Observing wildfires using UAVSAR

Synthetic aperture radar systems that are able to transmit and receive multiple polarizations may provide useful information to help combat, and possibly detect, wildfires as this image of the 2009 Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest shows. The data shown here in a grayscale overlay represent the change in the component of the radar scattering that is attributable to leafy vegetation, with lighter shading representing greater changes than darker shading. The blue outline delineates the boundary of the total burned zone as determined by an independent survey conducted by the U.S. Forest Service. The radar data were collected by NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar system on February 27 and September 18, 2009 while most of the damage from the Station Fire occurred between August 26 and September 4, 2009.

See http://uavsar.jpl.nasa.gov