire technology is no longer just reactive; it’s becoming an active tool in firefighting strategies worldwide.´
Conclusion
Earth observation is no fad for wildfire detection – it’s the future. As climate change intensifies and wildfires become more frequent and destructive, traditional methods are proving inadequate. Satellites offer real-time data, global coverage, predictive analytics, and scalable solutions that surpass anything ground-based systems can deliver. The shift to satellite technology is more than just a technological upgrade—it’s a necessary evolution in wildfire management.
OroraTech’s Wildfire Solution platform is designed to give you the upper hand in wildfire management. Contact our experts to learn how our cutting-edge technology can protect your land, property, and people from the next wildfire.
