Yumi
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CNN —
At the end of July, Colorado became the latest US state to battle the spread of wildfires. Four blazes broke out, and while most are now contained, sustained hot, dry conditions this summer could spark more.
Around the same time, on August 1, a giant balloon was launched from the back of a pickup truck. Floating up to the stratosphere, the region between four and 31 miles above the Earth’s surface, it was able to capture high resolution photos of the Alexander Mountain fire, near Fort Collins, and measure temperature points on the ground.
The launch had been planned for months by the startup Urban Sky, which designs high-altitude balloons. It is the first of a handful of balloons due to be deployed in the next four weeks as part of a commercial trial looking to test the technology as an inexpensive way to detect, track, and ultimately prevent the spread of wildfires.
“The main goal is all about fire intelligence and early detection of wildfires,” Jared Leidich, co-founder and chief technology officer at Urban Sky, tells CNN.
Equipped with various infrared sensors, the balloons map vegetation density and moisture content on the ground, he explains. This data is processed in real time and combined with intelligence about dry lightning strikes and other ignition sources to come up with a “risk score” for certain locations, effectively pinpointing areas where a fire is likely to break out.
At the end of July, Colorado became the latest US state to battle the spread of wildfires. Four blazes broke out, and while most are now contained, sustained hot, dry conditions this summer could spark more.
Around the same time, on August 1, a giant balloon was launched from the back of a pickup truck. Floating up to the stratosphere, the region between four and 31 miles above the Earth’s surface, it was able to capture high resolution photos of the Alexander Mountain fire, near Fort Collins, and measure temperature points on the ground.
The launch had been planned for months by the startup Urban Sky, which designs high-altitude balloons. It is the first of a handful of balloons due to be deployed in the next four weeks as part of a commercial trial looking to test the technology as an inexpensive way to detect, track, and ultimately prevent the spread of wildfires.
“The main goal is all about fire intelligence and early detection of wildfires,” Jared Leidich, co-founder and chief technology officer at Urban Sky, tells CNN.
Equipped with various infrared sensors, the balloons map vegetation density and moisture content on the ground, he explains. This data is processed in real time and combined with intelligence about dry lightning strikes and other ignition sources to come up with a “risk score” for certain locations, effectively pinpointing areas where a fire is likely to break out.
